Nero (Blackwell Ancient Lives) [Paperback]

Jurgen Malitz (Author)

Book Description

Series: Blackwell Ancient Lives | Publication Date: December 15, 2011

In this rigorously researched biography Jürgen Malitz invites readers to reconsider the reputation of the Roman Emperor Nero.

• Focuses on the growing tension between Nero’s artistic tendencies and his role as emperor.


• Steers readers through the diverse interpretations of Nero that have arisen through the ages.


• Allows readers to form a balanced judgment of this divisive and controversial Emperor.

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

The fifth Roman emperor, Nero has gone down in history as the archetypal narcissistic tyrant. In this fascinating new biography, Jurgen Malitz invites readers to reconsider Nero's reputation. Malitz focuses on the growing tension between Nero's artistic tendencies and the political role for which his ambitious mother, Agrippina the Younger, groomed him. The author reveals how, after sound beginnings under Seneca and other serious men, Nero succumbed to his love of acting; and how, while using the arts to please the people, Nero alienated the senate with his increasingly autocratic style. Finally, he explains how Nero met his untimely end following a failure of nerves in the face of rebellion. Nero's crimes are notorious: he murdered his mother and all possible contestants to the throne and brutally persecuted the Christians. Despite Nero's notoriety, Malitz outlines the often forgotten aspects of his reign: his early, surprisingly responsible political agenda, his initial popularity, patronage of the arts, and innovations in architecture. This original biography allows readers to form a balanced judgment of this divisive and controversial Emperor.

From the Back Cover

The fifth Roman emperor, Nero has gone down in history as the archetypal narcissistic tyrant. In this fascinating new biography, Jürgen Malitz invites readers to reconsider Nero’s reputation.

Malitz focuses on the growing tension between Nero’s artistic tendencies and the political role for which his ambitious mother, Agrippina the Younger, groomed him. The author reveals how, after sound beginnings under Seneca and other serious men, Nero succumbed to his love of acting; and how, while using the arts to please the people, Nero alienated the senate with his increasingly autocratic style. Finally, he explains how Nero met his untimely end following a failure of nerves in the face of rebellion.

Nero’s crimes are notorious: he murdered his mother and all possible contestants to the throne and brutally persecuted the Christians. Despite Nero’s notoriety, Malitz outlines the often forgotten aspects of his reign: his early, surprisingly responsible political agenda, his initial popularity, patronage of the arts, and innovations in architecture.

This original biography allows readers to form a balanced judgment of this divisive and controversial Emperor.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell; 1 edition (December 15, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1405121785
• ISBN-13: 978-1405121781
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.6 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,318,720 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A Dubious Disciple Book Review, July 7, 2011

By 

Dubious Disciple "Lee Harmon" (White Bear Lake, Minnesota) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nero (Blackwell Ancient Lives) (Hardcover)

I'm tempted to simply quote the opening chapter of my book about Revelation. Most of that first chapter comes directly from this book. I begin with a series of short glimpses into the life of Nero Caesar in an attempt to portray the demons within the man named by Revelation as the Beast of the Sea.

Nero was the fifth Roman emperor, and thus the fifth "king" of seven in the book of Revelation. He's one of the most fascinating emperors of the era, sharing the title (in my opinion) with Augustus and Caligula. He's known as a narcissistic tyrant, and the man who single-handedly ended the reign of the Caesars (the original family line) by putting every possible heir to death. He's also known, of course, for his brutal and imaginative persecution of Christians. But Malitz also gives credit where credit is due, outlining Nero's more positive contributions from earlier in his reign.

A short chapter near the end of the book discusses Nero's "afterlife," the enduring legend which sprang up in his name as the antichrist, 666. It was believed by many (including, apparently, John of Patmos) that Nero would come back to life to regain his throne by force. Nero is the ruler who dies and lives again as the eighth king of Revelation.

Mesmerizing and fun, if you have any interest at all in this stuff, you won't be able to put the book down. Admittedly, many of the more sensational Nero stories are of questionable authenticity (such as blaming him for setting the fire that destroyed Rome near the end of his reign) and separating fact from fiction can be a challenge, but for me, writing from a Christian viewpoint, both sides are equally important.

This is a relatively short book, ending officially after 113 pages, but immediately following this is translation of Suetonius' The Lives of the Twelve Caesars.

2 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Disappointing Read, July 20, 2009

By 

Katharine - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Nero (Blackwell Ancient Lives) (Kindle Edition)

It's a fascinating story--- pity the author isn't much of a storyteller. The account is all over the place, springing back and forth in time and peppering the reader with random facts and names which the author assumes you're automatically familiar with. (For instance, the author offhandedly goes: Nero didn't visit Greece because of the Great Fire. And you, the reader, are like: WHAT Great Fire? There was a Great Fire? Is this the one he supposedly fiddled through? Whuh?) It's a confusing slog, and you can't help thinking how much you're missing out of a really amazing story because the author can't string his narrative together in a compelling way.