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00:00While Roman legions wage brutal wars to expand the empire.
00:07At home, violence is a spectacle.
00:13Gladiators battle for glory in lavish games staged by Rome's leaders
00:20to enthrall and distract the masses.
00:24Putting on gladiatorial fights is a way of impressing the ordinary people of Rome.
00:31It was a staging of Roman power.
00:34And this was another way to exert control over the populace of Rome.
00:40Now, a young and vain ruler, Emperor Nero takes the throne.
00:47Quickly becoming obsessed, not only with the arena, but with one gladiator above all.
00:55Spiculus.
00:57Spiculus was lavishly awarded by Nero.
01:01If you manage to become the favorite of an emperor, he can give you anything in his power, basically.
01:08The emperor's fixation catapults Spiculus into fame, bringing wealth, privilege, and celebrity.
01:18But this newfound fortune depends entirely on the whims of a man who can be volatile and dangerous.
01:26Gladiators have been entwined with politics long before Nero's rule.
01:42Almost a century earlier, Rome was a republic governed by senators and an aristocratic elite.
01:49Among them, an ambitious politician, Julius Caesar.
01:58In 65 BCE, Julius Caesar had a political position in Rome that meant part of his responsibility was entertainment.
02:06He'd really caught on to the fact that people had begun to really be interested in the games.
02:12And he realizes, being an ambitious person he was, and being such a good marketer,
02:17that if he could put on the greatest show ever, that's going to reflect on him politically.
02:30Julius Caesar puts on the biggest gladiatorial fight that anyone's ever seen,
02:35and brings together 320 pairs of gladiators.
02:40He adds little touches, like for example, he makes the armor silver, or have silver elements to it, so it really shines.
02:52He's going to put on probably the greatest games that Rome has ever seen.
02:55Over the next two decades, Caesar hosts increasingly lavish games, using their spectacle to build popularity and political power.
03:09His strategy works. By 44 BCE, he is named dictator for life, placing Rome firmly under his control.
03:19But Caesar's dominance sparks fear among rivals, who believe his power threatens the republic itself.
03:33Determined to end his rule, a group of senators ploughed against him,
03:38leading to a violent betrayal, as Caesar is stabbed to death by people he once trusted.
03:45The day that Julius Caesar gets assassinated was also, in some of our source material, meant to be a day of spectacle.
03:55A little bit further down the road, gladiators are getting ready to put on a spectacle.
04:01And when they hear about the assassination of Julius Caesar, they rush out.
04:07Caesar was a man of the people, and the gladiators held him in high regard.
04:18So, Caesar's assassination is tied up in some respects, in this really nice, small little way, with what is going on with the gladiators, because they wanted him to live.
04:28After Caesar's death, power passes to his adopted heir, Augustus, who in 27 BCE becomes Rome's first emperor, transforming the republic into an imperial monarchy ruled by a single man.
04:49This is the point at which historians usually start referring to the period as the Roman Empire.
04:54He undertakes a spectacular re-building of Rome.
04:59He famously says, I found a city on clay, I made it a city on marble.
05:04And as part of that reinvention, he wants to show that he is giving the ordinary people of Rome their fair share of the spoils of conquest.
05:15And putting on dramatic games is a way that he can do that.
05:20And he wants to make sure that he's putting on bigger and better games than anyone has done before.
05:26To show that an emperor is a new kind of political power.
05:31In 14 CE, Augustus dies, the age of 77, and he is succeeded by his stepson Tiberius, as the second Roman emperor.
05:45Who in turn was succeeded by Caligula, who was succeeded by Claudius, who was succeeded by Nero, who becomes the very last of the Julio-Claudian emperors, as they are known.
05:57In 54 CE, Nero ascends the throne.
06:03He is young, inexperienced, and ill-prepared for the immense power he now wields.
06:11Soon his immaturity and vanity will reshape Rome's relationship with gladiatorial combat in ways never before seen.
06:22Nero is very young when he becomes emperor. He's 16 years old. He's the youngest emperor up until this point.
06:31He's grown up in the imperial family. He's someone who might not necessarily have expected to become emperor.
06:39His mother was not married to the previous emperor when he was born.
06:42But he was still kind of very intimately connected, so his mother was the great-granddaughter of Augustus.
06:50In terms of his character, he's interested in lots of pursuits and wider activities that other emperors before him haven't necessarily been too focused on.
07:00As an emperor, your interest should be the entertainment of other people rather than the entertainment of yourself.
07:09Whereas I think Nero was quite interested in the entertainment of himself.
07:12Nero, driven by personal obsession, assembles an elite troop of gladiators from the empire's finest warriors.
07:26Emperors had close engagement with controlling how gladiators were schooled and trained and controlling the gladiatorial troops.
07:34So in this case, this was a group of gladiators attached to Nero and the imperial family.
07:43Nero's troop have the abbreviation NER on the Graffiti in Pompeii, which would have stood for Neronianus, a Neronian gladiator.
07:52To be a Neronian meant that your fights were connected to the fame and glory of Nero himself.
07:59So the emperor was invested in your training and the outcome of your fights.
08:05In a sense, the gladiators would have been beneath his notice as individuals.
08:10They were enslaved persons.
08:12I don't know whether an emperor would have stooped to know his enslaved troop by name.
08:18Yet within Nero's troop, one gladiator in particular captures his attention.
08:24Spiculus.
08:25One of the graffiti from Pompeii records a fight between a complete rookie, Spiculus, who managed to defeat a guy called Aptonatus, who had fought and won 16 times.
08:39It's pretty remarkable that he was defeated by a rookie.
08:44I think that Nero was drawn to someone who he sees as having talent.
08:51That would be what probably initially caught his attention.
08:54So we can only imagine that Spiculus has drawn Nero's gaze because he is dazzling to watch.
09:00At gladiator school, the empire's finest trainers forge him into one of the most formidable fighters the arena has ever seen.
09:17It doesn't surprise me that there would be a rookie performing in Nero's troop.
09:21If he had the right physique and the right mental attitude, I can imagine that he would have been trained up and would have had to start somewhere.
09:31We only have a few mentions of Spiculus, but certainly he's someone that Nero seems to have looked after personally and had a bit of a relationship with.
09:39We know there were men who really desired gladiators and other athletes.
09:46We might imagine that Nero is one of these men who admires the physique of gladiators like Spiculus, their combat, their prowess, and perhaps even desires to be like them.
09:58Now, Nero is ready to put his gladiators on display.
10:02He announces lavish games, grand spectacles designed to showcase his warriors and reinforce his own glory.
10:16Despite the games being performed under the name of Nero, he himself is not going to oversee the ins and outs of putting on a spectacle of this size.
10:25He will have an imperial administrative service that will do the work of making sure that the games are put on and that ultimately it is a spectacle that is entertaining for both the audience and for the emperor himself.
10:40They would have advertised them by hiring sign writers and so they would paint signs, particularly onto the major thoroughfares where lots of people would have been passing to tell you what day the gladiatorial games were going to be thrown,
10:53who was throwing them, of course, and they would also probably have programs which would perhaps list who was going to be paired against whom.
11:02A famous gladiator were going to appear in the shows, that would have been known, that would have been advertised.
11:08Everyone in Rome would know that Nero was putting on games.
11:11Emperors would put on games for a variety of reasons. It might be as part of a triumph to celebrate a big military victory.
11:24Generally, the different emperors would approach the games differently.
11:29Nero himself had a greater appetite than most.
11:32Nero held games extravagantly and on many, many days throughout the year.
11:40Nero knows that spectacle has power. By feeding the public's appetite for blood and drama, he can keep attention and loyalty focused on the arena and not the growing tensions elsewhere in Rome.
11:56The games that were put on by the emperor Nero in Rome had to be bigger and better than any other games.
12:04The impetus would have been to put on things that are as novel as possible and as large as possible and as impressive as possible.
12:13For Nero's games, Spiculus is clearly the star of the show.
12:16Having a great fighter like Spiculus is one of the great draws of these games.
12:23Spiculus would be pitched against another good fighter.
12:28I would imagine having an emperor intercede in your favour would mean that you would only get the match-ups that you were open to having.
12:36Now the Romans also liked to match equally skilled but opposite types of equipment.
12:45Gladiators usually fought somebody in a different style.
12:51As the games went on, there was variations of the different types of gladiators to make the games more exciting.
12:59Each one is a variation, normally, of weapons and armour from the defeated enemies of Rome.
13:08You're taking weapons that the Romans would have encountered on the battlefield, you bring them to the arena,
13:13and because they're different weapons, they have different styles to them.
13:16It's a bit really like MMA, you've got all these different versions of combat, of helmets and weapons.
13:22Disciplines like the Thracian, the Retiarius, who has the net and trident.
13:26The Secutor has a closed helmet with two small holes.
13:31A Murmillo is very heavily armed, so he's going to have been a more heavily built gladiator.
13:37And the Hippomachus is just a different variation of a Thracian.
13:43If Spiculus was a Murmillo, he would have had a big, heavy, rectangular shield and a straight sword.
13:50So he was well protected, whereas he would fight Aplomachus, who was also heavily armed and well defended.
13:58The Romans seem to have liked to balance advantages and disadvantages on both sides.
14:05They like that kind of contrast of heavy, slow pondering versus light, nimble, quick.
14:12Spiculus is one of the most successful gladiators of his day, and he's hugely popular with the crowd.
14:20And this in itself makes him sort of attractive to the Emperor, and the Emperor befriends him.
14:26He's mentioned as receiving from Nero a wealth and estates worthy of a king.
14:35To be a friend of the Emperor, I mean, it's like being a friend of the American president.
14:39It affords you great privileges. It probably means you're going to live a good life.
14:43Spiculus is a wealthy man with his own grand villa, and he's probably actually enjoying something of the life of the wealthy elite.
15:00For the Romans, it's very odd that a gladiator, who is one of the lowest of the low, is able to live this life of luxury.
15:09There's a certain fascinating quality about the Romans.
15:14They admire, they adore the gladiator.
15:17But the gladiator himself is seen as a figure of scorn, as part of a group of very low social status, known as infami.
15:26Infamia is a legal punishment that lowers your status, and it's applied to all people who work in what elite Romans see as being unacceptable activities.
15:39Such as prostitution, fighting as a gladiator, being a charioteer.
15:44All of these, in elite eyes, mean that you're no longer a sort of full human being, who is worthy of having full rights of citizenship.
15:52You are seen as one of the lowest members of society, but this is the person that Nero is rewarding.
16:01Nero increasingly goes off message, and he gets used to the power that he has as emperor, and he wants to take advantage of it.
16:12As the scale of Nero's games grows ever more extravagant, concern among the senate is mounting that the emperor is getting carried away.
16:24We have sea battles, where they built lakes, specially within the city, so that they could re-enact battles with ships, manned by prisoners of war.
16:35They were great group combats that were very bloody affairs.
16:38They'd be beast hunts. These were individualised, highly specialised events, and each would have had specialised combat fighters who would have been trained for the specifics of the spectacle they would have been part of.
16:53They would also put on stage shows, and of course the regular favourite of the chariot racing.
16:59Chariot racing is certainly something that seems to predate gladiatorial combat, and it is an extremely popular spectacle to go and see.
17:08Away from the arena, Nero's behaviour turns even darker.
17:14Behind palace walls, he starts ignoring his job as emperor, choosing instead to indulge his own whims.
17:23So Nero loved performing. He becomes more interested in performance, and more interested in extravagance.
17:31Nero sees himself as some kind of creative genius, I think. He plays the lyre famously.
17:39He appears on stage, which is unheard of for an emperor to do.
17:45Which really put him in the realm of the actor, the musician, the gladiator.
17:50And this was quite an odd position for an emperor to be in.
17:54As an emperor, as someone who is supposed to have an administrative responsibility over the empire,
17:59as someone who is supposed to conduct business in a particular way, it's certainly not ideal.
18:04He gave far too much money that the state couldn't really afford to these kinds of things and individuals as well.
18:13So he rewards theatre actors. He gives citizenship on the basis of their performance at his games.
18:19And he gives far too much money or land to people who don't deserve it.
18:24And Spiculus is one of the examples of that.
18:27A gladiator that Nero is particularly fond of and is given these huge rewards for doing his job well or for being noticed by Nero.
18:39Nero's behaviour disturbs the Roman Senate.
18:42Who can challenge his authority if he goes too far?
18:50Yet despite growing unease, Nero presses on.
18:54And in 57 CE, he constructs a grand wooden amphitheatre to throw even more extravagant spectacles.
19:04Nero wanted something that was a slightly bigger scale.
19:07He tried to make it the amphitheatre par excellence in Italy.
19:12In fact, he suppressed local amphitheatres and made sure that the highest quality fighting took place in Rome.
19:21A year later, the amphitheatre is complete.
19:26Nero hosts lavish games with his prized fighter, Spiculus, at the centre.
19:32The crowds roar with excitement.
19:37But will the loyalty of the people be enough to hold the Senate at bay?
19:51Nero throws games at his new amphitheatre.
19:56Crowds gather, anticipating a day of thrilling combat.
20:00Nero's behaviour.
20:04Walking up to the gladiator games, you had vendors selling all sorts of wares from food and different souvenirs that have either gladiator statues, gladiator statuettes, gladiator lamps.
20:17Almost certainly there were bets taking place.
20:23The kind of thing you would expect to see in a great entertainment spectacle today.
20:28These games captivate all of Rome.
20:33Rich and poor flock to the amphitheatre.
20:37Swept up in the spectacle.
20:39Walking into the arena, we know that sound, the way it hits you like a wave.
20:50You were seated in the amphitheatre according to your social status.
20:54The senators had the best seats up front.
20:55The equestrian class had the next several rows around the arena.
21:00And then the rest of the amphitheatre, the people were divided up into various groups.
21:05The emperor would have sat right in the front.
21:09He probably had a nice little canopy over his head so that he wouldn't get sunstroke.
21:13The games start with a procession, pompa as it's known, where all of the performers, all of the gladiators and indeed the giver of the games would process through the arena.
21:28Giving everyone a chance to sort of see the great fighters that they're going to enjoy later on.
21:34This is your chance to sort of interact, if you like, with your favourites.
21:38Everybody comes out in the dress that they're going to wear later on, does this parade around, and then you can start to feel the vibe building.
21:53There's every indication that it helps create a bond between the fans and the stars.
22:00Gladiators are the sports stars of their day.
22:04They would be recognised whenever they appeared in public.
22:08They had their own fans.
22:09They would put up graffiti where they would record their victories.
22:14They would buy models of them.
22:17We have a range of different types of fine glassware from France, which depicts Spiculus alongside a series of famous gladiators.
22:26Gladiators are the sexiest men in the whole empire.
22:29They're probably the most desired men sexually.
22:31There's no one else who elicits the kind of sexual frenzy that the gladiators do.
22:35They're symbols of the best that manhood could attain.
22:41Even though they were of low repute, they were thought to embody things like virtue, courage, masculinity, fearlessness, all things that Rome was meant to celebrate.
22:53The procession ends and the gladiators retreat backstage.
23:01The crowd roars with excitement.
23:05Music swells, ushering in the next act of Nero's grand event.
23:10With Spiculus being such a famous gladiator, you probably would have had other displays of combat coming on before Spiculus.
23:20You would probably start off in the morning with something like a beast hunt or a combat with wild beasts.
23:26And then once you get to around noon, that's when you'd see the executions happening.
23:35So that might be people who are criminals who've been sentenced to die, for example, by wild beasts.
23:41And then in the afternoon, in that prime time slot, that is when you would see the gladiators.
23:47The progression is you start with the lesser known guys and you're basically slowly building up to the title fight.
23:57Everybody wants to see Spiculus.
24:00That's going to be the closing fight of the games.
24:07The lesser gladiators have fought, their combats are over and eventually Spiculus will appear as the highlight of the show.
24:14Gladiator like Spiculus would have had attendants who would have ensured that he was in tip-top shape before every encounter.
24:23He would have had his own masseuse, his own servants, his own doctor.
24:29He would have had people who carried his armor.
24:32With Emperor Nero, the most theatrical of all Roman emperors, the armor and the equipment would have been similarly glittery.
24:40At his level, he's going to have a choice about what he wears.
24:45Not every gladiator gets those opportunities.
24:48Spiculus as a Mamillo had a very high quality version of Mamillo armor.
24:54Perhaps a particularly iconic shield or helmet that marked him out from others of that type of gladiator class.
25:00Ready for his contest, Spiculus strides into the amphitheater like a prize fighting boxer into the ring.
25:12The announcer would have said, and here he comes, people's champion, Spiculus.
25:19Out as he walked, there would have been music to his actual entrance.
25:24The crowd roars, his name is upon the lips of everybody.
25:28When the Emperor sees the crowd's adulation for this gladiator, well, he just drinks in the atmosphere.
25:38Somebody like Spiculus is really going to lean in to the things that people know about him.
25:44They know he lives in an amazing house.
25:47They know he has the favor of Nero.
25:50As if he's not going to parlay that into how he performs in the arena.
25:54He definitely is.
25:56Spiculus, of course, has a lot riding on the fight.
26:00But Nero does as well because his job is to provide entertainment for the people.
26:14After a long day of fighting at Nero's games, it is time for the main attraction.
26:20Spiculus and his opponent emerge.
26:25His rival is matched in strength and trained to kill.
26:29But for Spiculus, this is more than a fight for survival.
26:34It's a battle to remain Nero's favorite.
26:38With the gladiators in the arena, the fight can start.
26:42Nero looks down upon them and the battle begins.
26:45Spiculus would have been trying to parry with his opponent.
26:51He would have been trying to dazzle the crowd with his moves.
26:55We have references in our sources to gladiators being trained to deliver moves with grace.
27:03It's like two prized fighters taking an opportunity to demonstrate the height of their skill level in front of a live audience.
27:15We can imagine that it would have been a display of extreme storm.
27:21There could have been bloodshed involved.
27:23Nero had been watching keenly, trying to see every little parry, every little jab, trying to see who's being injured.
27:33Spiculus shows once again why he's Nero's prized gladiator.
27:41He is a skilled and brilliant fighter.
27:45In the arena, few can touch him.
27:49If a gladiator were wounded in the fighting, he could signal submission by just holding up a finger.
27:56And then the referee steps in, stops the fight and separates the two gladiators.
28:05Spiculus has won, he's overcome his opponent.
28:10And his opponent has asked for mercy.
28:12At that point, it's up to Nero, the giver of the games, to consult with the people and then decide what happens to that gladiator.
28:25He holds your life in his hands. All he has to do is turn the thumb.
28:32Nero may look around to the crowd and try and figure out what it is they want him to do.
28:38The crowd can directly communicate with powerful people in their society, including people like the Emperor Nero, and make their feelings known.
28:50The crowd are shouting out, you know, either, you know, let him go or kill him.
28:55We can imagine that the people want Spiculus' defeated opponent to be killed.
29:08And Nero gives it to them.
29:09You can imagine there'll be a deathly quiet to send on the arena as everyone is focused on this sort of fate, this moment of death of this poor fallen gladiator.
29:24If he had a helmet, he was expected to take it off so that everyone could see all of the emotion on his face.
29:36The gladiator has been taught how to face death.
29:41They were expected to expose their throat, to stare ahead blankly, to show no emotion.
29:47To be tough right until the final moment.
29:56And then the victor would plunge his sword downward through the throat and into the heart.
30:01When a gladiator appears to have died in a fight, a man dressed as Charon, god of the underworld, comes on and actually checks that he's dead.
30:17Charon hit the person with a hammer and then his body was dragged out with a hook and dragged out of the arena.
30:23The victory strengthens Nero's bond with Spiculus, and the emperor is eager to show his gratitude.
30:36The winning gladiator would have been given gifts and prizes.
30:40He would have been given a share of the prize money, and then he'll leave.
30:45The games have dazzled the crowds, but Nero has one final thrill, designed to capture the hearts of the people.
30:58So emperors in Rome are supposed to be making sure that the people of the empire have the things that they need,
31:06but also to be seen as the person who gives it to them.
31:10So the emperor is a gift giver.
31:13One of the things the emperor would do for the crowd is known as a spacio.
31:18He would actually throw out kind of lottery tickets, and on it you would sort of be given anything from perhaps some slaves,
31:26or to some furniture, or even a villa.
31:29So it was a way that you could kind of get rich quick.
31:34The people have enjoyed the games, they appreciate Nero for having given them a day of entertainment that they love.
31:39And they return home to their families, they return to the pubs.
31:44Even though Nero's games have inspired the people, have caused the people to fall in love with Nero, his style of ruling will soon be his downfall.
31:53While the crowds revel in Nero's games, the Senate sees a different picture.
32:02Nero is distracted by spectacle, neglecting the serious business of ruling.
32:08And their patience is running out.
32:12In 64 CE, a big event happens in Rome that really has helped to shape the way we understand Nero's reign.
32:31And that's the fire.
32:37So in the summer months, Rome does catch on fire a fair amount, but this is huge.
32:45Our sources say a number of the districts in Rome are affected and some are destroyed completely.
32:50And burned down a big portion of Rome's most prestigious neighborhood, the Palatine, and also a big chunk of Nero's own imperial palace.
33:03Out of Rome's 14 districts, 10 are quite badly affected and three are completely destroyed.
33:08This is a huge conflagration. It destroys a massive chunk of the city.
33:19Lots of people died in this fire.
33:22The number of dwellings, small businesses, temples that must have been destroyed, you can imagine the devastation that sort of caused.
33:33It displaced tens of thousands.
33:37It's something that really kind of stands as a point in Nero's reign that is extremely significant both politically but also in terms of sort of his relationship with the city.
33:49So many people must have suffered so extremely and this generated huge resentment of the safety and luxury within which the emperor was operating.
34:00When the fire breaks out Nero is not in Rome, he's in Antium.
34:13Perhaps the best known phrase associated with Nero is that he fiddled while Rome burned.
34:19This is anachronistic in some ways because the fiddle wasn't invented but even playing the liar while Rome burned is something that our sources are a little bit split on.
34:29And Nero realises that with almost all of Rome burned to nothing, he can start again and he can build a huge palace that's far bigger than anyone else has done before.
34:42This is the Domus Aurea, which is named the Golden House for the amount of beautiful gold and other precious materials that are used in it.
34:50The Domus Aurea is impressive as it must have been. It surely caused a revulsion of feeling.
34:57At a time when so many of the citizens have been made homeless because of the fire, he is there building himself this enormous great palace.
35:07Honestly, I don't imagine people all too terribly impressed with the building of a giant villa in the aftermath of a destructive fire.
35:15It was clear to pretty much everyone, especially Rome's Senate, that he was really losing his grip.
35:22The rumour starts, well, he's taking such advantage of it, it must be because he started the fire so that he could do this.
35:30A lot of our sources do say that it's his agents who set the fire, not him personally, obviously, that would be crazy.
35:39However, Nero's actions afterwards, he does seem to be really concerned and he does instantly set about trying to help as many people as possible.
35:47It seems like Nero was trying to rebuild the city after the fire in a way that would make that kind of event happening again less likely.
36:05As Rome begins to rebuild, Nero chases pleasure and indulges in his personal amusements.
36:15Nero's popularity is certainly taking a hit. He's not the kind of man that most Romans would respect as their emperor.
36:30And it's partly because of his over-the-top interest in things like chariot races, Ladiator fights, the theatre.
36:38They're not the kind of pursuits that you really want your emperor to have.
36:43You want him to be more focusing on military conquests, for example, and what is happening politically.
36:53He's too close to the people. He's not sort of paying enough attention to the senators.
36:58And that's the point where the Senate declare Nero as a public enemy.
37:08With the Senate's condemnation, Nero's grip on power crumbles.
37:13And showing loyalty to the fallen emperor is dangerous, even for Spiculus.
37:25Nero, the most powerful man in Rome, has been denounced by the Senate. He is unable to contain the storm around him.
37:37Nero realizes that the game is up.
37:39Once Nero has been declared a public enemy, the options for him are very limited.
37:45All he has left is a few loyal attendants.
37:49As he hears that the Praetorians are on their way to kill him.
37:55And he realizes, once you've been declared a public enemy, that the death is particularly brutal.
38:01He would be beaten and flogged and dragged through the city.
38:03He realizes that really the only option is for him to take his own life.
38:11There are so many instances of Romans, in defense of their honor, committing suicide.
38:18And committing suicide with a sword, falling on their sword, or stabbing themselves with a sword, is a horrifying way to die.
38:25But he's too scared to kill himself.
38:29So he calls on Spiculus to do it for him.
38:34The fact that Nero wanted to be killed by Spiculus, his favorite gladiator, could suggest that he wanted to die quickly and well.
38:42And perhaps there's also that sort of case of notoriety where the emperor of Rome was killed by the most famous gladiator of the arena.
38:50He needs to know someone he can trust, I think.
38:53So here's someone that he can trust to do the job as efficiently as possible.
39:05Spiculus, though, can't be found.
39:08Whether he was sort of deliberately keeping out of harm's way or whether he really had just abandoned Nero like everyone else, we don't know.
39:16Spiculus, his prized gladiator, is missing.
39:26Nero turns to another member of his inner circle.
39:30He leans on and relies on a freedman named Epaphroditus.
39:39Then, with Epaphroditus' help, Nero commits suicide.
39:45Nero is only 30 years old.
39:55His death ends a 14-year reign marked by self-indulgence and spectacle.
40:02When Nero dies, there's very much a mixed reaction to his death.
40:09Some of the individuals who partook in the entertainments mourn Nero's death.
40:15When Nero dies, he is given a public funeral.
40:19The ordinary people of Rome, they were there at his graveside.
40:23They didn't see this as the good thing that the senators thought.
40:26After Nero's death, there's a clear-out, if you like, of Nero's supporters.
40:33And Spiculus has been too close to Nero.
40:37And it's reported that he's actually crushed beneath various statues of Nero that are pulled down in the forum.
40:44Nero's reign and its chaotic end is something of a cautionary tale about the excesses of power.
40:57He's also always sort of doomed to go down in history as an absolutely terrible emperor,
41:04because he is the last of the Julio-Claudians.
41:07And this makes him the last of the first dynasty of emperors in Rome.
41:11When he dies, there is no heir. He has had children, but they haven't survived.
41:17So, after Nero's death, we have the year of the four emperors in which individuals rise to claim the mantle of emperor.
41:25Until ultimately, we're left with Vespasian, the last man standing, who will initiate the Flavian dynasty.
41:32That dynasty, and Vespasian in particular, decides what he's going to do is separate himself in every way that he can from Nero.
41:41Vespasian, the new emperor, is determined to erase all traces of Nero's legacy, starting with the opulent palace, built as a monument to Nero's ego in the ashes of the great fire of Rome.
42:02Nero's golden palace becomes a symbol of everything that's wrong with his reign. It's excessive, it's overly focused on Nero himself.
42:11Vespasian wants to wipe the slate clean and build something that is a people's palace, not just a palace for a single emperor.
42:19Vespasian takes the opportunity to demolish large parts of the Domus Aurea, and on the site, part of it, he starts to construct the Flavian amphitheater.
42:37It was the most strident way, the most powerful way, he could say that we're under a new regime, a new dynasty.
42:43Vespasian decides to build Rome's first large-scale, permanent amphitheatre on the site of Nero's Gardens.
42:53And that is the amphitheatre that we now know as the Coliseum.
42:57WASHING TAX Is You can't reach near the People's Alpha.
43:05A record for dead people.
43:09.
43:11One Kyle for The Last Him.
43:21A record for dead people.
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