Nero Essays Samples for Class Review

Transcription

1 #1 was completely unsuited to governing the Roman Empire. Nero was unable to effectively rule Rome because of Nero s insecurities in his rise to power, his empire-destructive decisions, and him ending the Julio-Claudian system, and the old undefined hereditary system. The very root of his insecurities came from his rise to power. His mother, Agrippina, was his kingmaker, who killed to get him to power and then tried to control him. The unclear heredity system, made his rise to power was not completely legitimate. This steered Nero to be paranoid and unstable. Also, his advisors were unable to constrain his insecurity. Seneca, his life-long tutor, further destabilized the volatile Nero by advising him to rule like a God, unrestrained. Nero took that advice, and finished off by getting rid of all of his advisors, who were the restrains keeping him from absolute madness. Nero s paranoia led him to undergo strange, destructive, and crazy acts. His building program, Nero s glorification of himself, led to Rome s bankruptcy. That, led Nero to plunder temples, murder aristocrats, and raise taxes to the sky. This led to open rebellion, which Nero tried to put down with his lyre. His obsession with the arts was another oddity that he indulged in. Nero, while Rome suffered poverty, went on a tour of the empire where he performed. This even led to him murdering his own wife when she dared to comment on his performance to the senate. Nero no longer had anyone to tell him what was not to be done. His madness was free from its chains. This led the Senate to conspire against him. When the plot was uncovered, due to a suspicious slave, Nero s paranoia led him to kill any senator who was even suspected of plotting against him, he wiped out all of his political opposition in one move. It was Nero s madness that dug him his own grave. His actions led the Senate to rethink his ability to properly govern the empire. While his empire rebelled, Nero was fulfilled his lavish desires in Greece. The Senate agreed to conspire a second time, but this time they had more support, especially amongst Nero s closest friends. This time, the Praetorian Guard abandoned their posts and the emperor woke up in an empty palace. The Senate declared him an enemy of the state, and Nero had to go into hiding. He hid in his servant s villa, where he committed suicide by driving a dagger into his neck. Nero s unstable personality, his paranoia, and the lack of restraint led to the end of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. It led the Senate to rethink the hereditary system, and establish new criteria: merit. Now, the emperor was not determined by his ancestors, but rather his ability to muster support and command his armies. With the long performance of Augustus came to a close and the title of emperor no longer hid behind the curtains of the old Republic.

2 #2 was completely unsuited to governing the Roman Empire. He constantly bent the Romans to his will while caring for none of their problems. Nero's insecurity and selfobsession stemmed from his insecure family, caused uncountable murders, and broke Roman society forever. The Emperor Nero came from a long line of interbreeding aristocrats starting with Julius Caesar. Each of these aristocrats had only one goal: become emperor. They even went to such extremes as killing their own beloved relatives to lay their hands on the throne. Nero, being from this family, was obviously insecure, given that he had to worry about plotting relatives. In addition, the monarchs were often chosen out of an unusual pool of their family because emperors commonly left no heirs. Nero's mother Agrippina only aggravated his insecurity by killing off his aristocratic rivals. Due to this, Nero began to worry if people would accept him as a rightful emperor because his claim to power was not as strong as his relatives' claims. Nero's intricate family would pave the way for him to become one of the most insane historical figures ever. Nero's actions were unrivalled in madness among ancient emperors of Rome. One of his most common tools, however, was murder. When rumors about Nero causing a huge fire in Rome circulated around the city, Nero simply turned to murder again. He made scapegoats of Christians, executing them publicly to draw attention away from him. After a conspiracy against Nero was discovered, he ruthlessly murdered the conspirators as well. Additionaly, even more aristocrats were killed out of self-obsession so that Nero could get the money from them that he needed for his reform. Nero was even so insecure that he killed both of his wives. Nero's killing frenzy would destroy the expectations the Roman state had for its emperor forever. Of course, there was a price to Nero's actions. In drawing power to himself, he had removed it from the rest of Rome. He had discredited the Julio-Claudian dynasty. After Nero, the man who commanded the largest army would become emperor because people did not want insecure madmen like Nero on the throne. Nero's insecurity also caused him to require that Romans support him, crushing their free speech and making them live in fear. Also, after Nero acquired much money by burglary to build his house, his statue, and his stage, the rest of Rome went bankrupt and thus fell into a state of unrest. This was all because of an emperor who hoarded too much out of vanity. Nero's insecurity and self-obsession shook Rome to the core. While the system of hereditary monarchy was beneficial to Rome under Augustus and some others, it was exploited by Nero for his own gain. What was first sparked by his family's instability and his mother created a man who was willing to kill without mercy, who in turn left Rome broken and shattered.

3 #3 The emperor Nero possessed a character so insecure and self-obsessed that he was completely unsuited to governing the Roman Empire. Nero s insecurities were rooted in his mother s manipulation, his resulting actions were a combination of atrocities, and the impacts of these actions ultimately ended in Nero s downfall. First, Nero had plenty to be insecure about. When he came into power, Rome was running off leaders who gained their position only through their bloodline, not based on whether they had any merit. Nero s power-hungry mother, Agrippina, who could not rule due to her gender, married and murdered her son s way to the throne. He had witnessed his ruthless mother manipulate her way to the top, hand him the reins to Rome, and begin to rule through him. This could have made him doubt his ruling capability on his own. Next, Rome had burned in a destructive fire and needed rebuilding. The eyes of Rome turned to Nero, he was the one who would have to step up and rebuild the city. Lastly, Nero became aware of a plot by the senators to kill him. All these pressures were the roots to Nero s insecurities. Next came his volatile responses to these pressures. Nero s reactions to the roots of his insecurities were detrimental to the nation in more ways than one. As far as his mother went, Nero had Agrippina executed, because he couldn t take the stress she had put on him. To deal with repairing after the fire, Nero took the opportunity to make Rome more glorious than it had ever been. Unfortunately, there was very little money for this, and Nero ran his nation into bankruptcy. In response to the Senator s plan to kill him, Nero had everyone remotely involved in the plot assassinated, including his old mentor, Seneca. Unfortunately, these desperate actions rooted in insecurity had results that left Rome in a sorry state. In the fallout of Nero s erratic actions, Rome had been grievously injured. In response to his country s bankruptcy, Nero ran a suicide campaign, in which he forced the wealthy men of Rome to leave their estates to the nation, before making them kill themselves. The most detrimental impact of Nero s actions was the result of his long line of assassinations. Because of this, there was no immediate heir to Nero, as he had killed them all off. The man who would take power next would have to be one who could heal the wounded nation, but thanks to Nero, this man was going to be hard to find, and even harder to put in power. At this, Rome switched its selection of rulers; Ruling was for he who could prove himself militarily. This signaled the end of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Things were looking down for Rome, and Nero was to blame for it all. Nero s insecurity and self-obsession shine through when a light is applied to his carrier. His vein and frightened actions left Rome reeling, a ghost of its former self.

4 #4 The emperor Nero possessed a character so insecure and self-obsessed that he was completely unsuited to governing the Roman Empire. While some rulers resort to lavish self-treatment and easy living, Nero went down the path of murder, war, and insecurity. He began to strive to make himself happy. Nero was unfit to rule and govern the Roman Empire because of the roots to his self-obsession, the expression and actions of his self-obsession, and the greater impact of his self-obsession to Rome as a whole. Nero s self-obsession was one of his most prevalent traits that lead him to do the crazy things he did, both in his personal life and his rule of Rome. The largest cause to this obsession was how he was encouraged to rule like a god by Seneca. He strived to make everything better for Nero, and not for the benefit and growth of Rome. Nero even went to the length of attempting to construct a 120-foot tall statue of himself in the vestibule of his palace. He was also pressured to be the best, because he was uncertain if he truly was the best because of the flaws in the system of hereditary monarchy. This meant he was uncertain if he had truly earned his spot on the throne, which led him to power, and the expression of that power. Nero s expression of his self-obsession was one of the most key things that he did to truly show his inability to rule the Roman Empire. The largest undertaking that Nero started was his rebuilding program of Rome. He wanted to fully reconstruct Rome after the conflagration of AD 64, but in full marble. When one hears of this, it sounds like he truly wanted to make Rome better. But, it was fueled primarily by his desire to make Rome great for him. For him to be able to fund this project, he ended up resorting to pillaging and robbing the sacred temples and wealthy for money. That level of selfobsession led him to strive for him to live, and rule, like a god. The final nail in the coffin towards Nero s inability to rule was what the impact and effects of what he had done for Rome. His failed building program led Rome to bankruptcy, and the defiling of temples. He gained many political enemies through his strive for power which involved him killing others. But once Nero died, Rome went through multiple hardships. There was a yearlong civil war over who would gain the power of the throne, and there were multiple short-lived unsuited rulers in a swift succession. This is one of his largest effects that does not get much attention. All of these things Nero did came from his self-obsession and his actions due to this obsession. Nero was unfit to rule and govern the Roman Empire because of what caused him to be self obsessed, how he expressed this obsession, and the greater impact of his self-obsession to Rome as a whole.

5 #5 was completely unsuited to govern the Roman Empire. Throughout Nero s reign, many see the roots from mommy issues, actions through murdering and impacts of an end to a dynasty causing Nero to be an unstable emperor. For instance, there were many roots of Nero s self-obsession and insecurity. To start off, Agrippina, Nero s mother, was instrumental in Nero earning emperor. Agrippina murder Claudius, her husband and emperor, so that Nero could have power of Rome, but once Nero got power, Agrippina favored Claudius s natural son, Britannicus because of the power struggle between her and Nero. Nero became insecure because he deserved the power while no other should. Agrippina s ruthlessness drove her to murder and suppress Nero s rivals so that she could gain power through Nero, which caused his insecurities. Tables turned and Nero killed his own mother out of paranoia. Another root of Nero s self-obsession and insecurities was hearing that Seneca, Nero s advisor, could possibly be a conspirator which caused him to be heartbroken and insecure. Seneca told Nero to rule like a god, with this in mind Nero became insecure from trying to be the perfect ruler. Furthermore, after the roots of Nero s self-obsession comes his actions and what he did to help hinder them. Nero was a murderer who killed his mother so that she could be out of his way. Nero s insecurities about people scheming against him were sated for a brief period when he killed all of the senators who were conspiring against him. Now self-obsession kicked in. When the fire in Rome was extinguished, Rome needed money to rebuild the city. When there was no money left, Nero took the money from the holy temples to continue rebuilding the city and his Golden House. To get even more money, Nero changed the will of the rich so that there was money given to him and then he forced them to commit suicide. When Nero performed and chocked, Poppaea accidently spoke on his mistake after the performance and he killed her and their unborn child. Nero is too insecure and self-obsessed. Eventually, Nero s insecurities and self-obsession impacted Rome. Nero s reign led to other s realizing that Rome should step out of tradition. The Julio-Claudian dynasty was discredited and ended. For many years Rome had been basing their rule on heritage. Galba, an emperor after Nero, wanted Rome to base the choosing of the emperor on merit and not heritage. Bankruptcy was another impact that Nero had on Rome. From all of the reconstruction and stealing money, Nero left Rome in an extreme amount of debt. Bankruptcy can end and money could be replenished in the empire, but the Julio- Claudian dynasty would never be seen again. Once again, spectators of Nero s rule see the roots, actions, and impacts of Nero s appalling insecurities and self-obsession. Romans no longer wanted to see succession, but to see an emperor who was for the good of Rome

6 #6 was completely unsuited to governing the Roman Empire. By analyzing Agrippina as a main root of Nero s insecurities, looking at the people he killed because of those insecurities, and a major impact of the end of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, it is apparent that Nero was unfit for emperor. Nero s insecurities take root early in his career, but were continually fueled throughout his life. Agrippina, Nero s mom, pressured Nero to become Emperor and controlled many aspects of his career. She killed off his competitors like Claudius and Silanus, but later suggested that Britannicus would be more fitted for Emperor. Nero killed off Agrippina, but the insecurity remained. He knew that he had not earned the position of Emperor, and with no military achievements or political successes, he was clearly there because of hereditary monarchy. The conspiracy of AD 65 caused more insecurity because it included many of Nero s friends. He was dumbstruck that after all he had given them he was still unloved. The roots of Nero s insecurities help to explain why he was unsuited for being Emperor. Nero s insecurity and self-obsession led to many shocking actions. After the fire that burned in Rome during July of AD 64, Nero decided to rebuild Rome. This included his own golden house and a 120ft statue. Rome did not have money for these grandiose buildings, so Nero decided to rob and plunder temples across the empire. This was an expression of his insecurity that he must govern Rome like a god. Nero loved performing as a way of expressing his philhellenism. Poppaea, his pregnant wife, made a remark about a mistake he made during one of his performances. Nero then kicked his wife to death out of insecurity and self-obsession. To add to Nero s improper actions, he announced he was going to Gaul to crush a rebellion by bringing a choir of prostitutes and singing to the enemy. Nero s insecurities made it impossible for him to act aptly. Nero s insecurity and self-obsession impacted the empire in ways highly significant to the following years. He bankrupted the Roman Empire for his own gainand did so through dishonorable means. During his regime, Nero killed every potential heir from the Julio-Claudian dynasty, ending that line of Emperors. Although hereditary monarchy did not end completely, Nero certainly discredited it. From his death on, Emperors were chosen by merit. Nero ended the illusion of shared power between him and the people, which was started by Augustus; the powers of the Emperor were now explicit and absolute. Nero s actions had big consequences, ones that would leave a permanent mark on Rome. Because of the deep roots in Agrippina that Nero s insecurities had, the deaths caused by those insecurities, and the impact of the end of a dynasty, Nero was completely unsuited to govern Rome. The reign of Nero will forever set an example of what happens when the most powerful man in the world goes mad.