ROME IS BURNING

A thorough, high-quality work on Emperor Nero and the fire that destroyed Rome in 64 C.E.

A noted biographer of such ancient figures as Caligula and Livia, Barrett focuses on one of the turning points in the history of the Eternal City, one that proved a “human tragedy” of panic, mayhem, horror, death, and loss. Drawing on the latest archaeological discoveries, writing with practiced skepticism, challenging the accounts of ancient chroniclers, and showing his deep learning, the author sorts out and dismisses many of the myths surrounding the fire, which raged for nine days and destroyed two-thirds of the city. Nero didn’t fiddle while the city burned, and no one, including the suspected, martyred Christians, set the fire, whose precise origins remain undetermined. Yet for all that didn’t happen, the conflagration did effectively destroy the Roman economy and Nero’s reputation (although Barrett succeeds in saving what can be saved of the emperor’s name) and led to his leadership’s collapse and the end of the imperial line that began with Julius Caesar. The city’s reconstruction, to which the author devotes much attention, led to architectural innovations like octagonal structures, domes, and the use of concrete vaulting. While context-setting is necessary, there’s excess information about the history of fires, and a couple of the book’s chapters, especially those on the archaeological evidence of the fire’s extent and the city’s rebuilding, may be a test for general readers—but will interest students of the period. On the whole, the book is briskly written in a colloquial voice and succeeds in bringing burning Rome vividly alive. Barrett ends with a distinctive survey of the places of Nero and the fire in a variety of artistic disciplines, including literature, film, and opera. An unusual number of maps and photos add greatly to the reading experience.

Sure to be the most enduring treatment of this major historical event for some time.