According to the historian Tacitus, the Great Fire of Rome started on the night of 18 July in the year 64, among the shops clustered around the Circus Maximus.^[1] As many Romans lived in wooden houses without masonry, the fire spread quickly through these areas.^[1] The fire was almost contained after five days before regaining strength.^[2] Suetonius claims the fire burned for six days and seven nights in total.^[3] The fire completely destroyed four of fourteen Roman districts and severely damaged seven.^[4] Also destroyed were Nero's palace, the Temple of Jupiter Stator and the hearth in the Temple of Vesta.^[5] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... For other uses, see Tacitus (disambiguation). ... is the 199th day of the year (200th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... July 18 - Great fire of Rome: A fire began to burn in the merchant area of Rome and soon burned completely out of control while Emperor Nero allegedly played his lyre and sang while watching the blaze from a safe distance, although there is no hard evidence to support this... For other uses, see Circus Maximus (disambiguation). ... Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus ( 69/75 - after 130), also known as Suetonius, was a prominent Roman historian and biographer. ... For other uses, see Nero (disambiguation). ... The Temple of Jupiter Stator (Jupiter the Stayer) was in the area of the Roman Forum. ... Brick with the emblem of Theodoric the Great, found in the temple of Vesta. ...

Nero and the Great Fire

The Great Fire of Rome erupted on the night of July 18 to July 19, 64. The fire started at the southeastern end of the Circus Maximus in shops selling flammable goods.^[1] Nickname: Motto: SPQR: Senatus Populusque Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC Government  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area  - City 1,285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban 5... is the 199th day of the year (200th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 200th day of the year (201st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... July 18 - Great fire of Rome: A fire began to burn in the merchant area of Rome and soon burned completely out of control while Emperor Nero allegedly played his lyre and sang while watching the blaze from a safe distance, although there is no hard evidence to support this...

The actual size of the fire is the subject of some debate. According to Tacitus, who was nine years old at the time of the fire, it spread quickly and burnt for five days.^[6] It completely destroyed four of fourteen Roman districts and severely damaged seven.^[6] The only other historian who lived through the period and mentioned the fire is Pliny the Elder who wrote about it in passing.^[7] Other historians who lived through the period (including Josephus, Dio Chrysostom, Plutarch, and Epictetus) make no mention of it. The only other account on the size of fire is an interpolation in a forged Christian letter from Seneca to Paul: "A hundred and thirty-two houses and four blocks have been burnt in six days; the seventh brought a pause".^[8] This account implies less than a tenth of the city was burnt. Rome contained about 1,700 private houses and 47,000 apartment blocks. For other uses, see Tacitus (disambiguation). ... Pliny the Elder: an imaginative 19th Century portrait. ... A fanciful representation of Flavius Josephus, in an engraving in William Whistons translation of his works Josephus (37 – sometime after 100 CE),[1] who became known, in his capacity as a Roman citizen, as Titus Flavius Josephus,[2] was a 1st-century Jewish historian and apologist of priestly and... Dio Chrysostom, Dion of Prusa or Dio Cocceianus ( 40 AD– 120 AD) was a Greek orator, writer, philosopher and historian of the Roman Empire in the first century. ... Mestrius Plutarchus (Greek: Πλούταρχος; 46 - 127), better known in English as Plutarch, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist. ... Epictetus (Greek: Επίκτητος; ca. ... Paul of Tarsus (b. ...

It was said by Suetonius and Cassius Dio that Nero sang the "Sack of Ilium" in stage costume while the city burned.^[9] However, Tacitus' account has Nero in Antium at the time of the fire.^[10] Tacitus said that Nero playing his lyre and singing while the city burned was only rumor.^[10] Popular legend remembers Nero "fiddling" while Rome burned, but this is an anachronism as the fiddle had not yet been invented, and would not be for over 1,000 years.^[11] Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus ( 69/75 - after 130), also known as Suetonius, was a prominent Roman historian and biographer. ... Cassius Dio Cocceianus (ca. ... The Iliou persis (English: Sack of Ilion; Greek: Ἰλίου πέρσις; also known as Iliupersis, esp. ... // Anzio is a city and resort on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about 33 miles south of Rome. ... “Lyres” redirects here. ... Look up Anachronism in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... “Fiddler” redirects here. ...

According to Tacitus, upon hearing news of the fire, Nero rushed back to Rome to organize a relief effort, which he paid for from his own funds.^[10] After the fire, Nero opened his palaces to provide shelter for the homeless, and arranged for food supplies to be delivered in order to prevent starvation among the survivors.^[10] In the wake of the fire, he made a new urban development plan. Houses after the fire were spaced out, built in brick, and faced by porticos on wide roads.^[12] Nero also built a new palace complex known as the Domus Aurea in an area cleared by the fire.^[13] This was a 300 acre palatial complex that featured the Colossus Neronis, a 37-meter-high bronze statue of Nero placed just outside of the entrance. ^[14][15] To find the necessary funds for the reconstruction, tributes were imposed on the provinces of the empire.^[16] The Domus Aurea (Latin for Golden House) was a large landscaped portico villa, designed to take advantage of artificially created landscapes, rather than a monumental palace,[1] built in the heart of Ancient Rome by the Roman emperor Nero after Great fire of Rome, which devastated Rome in 64 AD... The Emperor Nero had a colossal statue of himself erected in the vestibule of the Domus Aurea. ...

Persecution of Christians

It is uncertain who or what actually caused the fire. According to Tacitus, the population searched for a held Nero responsible.^[17] To diffuse blame, Nero targeted a sect called the Christians.^[17] Tacitus says that Nero had Christians arrested and condemned "not so much for incendiarism as for their hatred of the human race".^[17] Christians confessed to the crime, but it is probable that these were false confessions induced by torture.^[17] Suetonius and Cassius Dio favor Nero as the arsonist with an insane desire to destroy the city as his motive.^[18] However, major accidentally started fires were common in ancient Rome. In fact, Rome burned again under Vitellius in 69^[19] and under Titus in 80.^[20]. This article is about the religous people known as Christians. ... The Skyline Parkway Motel in Afton, Virginia after an arson fire on July 9, 2004. ...

To appease the masses, Nero ordered Christians to be thrown to dogs and lions, while others were crucified, coated with tar, and burned to serve as lights in his palace^[17] while he reportedly mockingly declared to them, "Now you are truly the light of the world!"

Tacitus described the event: For other uses, see Tacitus (disambiguation). ...

Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular. Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind. Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of boobies, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired.^[17]

The persecution was confined to the city of Rome and lasted only for a few weeks, but it is remembered as one of the earliest state-sponsored persecution of Christians. Nickname: Motto: SPQR: Senatus Populusque Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC Government  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area  - City 1,285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban 5... Spanish Leftists during the Red Terror Shoot at a statue of Christ The persecution of Christians is the religious persecution that Christians have endured as a consequence of professing their faith, both historically and in the current era. ...

The historical accounts

The varying historical accounts of the fire come from three secondary sources — Cassius Dio, Suetonius and Tacitus. The primary accounts, which possibly included histories written by Fabius Rusticus, Cluvius Rufus and Pliny the Elder, did not survive. These primary accounts are described as contradictory and gross exaggerations.^[1] At least five separate stories circulated regarding Nero and fire: Cassius Dio Cocceianus (ca. ... Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus ( 69/75 - after 130), also known as Suetonius, was a prominent Roman historian and biographer. ... For other uses, see Tacitus (disambiguation). ... Fabius Rusticus was a Roman historian who was quoted on several occasions by Tacitus. ... Cluvius Rufus was a Roman senator, governor and historian who was mentioned on several occasions by Tacitus, Suetonius, Josephus and Plutarch. ... Pliny the Elder: an imaginative 19th Century portrait. ...

• Motivated by a desire to destroy the city, Nero secretly sent out men pretending to be drunk to set fire to the city. Nero watched from his palace on the Palatine Hill singing and playing the lyre.^[21]
• Motivated by an insane whim, Nero quite openly sent out men to set fire to the city. Nero watched from the Tower of Maecenas on the Esquiline Hill singing and playing the lyre.^[22]
• Nero sent out men to set fire to the city. Nero sang and played his lyre from a private stage.^[23]
• The fire was an accident. Nero was in Antium.^[24]
• The fire was caused by Christians.^[25]

New evidence in the physics of fire

What had actually caused the fire is still debated. Many, especially at the time, believed it was arson, but new evidence suggests the very real possibility it was merely accidental.^{[original research?]} Tacitus observed that the fire spread against the wind, which was popularly considered evidence for arson up until the last century. New studies show that as a large fire consumes the oxygen around it, it will spread outward to seek more oxygen, even against the wind ^{[citation needed]}. Tacitus also observed that it spread right through the less flammable temples and the concrete dwellings of the rich, which he felt was unnatural and probably evidence for arson as well. It is now known that even in a building made entirely out of nonflammable materials, furniture may just as easily catch on fire if embers come through a window. This may lead to the entire building being consumed. Roman buildings were particularly open to this threat because their windows were not shielded and the buildings were well ventilated. The Skyline Parkway Motel in Afton, Virginia after an arson fire on July 9, 2004. ...

The Great Fire in popular culture

• The optical disc authoring program Nero Burning ROM is a play on words for the Great Fire, and the logo is an image of the Colosseum in flames.
• The comedy duo of Wayne and Shuster spoofed the affair - Shuster (as the fire chief of Rome) came to Flavius Maximus (Wayne) with his suspicion of arson. At one point, a fireman reports that the shopping center has caught on fire.
• Italian power metal band White Skull open their 2000 album "Public Glory, Secret Agony", a concept album on ancient Rome, with a 2 minute instrumental called "Burn Rome, Burn"
• The Polish death metal band Behemoth's song 'Rome 64 C.E' from there latest album 'The Apostasy' is a date reference to the event.

Optical disc authoring software is computer software for authoring optical discs including CD-ROMs and DVDs. ... Nero Burning ROM is a popular optical disc authoring program for Microsoft Windows and Linux by Nero AG, formerly Ahead Software. ... Nero Burning ROM is a popular optical disc authoring program for Microsoft Windows and Linux by Nero AG, formerly Ahead Software. ... The Colosseum by night: exterior view of the best-preserved section. ... Wayne and Shuster were a Canadian comedy duo formed by Johnny Wayne and Frank Shuster. ... Power metal is a style of heavy metal music typically with the aim of evoking an epic feel, combining characteristics of traditional metal with thrash metal or speed metal, often within symphonic context. ... This article about a musical group, band, singer, musician, album, or song does not make it clear whether the subject meets the WikiProject Music criteria for importance. ... This article is about the musical genre. ... Behemoth is an influential Polish blackened death metal band. ...

References

• Cassius Dio, Roman History, Books 62 (c. 229)
• Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, the Life of Nero, 38 (c. 121)
• Tacitus, Annals, XV (c. 117)

External links

• "Secrets of the dead": PBS series investigates clues that Nero circumvented the Senate by burning Rome
• Tacitus describes the great Fire: (in English)

The Roman Senate (Latin: Senatus) was the main governing council of both the Roman Republic, which started in 509 BC, and the Roman Empire. ...

Notes