Nero, Caius Claudius, fl. 216-201 B.C., Roman general in the Second Punic War. He defeated Hasdrubal in the battle on the Metaurus (207 B.C.).

Nero (Nero Claudius Caesar), A.D. 37-A.D. 68, Roman emperor (A.D. 54-A.D. 68). He was originally named Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus and was the son of Cnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (consul in A.D. 32) and of Agrippina the Younger, who was the great-granddaughter of Augustus. Agrippina married (A.D. 49) Claudius I and persuaded him to adopt Nero. In A.D. 55, Agrippina saw the bonds of her domination of Nero loosening and intrigued in favor of Claudius' son, Britannicus, but Nero poisoned the boy. Poppaea Sabina, the wife of his friend Otho, became his mistress; according to rumor she was to blame for the worst of Nero's behavior. In A.D. 59 he murdered his mother and in A.D. 62, his wife Octavia. He later married Poppaea. When half of Rome was burned in a fire (A.D. 64), Nero accused the Christians of starting it and began the first Roman persecution. In A.D. 65 there was a plot to make Caius Calpurnius Piso emperor. The detection of this plot began a string of violent deaths, e.g., of Seneca, Lucan, and Thrasea Paetus. Nero had ambitions to be a poet and artist. In A.D. 68 a series of revolts, including one by his own Praetorian Guard, caused him to commit suicide. Among his last words were, "What an artist the world is losing in me!" His memory was publicly execrated.

in full Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus (or Drusus) Germanicus orig. Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus

(born Dec. 15, AD 37, Antium, Latium—died June 9, 68, Rome) Roman emperor (54–68). He was adopted by Claudius when the emperor married Nero's mother, Agrippina the Younger, and took the throne after Claudius died. He was guided by his tutor, Seneca, and by Agrippina until he murdered her and broke free of his advisers. By respecting the Senate and leaving imperial administration alone, he became popular in the east, but Boudicca's revolt in Britain (61), unemployment, and contempt for his frivolousness and excesses caused dissatisfaction. In 64 a fire, possibly lit at his orders, destroyed much of Rome; he persecuted the Christians as scapegoats and proceeded to build a garish palace, the Domus Aurea, on lands that had been privately held. With his reign in decline, he murdered his wife, Octavia, as well as her successor, Poppaea, ordered Seneca to kill himself, and executed senators who criticized him. Revolts in Gaul and Spain were led by Galba, who was declared emperor by his army. Nero came to be regarded as mad, giving public lyre and theatrical performances to the disgust of his subjects. Condemned by the Senate, he chose suicide over execution.

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