Historians, can you answer my question about Roman emperor, called Nero?

Question

Did Nero really burn Rome? If he did, what was the reason?

Answer 1

If you're talking about who I think you are, then it was to write a poem about what burning flesh smells like.

Pretty messed up.

You can check wikipedia too: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nero#Great_...

Answer 2

will some say he started the fire some say he didnt but there was a fire that destroyed much of rome and Nero was said to be playing a harp while watching the fire burn afterwards in the ashes of this fire he erected a huge palace made of gold, his own playground which makes a good reason to destroy it to make a palace dedicating it to your self.

Answer 3

   Most likely Nero had nothing to do with the fire. Fires burning down chunks of Rome had occurred before, and would occur after Nero's time. He wasn't in in the city at the time, and the whole harp story is almost certainly apocraphal.

   However, by the time of the fire Nero's popularity had sunk, due to his erratic behavior and spendthrift ways. So it was natural for people to attribute the fire to him. Partially to deflect such critisism, he looked for a scapegoat, and settled on the christians. At the time, they were numerous enough to attract attention, but not powerful enough to deflect such accusations. Even better, they were considered strange, with their secretive "cannibalistic" rituals and beliefs. So the first organised persecution of the fledgling religion was launched.

   To his credit, Nero seemed to take the rebuilding of the city seriously. Besides providing for the homeless and displaced, he set about on a massive reconstruction project. Even this act was blemished though, by his determination to build his "Golden Palace". This apparantly was a mammouth structure that was the epitomy of decadent waste. So its not suprising that the accusations of Nero's involvement in the fire continue to this day. But there simply isn't any evidence to support the premise. Of course, this doesn't mean that he wasn't responcible either. But certainly, he had other options than burning half the city down had he wanted to build his Golden Palace.  

Answer 4

it's said that he played the lyre while watching rome burn.  

Answer 5

Someone already mentioned my arguments, but I had come across a site before...I wrote a paper for my Latin class. This might help you.

http://www.trivia-library.com/b/nero-did...

Someone said it was a harp...it was actually a lyre. but that's not the main point.