Nero: The Man Behind the Myth (2000 Holland), book

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Nero: The Man Behind the Myth (2003) is a book by Richard Holland.

Abstract

"This book does not whitewash Nero, but it aims to show that he was more of a liberator than an oppressor, that he contrived to rule in peace rather than in the militaristic way of his predecessors, and that he was both enlightened and civilized, a man who enjoyed poetry, music, philosophy and the theatre, as well as erotic delights. Cheered for his performances with the lyre by thousands of screaming followers, his patronage of the arts also left the legacy of the Golden Palace with its rich gold decoration and murals later copied by Raphael and other Renaissance artists in the Vatican. Through social, cultural and archæological evidence, here we encounter Nero imaginatively as a man, not as a monster."--Publisher description.

Editions

Published in Stroud : Sutton, 2000.

Translations

Translated into Italian (2002) and Polish (2007).

Contents

Genealogical table of the Julio-Claudian dynasty -- Map of the Roman Empire at the time of Nero -- Introduction : birth of an empire -- Prince and pauper -- The assassins call -- The dominant mother -- The teenage emperor -- The lover and the slave-girl -- Enter Poppaea -- Wreckage and renewal -- The great battle of Britain -- Murderer most foul -- Ordeal by fire -- Saving Rome from the Christians -- The plot that failed -- The thirst for glory -- Winner loses all -- Epilogue : the beast of the Apocalypse -- The chief literary sources -- Was Nero a masochist?

External links

• [ Google Books]