Did Nero really fiddle while Rome burned? - Ask History www.history.com › news › did-nero-reall...
AMP - Nov 20, 2012 - According to a well-known expression, Rome’s emperor at the time, the decadent and unpopular Nero, “fiddled while Rome burned.”. The expression has a double meaning: Not only did Nero play music while his people suffered, but he was an ineffectual leader in a time of crisis.
For six days and seven nights the citizens of ancient Rome watched helplessly as their city burned. The great fire that consumed Rome in A.D. 64 spread quickly and savagely. After it was over, 70 percent of the city had been destroyed. "Of Rome's 14 districts, only four remained intact. Three were leveled to the ground. The other seven were reduced to a few scorched and mangled ruins," writes the contemporary Roman historian Tacitus. Of the million-person population, an estimated half was made newly homeless by the fire [Montgomery County (Md.) Schools].
As is usually seen in such mass tragedies, rumors began to wind through the devastated streets. Reports emerged that some men seen fanning the flames claimed they were under orders. As a result of the tremendous losses, the Roman people, feeling the effects of paranoia, looked for someone who might be responsible for the fire. They blamed their emperor -- Nero.
Yep sounds like the useless polies..... only ever worried about reelection and winning the votes of the sheep populous . The fracktavists
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