hitahomer-07 : Emperor Nero .. Roman Silver Tetradrachm . Ancient Coin

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Emperor Nero .. Ancient Roman Silver Tetradrachm .. ICG F15

This ancient Roman silver tetradrachm was minted for Emperor Nero, one of the most notorious and deranged rulers of the Roman Empire. Nero is noted for his cruelty, tyranny and extravagance and megalomania. He murdered everyone around him -- even his family, friends and closest advisors. His reign of terror gave him 14 years as the most powerful man in the world.

Nero was the great, great, grandson of Emperor Augustus, the great, great nephew of Julius Caesar and the great grandson of
Mark Antony. He became heir to the throne after his mother (Agrippina the Younger) was married to Emperor Claudius. It didn't take long for Agrippina to tire of Claudius so she murdered him with poisoned mushrooms, which allowed Nero to assume the throne at the age of 16 in the year 54.

The image of a young Nero in this coin shows shows him as fairly normal and good-looking. The Roman historian Suetonius
however describes Nero as "about the average height, his body marked with spots and malodorous, his hair light blond, his
features regular rather than attractive, his eyes blue and somewhat weak, his neck over thick, his belly prominent, and his
legs very slender." Later coins of Nero show him as bloated and slovenly.

The first few years of his rule were quite benign because Nero was under the influence of his mother Agrippina, his tutor
Seneca and the Praetorian Prefect Burrus. Eventually Nero was able to wrest total control of power, which angered his mother. She plotted to have Nero replaced by his half brother Britannicus, so Nero murdered Britannicus and exiled Agrippina. Eventually he tried to kill his mother by having a ship on which she was sailing sunk, but she was able to swim to shore and survived. He soon had her executed anyway.

Nero had his wife Octavia executed, then married Poppaea only to kick her to death while she was pregnant with his child.

Nero's oppressive policies and rough treatment of the Senate caused some conspiracies to develop. Nero heard of these plots
and began having Senators murdered. Many of them were guilty of treason, but many others were killed merely because Nero
wanted their estates and riches.

Eventually Nero became more interested in living a life of luxury and debauchery than running the Empire. He spend all his
time at brothels, taverns, plays and recitals. Nero even began particpating in the arts as a singer and musician, which
scandalized the nobility of Rome. In those days artists were slaves or very poor people from the lower classes and were
looked down upon by the rich and powerful. The citizens of Rome found it humiliating that their ruler would stoop so low as
to take the stage.

In the year 64 a great fire swept through Rome, destroying huge swathes in the center of the city. Rumors swirled that Nero
had started the fires and sang a song of ancient Troy while he watched the city engulfed in flames. Nero confiscated the
burned properties and built a huge, golden palace for himself. He commissioned a gigantic 100 foot tall statue of himself
called the Colossus of Nero, which later leant its name to a huge arena that was built next to it -- the Colosseum.

Nero blamed the fire on a little-known sect called the Christians. He had thousands of them killed in the most gruesome
manner. Many were killed by wild beasts, many were crucified, some were soaked in oil and set afire to light up Nero's
gardens at night. Saints Peter and Paul were martyred during this frightful period in Rome.

Nero competed in the Olympic Games in the year 67 in Greece. In one event he drove a 10-horse chariot in a race but was
thrown onto the track at high speed and nearly died. He was declared victor anyway! In fact, he won every event he entered.
No one would dare finish ahead of him.

In the year 68 the governor of Spain, Galba, began a rebellion that quickly gained the support of the Senate and the army.
Nero was sentenced to be beaten to death. He decided to commit suicide and stabbed himself in the neck after crying "The
world is losing a great artist!"

This rare silver tetradrachm was minted in Alexandria, Egypt in the year 59. The tetradrachm was a very large silver coin
distributed in the eastern part of the Roman empire. This coin is much larger than the typical Roman silver denarius. The
legend showing Nero's titles is in the Greek alphabet because that is the language spoken by the ruling elite in Egypt at the time. The obverse features a nice portrait of a young Nero wearing the laurel wreath, which served the same purpose as a
crown. The laurel wreath was only awarded to a successful military commander during his Triumph through the streets of Rome. Nero chose this depiction for some of his coins to remind the citizens of his victories over the Parthians and his defeat of the Boudica revolt in Britain.

The reverse features the Greek goddess Dikaiosyne (Roman name Aequitas) standing facing left holding the scales in her right
hand while her left hand is wrapped in her peplos garment. She was the Greek and Roman goddess of fair trade and honest
merchants. The scales represent equity and fairness. In fact the English word "equity" is derived from her name Aequitas. The
modern Greek words for justice and righteousness are derived from Dikaiosyne. The letters LE on the lower right of the
reverse show that the coin was made in the 6th year of the reign of Nero. In choosing this goddess for his coins, Nero was
proclaiming the fairness and honesty of his economic policies and rates of taxation to the populace of Rome and Egypt.

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