Nero
Family: Roman · Role: emperor · First appears: Book 2 · Chapter 17
Nero’s offerings included a golden crown and purple robe for Hera, and several votive offerings at Olympia for Zeus. He later carried the statue of Odysseus from the Greek champions to Rome and removed further offerings given by Micythus.
Some time after Rome’s empire came to Nero, he made Greece free and gave Sardinia to the Roman people. He then removed the statue of Eros to Rome once more. At Delphi, he carried away 500 brazen statues from Apollo’s temple, including the statue of Hydna.
Relationship record
Life events
- Nero offered Hera a golden crown and purple robe.(Book 2 · Chapter 17)
- “There is also a golden crown and purple robe, the offerings of Nero.”
- Nero dedicated several votive offerings in the temple at Olympia.(Book 5 · Chapter 12 · 📍 Olympia)
- With: Zeus
- “And in the temple at Olympia there are several of Nero’s votive offerings”
- Nero carried Odysseus’s statue from the group of Greek champions to Rome.(Book 5 · Chapter 25 · 📍 Rome)
- With: Odysseus
- “for the 9th, which was Odysseus, they say Nero carried to Rome”
- Nero removed additional votive offerings given by Micythus.(Book 5 · Chapter 26 · 📍 Olympia)
- With: Micythus
- “Others besides they say were given by Micythus, but were removed by Nero.”
- Nero made Greece free and gave Sardinia to the Roman people.(Book 7 · Chapter 17 · 📍 Greece)
- “and he made Greece entirely free, and gave to the Roman people instead of Greece the most fertile island of Sardinia.”
- Nero removed the statue of Eros to Rome again.(Book 9 · Chapter 27 · 📍 Rome)
- With: Eros
- “Nero removed it to Rome once more.”
- Nero carried away 500 brazen statues from Apollo’s temple.(Book 10 · Chapter 7 · 📍 Delphi)
- With: Apollo
- “for he carried off from Apollo 500 brazen statues, some of gods some of men.”
- Nero removed Hydna’s statue from Delphi.(Book 10 · Chapter 19 · 📍 Delphi)
- With: Hydna
- “And among the statues that Nero took away from Delphi was this of Hydna.”
Book 2 · Chapter 17
- with Hera (Nero offered a golden crown and purple robe at Hera's temple.) “There is also a golden crown and purple robe, the offerings of Nero”
Book 5 · Chapter 12
- with Zeus (Nero's votive offerings are located in the temple at Olympia, identified earlier in the passage as the temple of Zeus.) “At Olympia also in the temple of Zeus is a woollen veil, adorned with Assyrian tapestry and dyed with the Phœnician purple, the votive offering of Antiochus, who also gave to the theatre at Athens a golden ægis with the Gorgon’s head on it. This veil is not drawn up to the roof as in the temple of Ephesian Artemis, but let down to the pavement by ropes. And among the votive offerings in the temple or ante-chapel is the throne of Arimnestus king of the Tyrrhenians, (who was the first foreigner that offered a votive offering to Olympian Zeus,) and the horses of Cynisca in brass, the memorials of her victory at Olympia. These horses are rather smaller than life, and are on the right as you enter the ante-chapel. And there is a tripod covered with brass, on which before the table was made the crowns for the victors were laid. And of the statues of the Emperors, Adrian’s in Parian marble was a gift of all the cities that joined the Achæan league, and Trajan’s a gift of all the Greeks. This last Emperor added the Getæ beyond Thrace to the Roman Empire, and waged war against Osroes (the descendant of Arsaces) and the Parthians. The most famous of all his works are the Baths which are known as Trajan’s Baths, and a large theatre perfectly round, and a building for horse-races two stades in length, and the forum at Rome well worth seeing for various beauties and especially its brazen roof. And there are two statues in the round parts of the building, one of the Emperor Augustus in amber, the other in ivory is said to be Nicomedes, the king of Bithynia: from whom the largest town in Bithynia, that had been previously called Astacus, got called Nicomedia. It was originally founded by Zypœtes, a Thracian as one would infer from his name. And the amber of which they made Augustus’ statue, the native amber which is found in the sands of the Eridanus, is most rare and precious to man for many purposes. But the other kind of amber is gold mixed with silver. And in the temple at Olympia there are several of Nero’s votive offerings, 3 are crowns to imitate the wild olive, the fourth is an imitation of oak.”
Book 5 · Chapter 25
- with Odysseus (Nero carried the statue of Odysseus to Rome.) “for the 9th, which was Odysseus, they say Nero carried to Rome”
Book 7 · Chapter 17
- with Vespasian (Vespasian succeeded Nero as emperor.) “For in the reign of Vespasian, who succeeded Nero, it suffered from intestine discord”
Book 9 · Chapter 27
- with Eros (interaction) “Nero removed it to Rome once more.”
Book 10 · Chapter 7
- with Apollo (Nero carried off statues from Apollo's temple.) “it was fated to experience Nero’s contempt of everything, for he carried off from Apollo 500 brazen statues, some of gods some of men”
Book 10 · Chapter 19
- with Hydna (Nero removed Hydna's statue from Delphi.) “And among the statues that Nero took away from Delphi was this of Hydna.”
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Extracted from the original text of Pausanias' Description of Greece. Made with Rho MD.