The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Nero

A lively and accessible guide to the rich literary, philosophical and artistic achievements of the notorious age of Nero.

Shadi Bartsch (Edited by), Kirk Freudenburg (Edited by), Cedric Littlewood (Edited by)

9781107669239, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 9 November 2017

422 pages, 40 b/w illus. 2 maps
22.8 x 15.3 x 2 cm, 0.68 kg

The age of Nero has appealed to the popular imagination more than any other period of Roman history. This volume provides a lively and accessible guide to the various representations and interpretations of the Emperor Nero as well as to the rich literary, philosophical and artistic achievements of his eventful reign. The major achievements of the period in the fields of literature, governance, architecture and art are freshly described and analysed, and special attention is paid to the reception of Nero in the Roman and Christian eras of the first centuries AD and beyond. Written by an international team of leading experts, the chapters provide students and non-specialists with clear and comprehensive accounts of the most important trends in the study of Neronian Rome. They also offer numerous original insights into the period, and open new areas of study for scholars to pursue.

Julio-Claudian family tree
Map of the Roman Empire 69 CE
Timeline of events
Introduction: angles on an emperor Shadi BARTSCH, Kirk FREUDENBURG and Cedric LITTLEWOOD
Part I. Nero's World: 1. Nero the performer Matthew LEIGH
2. Nero and the Senate Josiah Osgood
3. Nero's imperial administration Carlos F. NOREÑA
4. Nero's women Anthony A. BARRETT
Part II. Neronian Literature: 5. Post-Augustan revisionism Cedric LITTLEWOOD
6. Lucan's Civil War in Nero's Rome Gareth WILLIAMS
7. Petronius, realism, Nero Kirk FREUDENBURG
8. Persius in Neroland Daniel HOOLEY
Part III. Neronian Seneca: 9. Senecan drama and the age of Nero Chiara TORRE
10. Philosophers and the state under Nero Shadi BARTSCH
11. Seneca: virtue, hypocrisy and (vain)glory Catharine EDWARDS
Part IV. Nero's Monumental Rome: 12. Art and the decadent city Caroline VOUT
13. Staging Nero: public imagery and the Domus Aurea Eugenio LA ROCCA
14. Burning Rome, burning Christians John POLLINI
15. Nero's memory in Flavian Rome Eric VARNER
Part V. The Neros of Reception: 16. Nero into (hi)story Donatien GRAU
17. Saint Paul and the Christian communities of Nero's Rome J. Albert HARRILL
18. The image of Nero in Renaissance political thought Peter STACEy
19. Resurgences of Nero in the Enlightenment Elena RUSSO
20. Nero in Hollywood Martin M. WINKLER
Part VI. After the Last Laugh: 21. The Neronian 'symptom' Eric GUNDERSON
Appendix: Nero's image, the four portrait types (notes by Eugenio La Rocca).

Subject Areas: Church history [HRCC2], Classical history / classical civilisation [HBLA1], History of art: ancient & classical art,BCE to c 500 CE [ACG]