The Roman Emperor Nero is enjoying a newfound respect these days. At this point, it’s almost common knowledge that the stories of him playing a fiddle while Rome burned are almost certainly untrue.

Still, there are stories about Nero’s excess and depravity that go beyond anything imagined in the most gruesome horror stories. Although there’s no way of knowing how many stories are true, you don’t earn a reputation like this one without doing something people didn’t like.

10 He Burned Christians For A Source Of Light

Nero never had progressive policies when it came to Christians, but he got really hard on them after the Great Fire of Rome. When the people began turning against Nero, he used Christians as a scapegoat to get the heat off himself.

Christians were blamed for the fire and slaughtered en masse. But the really terrifying part was how they were killed. Slaughtering Christians was a spectacle that people would attend and cheer.

During parties, Nero would nail Christians to crosses and burn them alive as a source of light when the Sun went down. While his victims screamed and suffered, Nero would walk about in a chariot rider’s uniform making small talk with his guests.

9 He Trapped People In Theaters To Listen To His Music

The story about Nero playing music while Rome burned doesn’t just come from nowhere. Nero loved the arts—from music to the theater—and performed every chance he got.

He even locked the gates of the theater when he performed. Then he put on incredibly long performances, requiring the audience to listen attentively and clap. People would leap over the walls or even fake their own deaths to get out of these performances. According to the Roman historian Suetonius, one performance went on so long that a woman gave birth while Nero played.

8 He Regularly Cheated To Win The Olympics

Nero was an athlete, too. In fact, he still holds the world record for most Olympic wins, staking claim to 1,808 Olympic wreaths—the era’s equivalent of gold medals.

So how did he do it? By cheating, of course. In one ridiculous story about a chariot race, Nero allegedly ordered his competitors to use four-horse chariots and then showed up with a team of 10 horses.

Despite his massive advantage, Nero still didn’t make it across the finish line. He fell off his chariot and had to give up the race. Even though he didn’t make it around the track, the judges still declared their emperor the winner of the race.

7 He Built An Orgy Palace With A Gigantic Statue Of Himself

One of Nero’s greatest accomplishments was building the Domus Aurea, a golden pleasure palace the likes of which the world had never seen. It was a massive building overlaid with gold, ivory, and mother-of-pearl. It was guarded by a 37-meter-tall (120 ft) statue of himself. It even had panels in the ceiling that would let a rain of flowers and perfume fall on his guests.

So what was it used for? Orgies, of course! Reportedly, people in the palace would eat until they vomited and then couple for massive sex parties while rose petals fell on them from above.

All the decadence might have been forgivable—except that Nero built his sex palace right after the Great Fire of Rome when people needed aid. The Domus Aurea was viewed as a symbol of his selfishness and, shortly after his death, was stripped of all its gold.

6 His Sex Life Was Insane

Stories about Nero’s sex life show up in every Roman history book because as weird as Roman emperors were in the bedroom, none of them compared to Nero.

Tacitus told a story about Nero throwing a massive orgy that went on for days. At the end, Nero threw a mock wedding ceremony in which he married a freedman named Pythagoras—one of two men whom Nero married throughout his life.

According to Suetonius, whenever Nero wanted to let off a little steam, he would tie naked boys and girls to stakes, dress up like an animal, jump on them, and pretend to eat them. This was most likely a recreation of how criminals were executed in that time, with Nero pretending to be a vicious animal devouring a sentenced man in front of an audience.

5 He Sentenced A Woman To Death By Giraffe

In Nero’s time, there was a famous assassin named Locusta who specialized in poisoning people. According to some accounts, Nero’s mother, Agrippina, hired Locusta to murder Agrippina’s husband, Claudius, and then her stepson, Britannicus.

Sometime after Nero came to power, Locusta was made to pay for her crimes in a horrible way. According to a popular story, Nero had her publicly raped by a “specially trained giraffe” before she was finally torn apart by wild animals.

4 He Crucified The Apostle Peter

Nero didn’t just kill nameless Christians—he executed Peter, one of Jesus’s disciples. In AD 64, about 30 years after Jesus’s death, Peter was trying to spread Christianity throughout Rome and that put him directly in Nero’s path. Nero captured and crucified Peter—and, according to the popular story, hung him upside down.

This was far from an isolated event. Peter was killed in a circus that Nero almost exclusively used to publicly execute Christians. Those live murders were such a popular sport that the streets alongside the circus’s racetrack were filled with tombs full of the bones of his victims.

3 He Murdered His Own Mother

Nero killed a lot of people, but he didn’t stop at strangers. He murdered his family, too—including his own mother, Agrippina the Younger. Every historian gives a different account of how Nero killed her, but they all seem to agree that he was behind it.

According to historian Cassius Dio, Nero sent his mother off on a custom-designed ship. While she out at sea, a secret door under the ship opened up and sent her falling into the depths of the water. Agrippina survived and desperately swam to shore. But when she reached it, Nero had an assassin waiting for her.

When Agrippina saw her killer, she just said, “Smite my womb,” ordering the assassin to destroy the part of her body that had created such an abominable son.

2 He Kicked His Wife And Unborn Baby To Death

Most people credit Nero’s decision to murder his mother to the influence of his second wife, Poppaea Sabina. Poppaea was a manipulative woman who charmed the emperor, convincing him to get rid of his first wife, Octavia, and his own mother so that Poppaea could take their places.

For a while, Nero and Poppaea enjoyed a period of marital bliss, but it didn’t last. In time, they started to argue.

During one fight, Nero beat his wife bloody. He threw her to the ground and repeatedly kicked her directly in the stomach, where his unborn child was growing. According to some versions of the story, he may even have jumped up and down on her womb until she died.

Apparently, he regretted it. A few years later, he found a young boy named Sporus who looked like her and did what any grieving husband would do: He forcibly castrated the boy, dressed him up like his dead wife, and married him in front of all of Rome.

1 He May Literally Be The Antichrist

Calling somebody “the Antichrist” is a pretty strong accusation. But in this case, it’s not just a judgment call. According to one theory, Nero may literally be the Antichrist described in the Bible.

Most people know that “666” is the number of the beast, but you might not have read it in context. The Book of Revelation treats the number more as a puzzle for the reader to solve than a prophecy. It says: “Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred threescore and six.”

The twist is that if you count the numbers that represent the Hebrew letters in “Nero Caesar,” you get 666. On top of that, Revelation says that the beast will rule for “forty and two months”—which happens to be about the length of time that Nero ruled after the Great Fire of Rome.

This means that John might not have been just predicting some vague future evil. He may have been trying to tell the people of his time that Nero would be coming back.

Mark Oliver is a regular contributor to . His writing also appears on a number of other sites, including The Onion’s StarWipe and Cracked.com. His website is regularly updated with everything he writes.

Nero is one of the most controversial emperors in Roman history. His rule was marked by violence, extravagance, and tyranny. He was definitely a cruel, heartless emperor, and very few would question this claim.

However, many people don’t know that he also had some positive qualities as a person and ruler that have been overshadowed by his violence and enraged nature. Nero did many positive things for Rome during his early reign. He was quite a good leader and won the love of the Roman people. Later, he became a really cruel man… but that’s another story.

10 Nero Helped Rebuild Rome After the Fire

Believe it or not, during the fire in Rome, Nero was a very generous leader and helped rebuild Rome after the devastation.

In AD 64, a great fire destroyed much of Rome, leaving hundreds of thousands of people living on the streets and countless Roman citizens dead. Nero was no stranger to this tragedy. He was outside Rome and returned immediately to take charge of the situation.

Despite his reputation as a tyrant, Nero was quite kind to the Romans, who lost everything. He often went out of his way to help those in need, even providing food to the people. And after the fire, he improved the infrastructure of Rome and made many reforms that enhanced the urban design of the “eternal city.”^[1]

9 Nero Set New Urban Rules for Rome

Nero is one of the most infamous rulers in history, thanks in part to the legend that he “fiddled while Rome burned.” But, it later turned out that he was not even in the city—and that it was probably an attempt of the Senate to discredit him.

One thing that has never been in question is that after the fire that devastated Rome, Nero took the opportunity to set some new urban rules for Rome. He decreed that all buildings must be constructed of brick or stone, with tiled roofs to prevent future fires.

He also created wide streets and open spaces to help improve circulation and prevent congestion. Thanks to Nero’s urban planning, Rome emerged from the ashes as a safer and more efficient city that has never experienced a fire of the same proportions in its history.^[2]

8 He Significantly Lowered Taxes

Nero completed a significant tax reform during his reign. He inherited a government that was deeply in debt. He realized that the best way to raise revenue was to encourage economic growth and also please the people who would love him even more by having a significant reduction in their taxes—although this would earn him the hatred of the Senate.

To this end, he lowered taxes on businesses and individuals, making it easier for people to earn a living. He also implemented a series of public works projects that created jobs and boosted the economy.

However, after the fire, he changed the Roman economic policies to rebuild the city, increasing taxes again to deal with the disaster Rome had to face.^[3]

7 He Built the Biggest Roman Palace at the Time: The Golden House or Domus Aurea

After the fire, Nero built many new public buildings and monuments. But the most impressive was the Golden House, a lavish palace that was one of the most luxurious buildings ever built in Rome.

In fact, he was an ambitious builder who left a lasting legacy in Rome. The palace, or Domus Aurea, was a massive complex constructed in what would have been the remains of a neighborhood consumed by fire and burned to ashes.

However, the construction of this palace was seen as a bad joke as he took advantage of such a huge tragedy to build the palace. It quickly became one of the most talked-about buildings in Rome. Some contemporaries praised Nero for his vision and engineering prowess. In contrast, others denounced him as a megalomaniac who had squandered public resources on an extravagant personal project that was far from being the priority.^[4]

6 Nero Relentlestly Promoted Artistic Expression

Nero was also a great patron of the arts. He encouraged artistic expression and supported many artists during his reign. He even composed music and poetry himself and, shockingly, performed in front of the people and senators! Although he forced his audience to listen to him, some recognized that he had some musical and poetic talent.

During his reign, he commissioned artworks by some of the most famous artists of the day, including a statue of himself, the Colossus of Nero.

Nero may have been a cruel ruler, but he was also an artist… And even at the time of his death, his last words were: “What an artist perishes in me!”^[5]

5 Nero Backed and Encouraged Athletic Events

Nero was a big fan of athletics and did everything he could to support and encourage athletic events. He even was a charioteer himself and once won a chariot race at the Olympic Games… Of course, he cheated, and nobody dared to beat him.

In any case, he was a good athlete, and very few rulers can claim to have won the Olympic Games. In addition to participating, he enjoyed watching sports. So he promoted sports and their role in Roman society, resulting in the people filling the arenas to see the chariot races that flourished during the time of Nero.^[6]

4 Nero Allowed Slaves to Complain Against Their Master

In ancient Rome, slavery was a fact of life. Slaves were used for everything from manual labor to providing entertainment, and they had few rights. However, under the rule of Emperor Nero, slaves were allowed to file complaints against their masters when it was normal for slaves to be treated like animals.

This may seem small, but it was a significant step forward for the rights of slaves. Before Nero, slaves had no legal recourse if they were severely mistreated by their owners. By allowing them to lodge complaints, Nero helped to protect them from abuse and gave them a voice in Roman society.

This helped to elevate the status of slaves in Roman society and sowed the seeds for future reform.^[7]

3 Millions of People Loved Him… Even After His Death!

Nero was a popular ruler of Rome despite the fact that he was not liked by the Senate. Millions of people loved him because he was very generous to the Roman people and a great entertainer.

Nero was indeed known for his generosity. He would often give money to the poor and help those in need. However, the Senate hated him, and they believed that he was too wasteful—and they were right.

Nero constantly demanded more money from the Senate, forcing them to kowtow to his every whim. As a result, the Senate saw Nero as a danger to their power and position and a threat to the stability of Rome itself, while in public eyes, he was a hero.^[8]

2 Nero Enhanced the Greek Culture

As an artist, Nero had a great appreciation for Greek culture. He enhanced the culture by inviting Greek scholars to Rome and commissioning copies of Greek statues. Nero also built his Domus Aurea, incorporating several aspects of both Roman and Greek architecture.

By mixing the best of both cultures, Nero created a truly unique and spectacular setting.

There is no doubt that Greek culture had a profound influence on Nero’s life and reign. As emperor, Nero made sure that Greece remained an important part of the Roman Empire and the influence of Greek art and culture in Rome grew even further.^[9]

1 His Diplomatic Abilities Ended the War Against the Parthian Empire

Nero also had a keen political mind, and he was often able to broker peace agreements with Rome’s enemies. One of his most famous peace deals was with the Parthians over the control of Armenia.

Nero oversaw a period of great peace and prosperity, in part due to his successful negotiations with the Parthian Empire (located in Iran, Afghanistan, and Turkey today). The Parthians were a major threat to Roman territory in the East, and Nero realized that it was in Rome’s best interest to reach a peaceful resolution.

He dispatched envoys to the Parthian court, where they successfully negotiated a peace treaty. This treaty allowed Rome to focus its resources on other areas, such as expanding its territories in Britannia.

As a result, Nero’s reign was a crucial period in Roman history, during which the empire achieved new heights of power and stability.^[10]