Nero, last of the Julio-Claudian emperors Quiz

Answer: Burrus

Burrus was the commander of the guard. At noon after the night of Claudius' death, the palace doors were thrown open, and Burrus emerged with the new heir to the throne. Tigellinus was not yet in Nero's service. The other two men, Rufus and Cornelius Sabinus, were in a different period.

Answer: Brittanicus

Brittanicus was the son of Claudius by Messalina. Nero had poison administered to him during a dinner party and passed his death off as an epileptic fit. He was jealous of Brittanicus because his mother, Agrippina, began to favor him as the blood son of Claudius. Claudius had a son by a previous marriage, Claudius Drusus, but this child perished as the result of an accident much earlier. Gemellus died by assisted suicide during the reign of Caligula.

Answer: Pallas

Pallas was a minister of finance under Claudius, and he was one of the first to go when Nero came to power. He was purportedly his mother's lover, and there was never much love lost between the two men. Nero had nothing to do with the fall of Narcissus; his demise was affected by his mother. Phaon was a loyal freedman, who survived Nero.

Answer: Ofonius Tigellinus

Ofonius Tigellinus replaced Burrus as Guard Commmander. He was a cruel, ruthless man who was more than willing to carry out Nero's every wish. Geta belongs in the reign of Claudius; he was one of Praetorians who pledged to assist Messalina and Gaius Silius in their plot against Claudius. Burrus has been mentioned earlier, and Rufus does not figure into this period.

Answer: He emptied his bladder on a statue of Cybele.

Nero had little interest in religion, and he was capable of uncouth behavior. He voided his bladder on a statue of Cybele. Cybele was a Roman goddess of fertility, the Great Mother, imported from Phrygia. Nero knew practically nothing about Christians until after the Great Fire of Rome.

He certainly knew nothing about the cross as a Christian symbol early in his reign. He also did nothing to disturb Jewish synagogues.

Answer: Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus

Nero bore the same family as his paternal grandfather, Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus. Gnaeus Lucius Ahenobarbus was his father. Tiberius was not his grandfather, nor was Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa.

Answer: Seneca

Lucius Annaeus Seneca tutored Nero as a youth, and the first five years of Nero's reign were moderate and the government operated smoothly. Gaius Petronius was Nero's "arbiter of elegance," but he, Lucan, and Lucretius took no active part in Nero's elegance.

Answer: He wrote a damning letter, criticizing Nero's artistic mediocrity, murders, and matricide

Petronius was a man of delicate words, and he wanted to hurl a final insult to Nero, whose music he always thought was mediocre at best. Safe because his impending death and beyond Nero's reprisals, he heaped one insult upon another. If he knew anything about the Christians, he had nothing to do with them.

He was certainly too dignified to write graffiti on Rome's "message boards." He is not known to have been in correpondence with any military commanders in the provinces.

Answer: Better city planning

Better city planning was the result of the fire. Regulations stipulated that streets had to be wider, more fireproof materials were to be used in construction, and buildings were limited in height and proximity to each other. There is a popular notion that Nero sang while Rome burned, and this may be true as he was lamenting the destruction of the most beautiful city in the world.

His involvement with the Fire of Rome is conjectural at best. He was not in the city at the time, and he provided tremendous relief efforts for the people of Rome. Grain importers would not have profited greatly; Nero reducedthe price of grain to provide better for the people.

Answer: All of these

All of these methods of cruel death were used and even more. Nero intended to sate the Roman mob with all sorts of cruel diversions. Christian victims were even dressed to reinact the deaths of mythical beings, Hercules burned on a pyre, Icarus fell from the sky, and there were many other legendary dramas enacted. Lions and other wild beasts were set upon the Christians, they were crucified en masse, and they were fastened to poles and covered with pitch to light Nero's gardens at night. Eventually, public opinion turned against this cruelty, and many Romans began to pity the Christians as the victims of the cruelty of one man.

Answer: The treasury in the temple in Jerusalem

Everyone was raided, estates were confiscated, and the treasure hordes of Rome and the provinces were seized. Nero did leave the temple treasury in Jerusalem alone, however.

Answer: He kicked her, causing a miscarriage and her death

Poppaea died as the result of being kicked by Nero. She was pregnant and Nero kicked her in the stomach, causing a miscarriage and she bled to death. Otho was her previous husband. In fact, Nero took Poppaea away from him, but Otho was sent to govern a foreign province.

Answer: Gaius Cornelius Piso

Piso was the head of the conspiracy, but the facts were laid bare, it failed, and heads rolled. Seneca was thought to have been involved, but his involvement, if any at all, was marginal because he was very ill at the time. Nevertheless, the overly frightened and paranoid Nero ordered his death. Flavius Scaevinus was never conclusively proven to be involved. One of his slaves accused him to Nero on scanty evidence, but all Nero needed was scanty evidence. Piso clearly organized the plot against Nero.

Answer: Titus Flavius Vespasianus

Titus Flavius Vespasianus, later emperor of Rome and founder of the Flavian dynasty, was appointed to command the legions against the Jewish rebels. Aulus Plautius was already in retirement after serving Claudius in Britain. Neither Galba nor Vindex were considered, although Galba became emperor immediately after the death of Nero.

Answer: His legions in Gaul, Spain, and Germany revolted

The disaffection of the legions in Gaul, Spain, and Germany revolted. Vindex delivered an inflmmatory speech to some leaders in Gaul, declaring that Nero was unfit to rule. The Senate cast no such vote, and Saint Peter, traditionally martyred during the Neronian persecution of Christians, was not in the habit of placing curses. Nero enjoyed great popularity with the masses, because he furnished them with bread and circuses.

They would not have made such a demand on the Senate. In fact, many plebeians mourned the passing of Nero for months after his death.