The Coins of Nero
quis custodiet ipsos custodies?

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The Emperor Nero is an interesting figure, the last of the Julio-Claudian emperors and also, according to some, the worst. He has been presented as a monster, and as an arch-tyrant (Henderson 13). Nero was viewed in this way largely for his personal behavior and that of his court, which was scandalous and amoral, and not for any major problems in the empire as a whole. His critics view his behavior in Rome, and his rule of that city in an almost supremely negative fashion (Henderson 14). Though Nero was often quite popular among the commoners in Rome the senators did not like him. His behavior disgusted them and his attempts to make them join in only exacerbated the problem (Rudich, p41). Nero attempted to combat their dislike in a number of ways, and one of these was in his coin types. We will examine his method through examining his coin types because coins would have been the most convenient method available to him for quickly dispersing his message to a large audience (Sullivan 184). According to Griffin it is likely that Nero chose his own coin types, this would lend itself well to the idea that the coins depicted the image that Nero wanted people to have of him (Griffin 122). A continuing theme of his coin types is protection: protection of Rome, of the Empire, and of himself. The way in which he suggested this protection implied that the three were closely connected; the safety of each depended upon the others. Indeed, according to J P Sullivan, Seneca himself was aware of this and said that "without the emperor there would ensue the destruction of Roman peace and the ruination of Rome. Such dangers can be averted as long as citizens know how to submit to imperial control” (Sullivan 133). Seneca's prediction did prove true in the end. The concept of Nero as the protector of the empire, whose safety was essential to its own, is very similar; the following coins show this message clearly.

Works Cited:

Griffin, Miriam T. Nero, The End of a Dynasty. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1985.

Henderson, Bernard W. The Life and Principate of the Emperor Nero. London: Methuen & Co., 1905.

Rudich, Vasily. The Political Dissidence Under Nero. London: Routledge, 1993.

Sullivan, J. P. Literature and Politics in the Age of Nero. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1985.