Nero Redivivus

The Nero Redivivus legend was a belief popular during the last part of the 1st century that the Roman emperor Nero would return after his death in 68 AD. The legend was a common belief as late as the 5th century. The belief was either the result or cause of several imposters who posed as Nero leading rebellions.

Some of the 1st and early 2nd century population viewed the idea of a revived Nero or one that had somehow had a faked death positively, as an avenger against any perceived evils of the day. Many early Christians viewed the idea quite negatively, and tied Nero Redivivus to conceptions of the Antichrist.

Background

Main articles: Nero and Pseudo-Nero

Roman Emperor Nero committed suicide and died in June 68 AD. However, there appears to have been a belief among segments of the populace that his death had happened under unclear circumstances or was outright fabricated, especially in the Greek-speaking Eastern half of the Empire. The situation was likely not aided by Nero being buried at the Pincian Hill, a different spot than the Mausoleum of Augustus, and without fanfare. Nero's eccentricities and clashes with the other Roman aristocracy led to his image staying in the popular imagination as both a potential savior and destroyer.[1]

At least three impostors emerged leading rebellions, sometimes called Pseudo-Neros. The first emerged a year later in 69 AD during the reign of Vitellius. He is said to have sang and played the cithara or lyre, and that his face was similar to that of the dead emperor.[p 1] During the reign of Emperor Titus (c. 79–81), Terentius Maximus appeared in the Roman province of Asia and is said by Cassius Dio to also have sung to the accompaniment of the lyre and looked like Nero.[p 2] Twenty years after Nero's death (c. 88, during the reign of Emperor Domitian, there was possibly a third pretender (although some historians speculate he may have been the same Pseudo-Nero as in 79 AD). He was supported by the Parthian Empire; the matter nearly came to war with the Romans, who demanded his extradition.[p 3][p 4][2]

Early legends

Nero's death was followed by upheaval and chaos in the Year of the Four Emperors (69 AD). An artistic, freewheeling eccentric appears to have appealed to at least some as an island of stability to be nostalgic over.[2] Additionally, Nero seems to have maintained a good reputation after his death among the Greeks, for whom he had "liberated" Achaea by allowing it marginally more local freedom; the Armenians, for whom he treated Tiridates well; and the Parthians. The fact that hopes of his return were kept alive by some also helped create the counter-belief who were familiar with beliefs that Nero would likely return, but cast it in dark and apocalyptic terms, in particular early Christians.[2]

Embittered after the destruction of the Second Temple in the First Jewish–Roman War, some first-century Jews appear to have placed hopes in Nero exacting vengeance upon Rome. The Sibylline Oracles are one early surviving reference to the idea of Nero Redivivus. While the surviving form of the Sibylline Oracles was likely edited by Christians, most believe that some of it originates from Greek-speaking Hellenistic Jews. One quote mentions "the exiled man of Rome, lifting a mighty sword, will cross the Euphrates [from Parthia] with many tens of thousands" – perhaps originally a reference to the second Nero pretender during Titus's reign,[1] but one that would grow into a broader legend.[2] Another quote mentions "a fugitive king" who flees to the Parthian Empire and who will conquer the city of Rome and cause the Roman nobles to "dye the ground with their blood,"[p 5] presumably as punishment for destroying the Temple.[2][3] Still, the Sibylline Oracles are not all positive, and show signs of the later hostile view of Nero Redivivus. The fifth book (written c. 70s–80s AD) says Nero "shall be malignant. Then he shall return, making himself equal to God: but God shall convince him that he is not."[p 5] The fifth book also features another paragraph where Nero Redivivus will seek to destroy Jerusalem instead of Rome, although some scholars propose that this is a later Christian scribe's interpolation. The final reference in the Oracles suggests he will start a universal war that will ruin all the earth and destroy all kings and the best of men.[2]

During the reign of the emperor Trajan (r. 98–117), Dio Chrysostom, a Greek philosopher and historian, wrote:

even now all long for him [Nero] to be alive; indeed, many think he is actually still alive.

— Dio Chrysostom, Orations 21, "On Beauty"[1]

In Christianity

The idea of Nero Redivivus circulated among early Christians as well, but generally with hostility and fear. Nero was identified as the first persecutor due to his blaming the Great Fire of Rome on Christians, so the prospect of Nero's return was associated with a dark period of punishment and the forces of evil ruling the world. The most notable surviving early example is the Book of Revelation (written at some point in the 90s AD), also known as the Apocalypse of John, which was eventually included in the Canon of the New Testament. Revelation 13 includes a figure called The Beast which is commonly thought to be at minimum affected by the imagery of Nero Redivivus, and more likely a direct reference to him.[2]

Victorinus of Pettau wrote a commentary on Revelation around 260 that interprets The Beast as being Nero Redivivus, who he expected to attack from the East with the aid of an army of Jews. Commodian, writing around 240, as well as Lactantius, writing in the early 4th century, all refer to Nero Redivivus and link him to The Beast.[2]

Augustine of Hippo wrote that some believed "he now lives in concealment in the vigor of that same age which he had reached when he was believed to have perished, and will live until he is revealed in his own time and restored to his kingdom."[p 6] In later forms of the legend, among many early Christians, this legend shifted to a belief that Nero was the Antichrist.[p 6] Some biblical scholars see the description of the wounding and healing of the Beast in Revelation 13:3 and the mention of the eighth king who is also one of the earlier seven kings in Revelation 17:8–11 as allusions to the Nero Redivivus legend.[4]

See also

References

Modern sources:

  1. ^ a b c Warmington, Brian H. Nero: Reality and Legend. Chatto & Windus. pp. 167–168.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Lawrence, John M. (Fall 1978). "Nero Redivivus". Fides et Historia. 11 (1). Bethel College, Kentucky: 54–66.
  3. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Antichrist" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  4. ^ (DieOffenbarung des Johannes [Tubingen: J.C.B.Mohr, 1926; "Handbuch zum NeuenTestament"], pp. 115-15)

Ancient sources:

  1. ^ Perseus Project Hist.2.8
  2. ^ Dio, LXVI.19.3
  3. ^ Perseus Project Hist.1.2
  4. ^ Perseus Project Nero57
  5. ^ a b The Sibylline Oracles, IV, 155-159.178-180; V.137-141; V.361-396
  6. ^ a b Augustine of Hippo, City of God XX.19.3
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