,

You probably heard that Nero set Rome on fire in 64 AD.

The story about Nero planting a fire in Rome got down to us through history but it's actually not true -- there's no evidence he played any role in that horrendous catastrophe.

However it's written down history books because aristrocrats, senators and other higher-status citizens absolutely despised him.

And who has the time to write history? Certainly not peasants, low-status workers, gladiators and actors. It was precisely the people who hated him.

So they made sure to write all the most horrible things about Nero.

But why did they hate him?

Not just because he was a bad emperor and didn't care much about governing -- which was all true. But the bigger problem was that he was *gasp* an actor, a singer and an artist overall!

This was a huge problem back then because artists' social status was similar to slaves, gladiators and hookers.

So the senators and aristocrats hated seeing their emperor humiliate himself like that. And after years in office, everyone eventually turned on him, the senate declated him an enemy of the state and he killed himself.

Before Nero killed himself, he uttered his famous final words:

"What an artist the world is losing."

The moral of the story?

Nero saw himself as one of the world's greatest artists while other people saw him as a spoiled degenerous imbecile who is incapable of ruling and governing the empire.

If he had paid at least some attention to senators and his advisors, and became interested in governing just a tiny bit -- they would still secretly hate him for being an artist but nobody would hate him so much to declare him the enemy of the state and nudge him to death.

So while we all know that you shouldn't dwell too much on what other people think of you. You should at least be aware of it.

Because after all , they may be right...

See you around,

Filip

P. S. Interestingly enough, Seneca, one of the most famous Stoics, was a close advisor to Nero. Then after years of service, the emperor ordered the philosopher to commit suicide, which he promptly did. A tragic end to a great life.

But yeah, that's what you get when a 17-year old boy suddenly becomes the most powerful man in the world.

And while I'm already at it, here's how Nero rose to power:

• His mother (Agrippina) arranged the death of her second husband
• Then she married the emperor Claudius and pressured him into offically adopting Nero
• Then Agrippina allegedly poisoned and killed Claudius
• Claudius also had a natural son Britannicus who was too young so Nero 'dawned the purple', even though he was only 4 years older than his (legally, but not blood related) brother
• Before Britannicus could reach the 'legal age' of 14, Nero had him killed so the boy doesn't challenge him for the throne
• And finally, years later, just to make it more fun, Nero killed Agrippina... his own mother

What a wild ride!