Famous Men of Rome · Ch. XXIV, part 2 · Unit 5: The first emperors

36. Nero, part 2: The great fire and the fall of Nero

Goal: Your child can tell what happened in the great fire of Rome, how Nero blamed the Christians, and how his reign ended.

⏱ About 25 minutes · 6 steps

Open it at the Internet Archive ↗

You'll need

  • The book, open to this chapter
  • Paper and colored pencils

What's in the book

Sections III and IV of Chapter XXIV: Nero lives in splendor, gives great dinners and plays the harp. A fire burns half of Rome; some say Nero started it. He blames the Christians and persecutes them. He builds the Golden House, kills many, orders Seneca and Lucan to die, and finally, when the soldiers choose Galba, flees and dies.

The lesson, step by step

  1. Set the scene

    SayNero was a clever musician and poet, and he loved to live grandly. Today we see where that led.

  2. Read the chapter

    Read from section III to the end of Chapter XXIV. It begins:

    None of the emperors before Nero lived so grandly as he did.

    The persecution of the Christians is described briefly but plainly; read ahead.

  3. Tell it back

    Prompts:

    - What did Nero do while the city burned, according to the story?

    - Whom did he blame for the fire?

    - What was the Golden House?

    - How did Nero act at the very end?

  4. Thinking about the sources

    Read:

    Some of the Romans said that Nero had started the fire and had prevented it from being put out.

    SayNotice the word "some." Historians are still not sure how the fire started. People also say Nero "fiddled while Rome burned," but there were no fiddles in Rome; the book says he played a harp.

  5. Talk it over

    Ask: Why do you think Nero blamed the Christians? Why is blaming a group of people for something they did not do so dangerous?

    SayChristians remember that the apostles Peter and Paul died in Rome in Nero's time.

  6. Remember it

    SaySeneca, Nero's old teacher, was a good man and a great writer. Even he was not safe from Nero.

Answers to the book's problems

The book says he watched from a high tower, played the harp, sang, and recited verses about the burning of Troy. He blamed the Christians. The Golden House was his huge palace on the Palatine Hill, so full of gold ornaments that it got that name. At the end he ran away, was too frightened to kill himself, and a slave did it for him. Blaming a group stirs up hatred against innocent people, as happened to the Christians.

Worked out for this site from the scan. If a number in your copy differs, trust the book.

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