Fiddle burn nero

Recommended for you. How the Union Defended Washington, D. During the Civil War. Daniel Webster. Did Nero really fiddle while Rome burned, and why are people linking this to Donald Trump? Trump realDonaldTrump March 8, More From ClassicFM. Latest news See more Latest news. Did Nero really fiddle while Rome burned?. Clark, J. Did Nero really play the fiddle while Rome burned?. Gill, N. Nero Burning Rome. Gyles, M. Nero Fiddled While Rome Burned. Upton, E.

Wikipedia, Although his primary interest is in the ancient civilizations of the Near East, he is also interested in other geographical regions, as well as other time periods Read More. As usual, so called "historians" take old accounts using their biased lens. You must be of the devil to insinuate such evil. Like many things in ancient history, the Fiddle while Rome Burns phrase has probably lost its original meaning. Fiddle comes from the Latin Vitula which mean to dance around lively or to rejoice.

So if Nero was in fact participating in a play merriment he would have indeed been fiddling while Rome burned.

Even if he did not realize it at the time. By the time of Shakespeare this original meaning would have been lost as Etymology did not become a study until the brothers Grimm began their collection of stories, thus they would have assumed it was with a Fiddle.

This is an interesting summary of the events. I hate to quibble, but I am wondering about one detail -- that Nero reduced the price of corn in the wake of the fire. Corn is a food not brought to Europe until after the Spanish colonization of the Americas.

Do you perhaps mean another food staple, like wheat or barley? Ancient Origins has been quoted by:. At Ancient Origins, we believe that one of the most important fields of knowledge we can pursue as human beings is our beginnings. And while some people may seem content with the story as it stands, our view is that there exist countless mysteries, scientific anomalies and surprising artifacts that have yet to be discovered and explained.

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But perhaps the most interesting rumor that emerged from the great fire was that Nero had played his fiddle while Rome burned. In the face of such charges, Nero searched for a scapegoat for the fire. He chose the Christians and persecuted them ruthlessly, torturing and executing them in hideous ways. Despite this public spectacle, Nero still found himself blamed for the fire.

The idea that Nero fiddled while Rome burned is odd. But a mad tyrant who preferred to play music rather than offer succor to his people isn't unbelievable, and Nero was unquestionably cruel. The myth is busted, however, when one realizes that the violin wasn't invented for another 1, years after the fire [source: Berkeley ]. In other words, it's impossible that Nero fiddled while Rome burned. So where did this idea come from? The story that Nero played the fiddle while Rome burned conjures up images of the emperor, dramatically backlit by the flames from the burning city, alone, calmly playing his fiddle while his people cried out in suffering.

To the contrary, Nero actually did take immediate and expansive measures to provide relief for his citizens. He rushed back to the city when news of the fire reached him at his palace at Antium, on the outskirts of Rome. The historian Tacitus, who was a boy in Rome during the blaze, provides accounts of the steps Nero took in the midst of the fire. The emperor himself coordinated fire fighting efforts on the first night.

He also opened the public buildings and his own gardens as temporary shelter for homeless residents. Nero imported grain from nearby cities and supplied his citizens with food at a fraction of the normal cost.