- On the night of 18/19 July 64 CE, the Great Fire of Rome broke out in the stands and shops of the semi-circular end of the Circus Maximus and then spread into City of Rome.
- The fire lasted for 6 days, and almost one third of Rome was burnt down. Out of the 14 Districts of Ancient Rome. 3 were completely razed to the ground and 7 Districts were badly damaged.
Nero’s Role according to Roman Historians
- Nero is accused of starting the Great Fire of Rome himself in order to build his Palace.
- According to Dio Cassius, Nero sang ‘the Sack of Ilium’ in actor’s dress, whilst watching the Fire burn down Rome.
- This has led to the popular expression today Nero fiddled while Rome burned.
- Nero succeeded in getting a confession from the Christians that they had started the Fire deliberately.
- Nero ordered the Christians to be torn apart by dogs, others crucified and some burnt as human torches in his garden at night.
- Suetonius also wrote that Nero started the Fire himself.
- However, Tacitus contradicts Dio Cassius and states Nero was in Antium, not Rome. He says Nero hastily returned to Rome to organise the relief effort, accommodating the homeless in his Palaces.
- Nero then built the Domus Aurea, (Golden Villa) an opulent Palace on the burnt out ruins of the houses that had been situated on the Palatine Hill in Rome.
- Nero then passed new fire regulations, to prevent such a disaster from recurring. The laws provided the Vigiles greater access to water, new houses were to be built of brick, shared walls between newly built properties was forbidden, and wide Boulevards were created to create gaps to contain a future fire.
Other Fires in Rome
- In 69 CE
- In 80 CE
- In 283 CE
- During the reign of Carus two Fires occurred: the first destroyed the Theatre of Pompey. The second destroyed seven Monuments in the Forum Julium along the Via Sacra.
The Circus Maximus