Nero in popular culture

Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus and his reign have been used in music, literature, the arts, and even in business

Anime/Comics/Video Games/Visual Novels

• The Phantom: Nero is said to have been the original owner of The Phantom's "skull ring" ^[1]

Art

Statue of Nero by Claudio Valenti, Anzio, Italy (2010)

• Salvador Dalí's "Dematerialization Near the Nose of Nero" (1949)
• Henryk Siemiradzki's "A Christian Dirce" (1897)
  • "Nero's Torches" depicts Christians being martyred on Nero's orders (1876)
• John William Waterhouse's "The Remorse of Nero After the Murder of His Mother" (1878)
• In 2010 Nero's hometown of Anzio dedicated a statue of the Emperor by Claudio Valenti^[2]

Computers/Software

• Nero AG and its products Nero, Nero Digital, Nero Burning ROM (add an -E to ROM), Nero ShowTime and features a pictogram of a burning Rome.^[3]

Film

• Challenge of the Gladiator: a Nero look-alike fools the Thracians into believing he is the real Emperor.
• The Sign of the Cross: 1932 Pre-Code Cecil B. DeMille epic with Charles Laughton as Nero.
• Quo Vadis (1951 film): Peter Ustinov plays Nero
• Star Trek: Eric Bana's character is named Nero; a song on the soundtrack is named "Nero Fiddles, Narada Burns"
• History of the World, Part 1 Dom Deluise portrays a humorous version of Nero.

See also: Nero (Character) imdb.com page

Music

• Karel Kryl's "Bivoj" references Nero (from Karavana mraků)^[4]
• U2's "Mercy" references Nero (from How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb) ^[5]

Opera

• Arrigo Boito's Nerone
• George Frideric Handel's Agrippina
• Pietro Mascagni's Nerone
• Claudio Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea
• Anton Rubinstein's Néron
• Alessandro Scarlatti's Nerone fatto Cesare (1695)
• Egidio Duni's Nerone (1735)

Plays

• Anonymous's The Tragedy of Nero (1624) published by Augustine Matthews ^[6]
• Víctor Balaguer's La Mort de Nerón (1894)
• Wilson Barrett's The Sign of the Cross
• Robert Bridges's Nero: From the Death of Burrus to the Death of Seneca. Comprising the Conspiracy of Piso (1894)
• Pietro Cossa's Nero: A Play in Five Acts (1881)
• Amy Freed's You, Nero (2009)
• Nathaniel Lee's The Tragedy of Nero, Emperour of Rome (1675)
• Stephen Phillips's Nero (1906)
• Jean Racine's Britannicus (1669)
• William Shakespeare's Henry VI, Part 1: Henry references Nero (Act I, Scene 4)
• William Wetmore Story's Nero: An Historical Play (1872)
• The 1955 musical Damn Yankees features a song titled "Those Were The Good Old Days", in which the Devil laments the days of Nero 'fiddling through those lovely blaze.'

Television

• Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire (Michael Sheen)
• The 1965 Doctor Who Serial The Romans (Derek Francis)
• Horrible Histories (Jim Howick/Naz Osmanoglu)
• NCIS: "Rekindled", Gibbs calls arsonist Billy Wayne "Nero" during Wayne's interrogation
• Nero (Hans Matheson)

See also: Nero (Character) imdb.com page

References

1. The Phantlantis jungle sayings
2. Draper, Robert (September 2014). "Rethinking Nero". National Geographic. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
3. "Ahead Software: Nero Burning ROM" IT Reviews 2000-04-05
5. U2Wanderer.org lyric of Mercy Retrieved 2009 10 19
6. "Nero Fiddled While Rome Burned" by Mary Francis Gyles The Classical Journal, Jan. 1947 21 April 2010

External links

• "Nero Fiddled While Rome Burned" by Mary Francis Gyles The Classical Journal, Jan. 1947 explores the history behind the legend of Nero playing the fiddle as Rome burned