The Roman Emperor Nero. A mansion-building arsonist with a passion for twinks…or was he?

In this episode, Jared and Abe pull back the curtain on Nero’s pervy reign to explore his marriage to Sporus, the boy who became empress of Rome. But who was Sporus? What drew Nero to him? And, most importantly, when exactly was the fiddle invented? Tangents include, but are not limited to, Latin phraseology, international sharts, and the eternal battle between AD and CE.

SOURCES

The Lives of the Twelve Caesars by Suetonius

Annals by Tacitus

Roman History by Cassius Dio

Nero by Edward Champlin

Jennifer Ingleheart, “Introduction: Romosexuality: Rome, Homosexuality, and Reception”, Ancient Rome and the Construction of Modern Homosexual Identities

Shaun Tougher, “The Aesthetics of Castration: The Beauty of Roman Eunuchs, Castration and Culture in the Middle Ages ed. Larissa Tracy

David Woods, “Nero and Sporus”

The boy that Emperor Nero made his “wife”: What the tragedy of the castrated Sporus tells us about homosexuality in ancient Rome.

CHAPTERS: 00:00 Introduction02:22 My Annals05:40 Five Ws 08:54 Sources 12:05 Nero's biography 19:52 Nero's personality 26:34 Roman sexuality 31:17 Nero's sexuality 33:58 Sporus and Nero 40:47 Nero's downfall 49:09 Sporus post-Nero 52:10 Follow us on socials!!

THE HISTORY OF is hosted by Abe Merker and Jared Tetreau. This episode was produced by Jared Tetreau, Abe Merker, and Claudia Chiossone. Research Assistance by Madison Albertson. Music by Kinneret. Series Artwork by Niall Lowrie. Intro Animations by Gemma Hill.

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