NERO

born Dec. 15, AD 37, Antium, Latium died June 9, 68, Rome in full Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, also called (AD 5054) Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus, original name Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus the fifth Roman emperor (AD 5468), stepson and heir of the emperor Claudius. He became infamous for his personal debaucheries and extravagances and, on doubtful evidence, for his burning of Rome and persecutions of Christians. Additional reading Historical records are found in several Loeb Classical Library editions: John Jackson (trans.), Tacitus: The Annals, trans. from Latin, vol. 34 (193137), Books 1216; J.C. Rolfe (trans.), Suetonius: The Lives of the Caesars, trans. from Latin, vol. 2 (1914), Book 6; and Earnest Cary (trans.), Dio's Roman History, trans. from Greek, vol. 8 (1925), Books 6163. The most authoritative modern treatment of Nero is Miriam T. Griffin, Nero: The End of a Dynasty (1984). Arthur Weigall, Nero, Emperor of Rome (1930, reprinted 1934); Georges Roux, Nron (1962); Gilbert Charles-Picard, Augustus and Nero (1968, originally published in French, 1962); and Jean-Charles Pichon, Saint Neron (1961, reissued as Nron et le mystre des origines chrtiennes, 1971), are still useful.