A new Nero?

Emperor Nero has been likened to many leaders in our times, most recently of course, to Trump. The comparison is not pretty, and it draws our attention to many alleged misuses of power and psychological conditions. Google will give you many articles and great memes with this theme across the long years of Trump's dominance; (the image below is from 2016, from Artstation/@Kate Oleska).

But to be fair to Nero, historical evidence for at least parts of his reputation is often missing (unlike the evidence for Trump's - but that's not our topic here.). As this fascinating British Museum account asks, "Nero is one of Rome's most infamous rulers, notorious for his cruelty, debauchery and eccentricity. But was he really the tyrant that history has painted him to be?"

One of the many differences between Nero and Trump is age - Nero was married to Octavia when he was 15 - to legitimise Nero's claim to the throne. (She was 13.) He became emperor the next year, at 16, and died at 30 - reigned the whole time and was never voted out or impeached.

At 21 he almost certainly arranged the murder of his mother, Agrippina, who, as we know from Handel's opera, was very politically active.

The Met screened its Agrippina in 2020. Who will forget Joyce DiDonato as power-hungry Agrippina and mezzo Kate Lindsey as her dominated son and future emperor Nerone? There’s a very funny and informing talk with them here. And our 2020 blog post is here.

The emperor golfs at the Met, while the US? burns

While neither our blog nor, presumably, the Met, is suggesting Donald Trump (or indeed Nero) murdered his mother, the Met invited the comparison and was smugly open about it at the time.

“I should say that we’re grateful to the White House for making ‘Agrippina’ feel more immediate,” said general manager Peter Gelb, to cheers. “We like to think of the impeachment trial as a co-promotion for our new production.” Such is history.

But back to the historical record. Curious about Nero? The British Museum provided a quick survey of "facts" in this collection of questions and curious answers. Maybe he wasn't as bad for his country as Trump?

And interestingly, he clearly did have a wide popular following, significant for those who want to pursue comparisons. But it didn't, in the long run, save Nero.

Lyn, 19/2/25