"Nero became Emperor in A.D 54. On the evening of July 18, 64 A. D., it seems that a lamp was left unextinguished in a stall still heaped with piles of combusti

A lively and accessible guide to the rich literary, philosophical and artistic achievements of the notorious age of Nero.

On the night of July 19, AD 64, a fire began beneath the stands of Rome's great stadium, the Circus Maximus. For more than a week the fire spread, engulfing mos