Life Of Caesar

News of Galba's betrayal makes its way to Nero who is shocked into action. He sends troops to stop Galba - but they switch sides and join the conspiracy. Nero goes into hiding with the intent of running away to Alexandria and Greece, but even that plan is betrayed. Finally, he comes to the end of his story. And so do we! This is our last episode ever. The post Galba #1 – Republic Schmublic appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

News of Galba's betrayal makes its way to Nero who is shocked into action. He sends troops to stop Galba - but they switch sides and join the conspiracy. Nero goes into hiding with the intent of running away to Alexandria and Greece, but even that plan is betrayed. Finally, he comes to the end of his story. And so do we! This is our last episode ever. The post Nero #47 – THE END appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

Nero celebrates two official triumphs. Not for military victories, but for singing. It's the last straw. A new rebellion is formed, lead by Vindex and Galba. The post Nero #46 – The Last Straw appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

Nero didn't visit Athens or Sparta while in Greece because he was scared of religious and political retribution. Besides, he was too busy trying to become the periodonikes, the Grand Slam champion of all of the Games. But things weren't going well back at Rome, so he is finally convinced to return. He had six months left to live. The post Nero #45 – Grand Slam appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

The year is 67 CE. Nero is still on his 14 month tour of Greece. He dropped into the Temple of Apollo at Delphi and tickled the Omphalos. The post Nero #44 – Horny Dolphins appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

It's 67 CE. Before he sets out for his World Tour of Greece, Nero first needs to insult the Senate, then he needs to deal with a new conspiracy, this one involving Corbulo. While Greece, he becomes unhappy with Vespasian who apparently doesn't clap loudly enough at Nero's performances. The post Nero #43 – To the Deuce! appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

Nero gets, not one, but TWO new wives. One of them is a dude. The post Nero #42 – Dude Looks Like A Lady appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

Nero's first attempt at building a single property that covered his estates on the Palatine Hill and the Esquiline Hill was The Domus Transitoria, the House of Passage. It burned down in the Great Fire. He replaced it with the Domus Aurea (Golden House), designed by expert engineers Severus and Celer, and it was so revolutionary that it appears to be the stuff of genius. The post Nero #41 – The Stuff of Genius appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

Nero built his Domus Aurea between 64-68 and, in doing so, revolutionised Roman architecture. He also built a massive statue of himself, because, hey, why not? The post Nero #40 – The Golden House appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

Nero was a lover, not a fighter. Not a great leader of armies. He thought of himself as an artist. He wanted to be on stage, not on horseback. He was very proud that he closed his Janus. The post Nero #39 – Closing His Janus appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

If you want to marry a woman, remember to kill her husband first The post Nero #38 – A Woman Woo'd appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

The Stoics Thrasea and Soranus go on trial. And we run out of Tacitus. The post Nero #37 – “Spare your ears” appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

When you've been up to no good, and you get caught out, you have two options. Nero, like Ray, is a Number 2 kind of guy. In this episode, he goes after two significant Stoics, Thrasea Paetus and Barea Soranus, with trumped up charges. And we farewell one of our fans and friends, Victor Santochi. RIP mate. The post Nero #36 – Two Options appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

A family commits suicide together to escape Nero's prosecution, while others just get stabbed to death. But Tacitus' explanations for Nero's behaviour still leave us scratching our heads. The post Nero #35 – A Monotony Of Disaster appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

Nero launches a series of attacks that result in the demise of certain members of the Roman elite. But why these particular people? And why now? We tease apart Tacitus to try to work out what's really going on. The post Nero #34 – A Reckless Spirit appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

This is the second and final part of our interview with philosopher Michael Tremblay, talking about Seneca and stoicism. The post Nero #33 – Michael Tremblay On Stoicism (part 2) appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

With the recent demise on our show of Nero's favourite Stoic, Seneca, we wanted to go balls deep on Stoicism. To help us out, our guest Michael Tremblay, who has a PhD in philosophy, where he studied Stoic ethics and education, came on and talk to us about the history and ideas behind the philosophy and the importance of Seneca. Here's part one of our discussion. The post Nero #32 – Michael Tremblay On Stoicism (part 1) appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

In the year 66, Nero gets taken on a wild goose chase, performs some lovely poetry and harp concerts… oh yeah, and he kicks his wife to death. The post Nero #31 – Wife Kicker appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

This episode is brought to you by - legal weed! The Pisonian Conspiracy is over. Rewards are handed out to those who remained loyal. The Senate wants to make Nero a living god. The post Nero #30 – High Praise appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

Next on the chopping block is Seneca, Nero's old tutor and adviser and leading Stoic. Historians seem to think he wasn't directly involved in the conspiracy - but he probably knew about it. The post Nero #29 – Seneca Falls appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

Nero hunts down the main conspirators. Some of them are captured, while others help execute their own colleagues without betraying their allegiance to the cause. Piso is urged to mount the rostra in the Forum and make a case to the people, but decides to take the easy way out instead. The post Nero #28 – Piso Falls appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

The plot against Nero continues to gather momentum but is finally betrayed by a freedman, a day before shit was about to go down. The post Nero #27 – A Betrayal Betrayed appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

When one of the praetorian prefects joins the conspirators, they decide it's time to act. But they can't agree on a plan. It takes a woman to move things along. The post Nero #26 – The Circus Games (take 3) appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

We're talking about the Pisonian Conspiracy of 65. Who started it and why? Theories involve an angry poet and an angry gay man seeking revenge. The post Nero #25 – Effeminate Vice appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

Nero has some freedmen executed but the stories are murky. The Parthians decide to try their luck taking back Armenia while Corbulo tries to keep the peace. The post NERO #24 – The Pisonian Conspiracy appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

Nero has some freedmen executed but the stories are murky. The Parthians decide to try their luck taking back Armenia while Corbulo tries to keep the peace. The post NERO #23 – The Great Fire Of Rome appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

Nero has some freedmen executed but the stories are murky. The Parthians decide to try their luck taking back Armenia while Corbulo tries to keep the peace. The post NERO #22 – CONSTANTINE AT THE BRIDGE appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

Nero has some freedmen executed but the stories are murky. The Parthians decide to try their luck taking back Armenia while Corbulo tries to keep the peace. The post NERO #21 – PROMISCUOUS THONG appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

Nero has some freedmen executed but the stories are murky. The Parthians decide to try their luck taking back Armenia while Corbulo tries to keep the peace. The post Nero #20 – BEAST OF BURDEN appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

Nero has some freedmen executed but the stories are murky. The Parthians decide to try their luck taking back Armenia while Corbulo tries to keep the peace. The post Nero #19 – OH NO MENS appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

This is part two of a massive two-and-a-half-hour chat we had recently Edward J. Watts, a professor of history at the University of California, San Diego, and author and editor of several prize-winning books, including THE FINAL PAGAN GENERATION, a great book about HYPATIA, a book out about the collapse of the Roman Republic, MORTAL REPUBLIC, and his latest book is THE ETERNAL DECLINE AND FALL OF ROME. The post Nero #18 – Eternal Decline Part 2 appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

Edward J. Watts is a professor of history at the University of California, San Diego, and author and editor of several prize-winning books, including THE FINAL PAGAN GENERATION, a great book about HYPATIA, a book out about the collapse of the Roman Republic, MORTAL REPUBLIC, and his latest book is THE ETERNAL DECLINE AND FALL OF ROME. This is part one of a massive two-and-a-half-hour chat we had recently. The post Nero #17 – Eternal Decline Part 1 appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

With Seneca out of the way, Tigellinus brings down the other prefect, Rufus. To strengthen his relationship with Nero, he increases his paranoia about the two men Nero had recently exiled for being threats to his power - Plautus and Sulla. Poppaea, not happy with Nero just divorcing Octavia, makes sure she gets rid of her forever. The post Nero #16 – Your Filthy Little Mouth appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

In the year 61, Nero deals with riots, treason, Stoics and the death of one of his key advisors. The post Nero #15 – 400 Slaves appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

Boudicea wins round one. But Suetonius has bloodshed and destruction on his mind. The post Nero #14 – Bloodshed And Destruction appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

Corbulo finishes round one in Armenia and gets a promotion. Meanwhile in Britain, a certain queen decides to take on the Romans - Boudicea. Exactly why, though, is a bit of a mystery. The post Nero #13 – Badass Boudicea appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

Agrippina is dead and Nero decides to party. Tacitus disapproves. He doesn't like Nero's parties and he doesn't like his poetry. But then a comet appears, and everyone assumes it means the end of Nero's reign - so they start looking for a replacement. The post Nero #12 – Filthy Rabble appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

Stephen Dando-Collins is an Australian historical author, who, like me, once sold his soul to the gods of marketing and advertising but has been redeeming himself ever since. His new book is about the great Jewish - Roman war of 66CE, entitled "Conquering Jerusalem". The post Nero #11 – Stephen Dando-Collins appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

We examine the circumstances and theories surrounding the death of Agrippina. The post Nero #10 – All Manner Of Depravity appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

Nero likes hanging out under bridges where he could “take his pleasures more freely” and this leads to trouble for Sulla’s great-great-great grandson. But Nero also wants to abolish taxes because he’s a dirty commie. Then the Germans start some shit and find out why he was called “ONE CHANCE NERO”. The post Nero #9 – When In Rome appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

Nero likes hanging out under bridges where he could “take his pleasures more freely” and this leads to trouble for Sulla’s great-great-great grandson. But Nero also wants to abolish taxes because he’s a dirty commie. Then the Germans start some shit and find out why he was called “ONE CHANCE NERO”. The post Nero #8 – “Abominations And Wickedness” appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

This is where the story becomes really weird. Nero, up until now the golden child, suddenly becomes a cold murderer with the murder of Britannicus. The post Nero #7 – Salacious Stories appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

This is where the story becomes really weird. Nero, up until now the golden child, suddenly becomes a cold murderer with the murder of Britannicus. The post Nero #6 – ARMenia appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

This is where the story becomes really weird. Nero, up until now the golden child, suddenly becomes a cold murderer with the murder of Britannicus. The post Nero #5 – Fight Club appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

This is where the story becomes really weird. Nero, up until now the golden child, suddenly becomes a cold murderer with the murder of Britannicus. The post Nero #4 – Nero The Murderer appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

In the first year of his rule, Nero was a big hit. He built a wooden amphitheatre in the Campus Martius, flooded it, and held a naval battle with sea monsters. In his gladiator shows, nobody died, not even criminals. But then… Nero fell in love. The post Nero #3 – Nero In Love appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

Nero becomes emperor on the murder of his step-father. He’s 16 or 17 years old. Why didn’t the Senate stop him? It might have something to do with Seneca and Burrus. Seneca wrote him a speech where he promised to be nice. And, indeed, the first five years of his rule seemed to go well. His mother, Agrippina, ruled by his side. The post Nero #2 – Nice Guy Nero appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

This is the story of Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus. Known to us as Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus. Or just “Nero”. On this episode, we ask - how is it possible that a man tutored and guided by one of the most famous Stoic philosophers, Seneca, would end up with the reputation as one of history’s worst tyrants? The post Nero #1 – The Last OG appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

Messallina decides the time has come. She has a poison expert released from prison and they prepare a special dish of mushrooms for Claudius’ last meal. But the mushrooms weren’t enough and so they had to finish him off - with a feather. The post Claudius #15 – A Mushroom & A Feather appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

Claudius and Agrippina get hitched despite the fact that she was his niece. She immediately starts to get rid of her enemies, reward her supporters, and prepare the ground for the next stage of her plan to make her young son, Nero, the emperor. The post Claudius #13 – Roman Incest appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.

Claudius builds the world’s biggest tunnel and puts on a huge show to celebrate. But things don’t go to plan. Nero gets married and starts to build his political profile - he is only 16. The post Claudius #14 – Digging Tunnels appeared first on Life Of The Caesars.