|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries: |
Research categories | Follow us on Twitter |
Research categories
View all topics in the newsView all reference sources at Encyclopedia.com |
|||
Nero
Nero (Nero Claudius Caesar) , AD 37–AD 68, Roman emperor (AD 54–AD 68). He was originally named Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus and was the son of Cnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (consul in AD 32) and of Agrippina the Younger , who was the great-granddaughter of Augustus. Agrippina married (AD 49) Claudius I and persuaded him to adopt Nero. In AD 55, Agrippina saw the bonds of her domination of Nero loosening and intrigued in favor of Claudius' son, Britannicus, but Nero poisoned the boy. Poppaea Sabina , the wife of his friend Otho , became his mistress; according to rumor she was to blame for the worst of Nero's behavior. In AD 59 he murdered his mother and in AD 62, his wife Octavia. He later married Poppaea. When half of Rome was burned in a fire (AD 64), Nero accused the Christians of starting it and began the first Roman persecution. In AD 65 there was a plot to make Caius Calpurnius Piso emperor. The detection of this plot began a string of violent deaths, e.g., of Seneca, Lucan, and Thrasea Paetus. Nero had ambitions to be a poet and artist. In AD 68 a series of revolts, including one by his own Praetorian Guard, caused him to commit suicide. Among his last words were, "What an artist the world is losing in me!" His memory was publicly execrated.
|
|
|
Cite this article
"Nero." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Nero." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Nero.html "Nero." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Nero.html |
|
Nero
Nero, Roman Emperor from AD 54 to 68. He was passionately fond of the theatre and appeared frequently on stage, not only as a dancer in pantomime but as a solo tragic actor in such parts as the Mad Hercules, the Blind Oedipus, the Matricide Orestes, even Canace in Travail. On such occasions he wore a mask, but the features were always modelled on his own or on those of his current mistress. From his famous theatrical tour of Greece in AD 66–7 he returned with 1,808 triumphal crowns. Even his worst crimes do not seem to have shocked conservative opinion in Rome as much as these antics—a fact which illustrates the low status of professional entertainers under the Empire.
|
|
|
Cite this article
PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Nero." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Nero." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-Nero.html PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Nero." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-Nero.html |
|
Nero
Nero Roman emperor, 54–68 CE; after a reign that began with moderation, Nero became increasingly brutal and irresponsible. In 64 there was a serious fire in a largely residential area; it was where Nero then built himself a palace, and in order to scotch rumours that he had himself caused the fire, he laid the blame on Christians, some of whom were executed by crucifixion or burning or by wild beasts in the circus. Tacitus remarks that this cruelty won wide sympathy amongst the populace for the Christians.
It is probable that Peter and Paul were among the victims, and possible that a reference to Nero may be behind the number of the beast, 666, in Rev. 13: 18. |
|
|
Cite this article
W. R. F. BROWNING. "Nero." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. W. R. F. BROWNING. "Nero." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-Nero.html W. R. F. BROWNING. "Nero." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-Nero.html |
|
Nero
Nero (ad 37–68), Roman emperor, whose patronage of the arts extended to appearing himself upon the stage. Infamous for his cruelty, he ordered the murder of his mother Agrippina in 59 and wantonly executed leading Romans. His reign witnessed a fire which destroyed half of Rome in 64; in Suetonius's Lives of the Caesars, it is said that after watching the fire, Nero dressed himself in his tragedian's costume and sang The Fall of Ilium. This story gave rise to the expression to fiddle while Rome burns (although Nero's instrument would have been the lyre).
A wave of uprisings in ad 68 led to his flight from Rome and his eventual suicide. |
|
|
Cite this article
ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Nero." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Nero." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Nero.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Nero." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Nero.html |
|
Nero
Nero (37–68) Roman Emperor (54–68). One of the most notorious of rulers, he was responsible for the murders of his half-brother, his mother, and his first wife. Rome burned (64), according to rumour, at Nero's instigation. He blamed the Christians and began their persecution. Faced with widespread rebellion, Nero committed suicide.
|
|
|
Cite this article
"Nero." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Nero." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-Nero.html "Nero." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-Nero.html |
|
Nero
|
|
|
Cite this article
PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Nero." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Nero." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Nero.html PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Nero." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Nero.html |
|
Nero
Nero •arrow, barrow, farrow, harrow, Jarrow, marrow, narrow, sparrow, taro, tarot, Varro, yarrow
•gabbro • Avogadro • Afro • aggro
•macro • cilantro • Castro
•wheelbarrow
•Faro, Kilimanjaro, Pissarro, Pizarro, Tupamaro
•Pedro • allegro • hedgerow • velcro
•escrow
•metro, retro
•electro • Jethro
•bolero, caballero, dinero, Faeroe, pharaoh, ranchero, sombrero, torero
•scarecrow • Ebro
•Montenegro, Negro
•repro • in vitro • Pyrrho • synchro
•windrow • impro • intro • bistro
•Babygro • McEnroe
•biro, Cairo, giro, gyro, tyro
•fibro • micro • maestro
•borrow, Corot, morrow, sorrow, tomorrow
•cockcrow • cointreau
•Moro, Sapporo, Thoreau
•Mindoro • Yamoussoukro
•Woodrow
•burro, burrow, furrow
•upthrow
•De Niro, hero, Nero, Pierrot, Pinero, Rio de Janeiro, sub-zero, zero
•bureau, chiaroscuro, Douro, enduro, euro, Ishiguro, Oruro, Truro
•Politburo • guacharo • Diderot
•vigoro • Prospero • Cicero • in utero
•Devereux • Jivaro • overthrow
|
|
|
Cite this article
"Nero." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Nero." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Nero.html "Nero." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Nero.html |
|