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Nero: the man behind the myth by Thorsten Opper: New
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eBay item number:284485951804
Item specifics
- Condition
- Publication Date
- 2021-08-12
- ISBN
- 9780714122908
- Book Title
- Nero : the Man Behind the Myth
- Publisher
- British Museum Press
- Item Length
- 11.5 in
- Publication Year
- 2021
- Format
- Hardcover
- Language
- English
- Illustrator
- Yes
- Item Height
- 1.3 in
- Genre
- History
- Topic
- Europe / Italy, Ancient / Rome
- Item Weight
- 10.6 Oz
- Item Width
- 10.4 in
- Number of Pages
- 304 Pages
About this product
Product Identifiers
Publisher
British Museum Press
ISBN-10
0714122904
ISBN-13
9780714122908
eBay Product ID (ePID)
21050080148
Product Key Features
Book Title
Nero : the Man Behind the Myth
Number of Pages
304 Pages
Language
English
Topic
Europe / Italy, Ancient / Rome
Publication Year
2021
Illustrator
Yes
Genre
History
Format
Hardcover
Dimensions
Item Height
1.3 in
Item Weight
10.6 Oz
Item Length
11.5 in
Item Width
10.4 in
Additional Product Features
Intended Audience
Trade
Reviews
Roman historians of the first and second centuries CE, chiefly aristocrats, considered Nero (r. 54-68 CE) the last of the Julio-Claudians (27 BCE-68 CE) and a monster responsible for the great fire that destroyed much of Rome and for undermining the economy with lavish expenditures on his palace, the Golden House. Modern scholars have tended to accept this assessment, depicting Nero as a megalomaniac and an incompetent who brought the empire to the brink. Relying largely on contemporary artifacts such as frescoes, statues, military equipment, papyri, medallions, and coins, Opper (British Museum) instead argues that Nero ruled effectively and relatively humanely. Nero partially succeeded in integrating the provinces into the empire and incorporating a large, talented freedmen element into society. Further, his economic policies stimulated the economy, and his cultural interest was similar to the great emperors of the next century. Nero's effectiveness is reflected in his popularity after his death. Despite executing many senators, he failed to liquidate the seditious elements within the aristocracy, which had compromised four preceding emperors. In view of Nero's murdering his mother, this persuasive rehabilitation is only partially successful. This erudite, well-written work has 225 excellent illustrations.Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty.
Dewey Edition
23
Dewey Decimal
937.07092
Table Of Content
Introduction - approaches to Nero; the source tradition1. Nero and the family of Augustus - Augustus and the system of the principate; Julio-Claudian society; Nero's family2. Power and succession - Nero's accession; expectations of the new reign; poetry and imagery3. Conflict and reform - Nero and the military; external conflicts; the Armenian War; Britain and the Boudicca rebellion4. Spectacle and splendor - Nero's reforms and major projects; public entertainment; Nero on stage5. Passion and discord - the imperial family; Nero's wives and daughter6. Fire - the great fire of Rome of AD 647. The new Apollo - Nero's palaces and the Domus Aurea; luxury and elite society; diplomacy and triumph8. Crisis and death - internal conflict and elite resistance; rebellion; Nero's death; civil war; 'False Neros' and Nero's enduring popularityBibliographyCreditsIndex
Synopsis
One of the best known and simultaneously most notorious figures from Roman history, Nero (r. AD 54-68) is usually characterised as a tyrannical and ineffectual emperor, a ruler who proverbially 'fiddled while Rome burnt'. However, as new research demonstrates, this reputation is crudely reductive and was carefully crafted in antiquity by hostile elite authors, who envisioned a different form of rule more mindful of the demands of their own social and political class.This publication redresses the balance and provides a more nuanced interpretation of Nero's reign and Roman society of the time, reflecting on the traditional perceptions of his rule and revealing the substantial external and internal challenges with which the sixteen-year-old heir to the Roman empire had to contend.Nero's rule fell in an extended period of transition and profound social and economic change. The empire had grown rapidly during previous centuries, and an astonishing era of peace and prosperity followed the introduction of one-man rule after decades of bloody civil war under Nero's great-great-grandfather Augustus. However, political institutions and elite mindsets were slow to adjust to the resulting rise of former outsiders, people from the provinces and freed slaves.The book considers in detail the resulting tensions and the challenging role of Nero's family within them. Powerful individuals, among them many women, including Nero's mother Agrippina, and his tutor and advisor Seneca, come to life against the backdrop of these times, when different court factions thought to manipulate the young ruler. At the same time, intriguing evidence - doodles and graffiti - from Rome, Pompeii and other Vesuvian cities gives voice to often very different attitudes of common people, completely ignored by the ancient literary sources.In addition to these internal challenges, Nero inherited a great conflict with the rival power of the Parthians and unrest in unsettled newly conquered territories, including Britain. The book examines his military and diplomatic response and the powerful visual language - often disregarded - that presented him as a successful young military leader throughout the empire. Administrative and tax reforms culminated in 'populist' policies that also saw him embrace enthusiastically the possibilities offered through public entertainments (the circus, arena and theater) to communicate directly with his subjects and project a more direct, charismatic form of rule. Yet his grand building projects and the beautification of his capital were offset by severe natural disasters and a devastating fire of Rome.Popular with the common people to the very end, Nero could not reconcile the internal contradictions of the principate, the political system introduced by Augustus. Hostile segments of the elite were behind military rebellions in AD 68 that quickly drove Nero from power. His enforced suicide brought to an end the rule of Rome's first imperial dynasty, the Julio-Claudians. The subsequent vilification of his memory and the removal and desecration of his image are an enduring, but misleading, legacy that leave a fascinating reign to be explored anew., One of the best known figures from Roman history, Nero (r. AD 54-68) is most often characterised as a tyrannical and ineffectual ruler, who fiddled while Rome burnt. Such a reputation has, however, been shaped by ancient literary sources written by his adversaries and enemies and, in light of new research, can be considered crudely reductive. This publication, and the exhibition it accompanies, redresses the balance and provides a more nuanced interpretation of Nero's reign and Roman society of the time, reflecting on the traditional perceptions of his rule and revealing the challenges with which the young heir to Claudius' empire had to contend. The period during which Nero ruled over Roman society was one of profound change. The extent of the empire at the time was vast, having grown significantly during the previous century through conquest and annexation, and peace and prosperity followed years of bloody war. The role of Nero's mother Agrippina in his accession to the throne is well-documented, but her expectations of great influence once Nero was in post were not met and the role of women, and family more widely, is considered in detail in this book. In addition to familial conflict, Nero also had to confront the threat of rival powers and the assimilation of newly conquered territories, which provided him with the opportunity to prove himself as a strong military leader. Alongside military campaigns, he adopted 'populist' policies, was preoccupied with the beautification of the heart of his empire, which was subsequently devastated by fire, and enthusiastically engaged in theatre and entertainment. Nero's rule was curtailed by military rebellion in AD 68 and the embattled emperor ultimately committed suicide. His death brought to an end the reign of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, and the subsequent vilification of his memory and the removal and desecration of his image are an enduring, but misleading, legacy., Takes a fresh look at the life of Nero (r. AD 54-68), providing insight into the inner conflicts of a Roman society in transition and challenging preconceptions of a figure dismissed by a hostile source-tradition as tyrannical, deluded and ineffectual.
LC Classification Number
DG285
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