The Emperor Nero died on 9 June 68 CE. The Senate had passed the ancient equivalent of a vote of no-confidence; his staff and bodyguards were rapidly deserting him. The Emperor made for the out-of-town villa of one of his remaining servants, where he pre-empted execution by committing suicide. An aesthete to the end, he insisted that marble be collected to make a decent memorial, and as he lingered on the choice of suicide weapon, he repeated his famous last words - 'Qualis artifex pereo' ('What an artist the world is losing by my death') - interspersed with some appropriately poignant quotes from the Iliad. Or so the story goes.

LRB 22 January 2004 | PDF Download