Nero

2 posts tagged with this keyword.

Marble bust of the Roman emperor Nero, Glyptothek, Munich

What an Artist Dies in Me

Jun 9, 2026By Andy Barca

On 9 June AD 68, Nero drove a dagger into his own throat in a freedman's villa outside Rome. He was the last of the Julio-Claudians, and his death opened the first succession crisis in imperial history - the Year of the Four Emperors.

Marble statue of Messalina holding her son Britannicus, Louvre Museum

The Heir's Last Supper

Feb 11, 2026By Andy Barca

On 11 February 55 AD, Britannicus — the biological son of Emperor Claudius — collapsed at a dinner party and died. He was thirteen years old, one day short of manhood. The poisoning that killed him was not an aberration. It was how the Julio-Claudian dynasty did business.