I know most of the history videos and texts I’ve seen and read talk of Nero as one of, if not the, most evil man in ancient history, along with Caligula. I am learning about Ancient Rome from an architectural point of view so there’s a lot of information that I am not being provided in terms of economic and socio-political context which could very well answer my question plainly.

However, I am reminded of Gilles de Rais, Joan of Arc’s commander in the French army, and how to this day he is called a serial killer, when there’s enough theories that suggest he was innocent but condemned as a criminal in hopes of acquiring his land after his death.

Could Nero be a case of this? The fact that he took land from the people of Rome after the fire of 64AD suggests he’s not (and yet I’ve been told that he was popular with the people), but I do wonder how much of him was really evil, and how much was pinned on to him for convenience in his last years as emperor and after he was forced to commit suicide.