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N0KFQ > TODAY 18.07.11 18:09l 42 Lines 1770 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 10078_KB0WSA
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Subj: Today in History - Jul 18
Path: IZ3LSV<I0OJJ<VE3UIL<N0KFQ<KB0WSA
Sent: 110718/1600Z 10078@KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA BPQ1.0.4
Jul 18, 64:
Nero's Rome burns
The great fire of Rome breaks out and destroys much of the city
on this day in the year 64. Despite the well-known stories, there
is no evidence that the Roman emperor, Nero, either started the
fire or played the fiddle while it burned. Still, he did use the
disaster to further his political agenda.
The fire began in the slums of a district south of the legendary
Palatine Hill. The area's homes burned very quickly and the fire
spread north, fueled by high winds. During the chaos of the fire,
there were reports of heavy looting. The fire ended up raging out
of control for nearly three days. Three of Rome's 14 districts
were completely wiped out; only four were untouched by the
tremendous conflagration. Hundreds of people died in the fire and
many thousands were left homeless.
Although popular legend holds that Emperor Nero fiddled while the
city burned, this account is wrong on several accounts. First,
the fiddle did not even exist at the time. Instead, Nero was well
known for his talent on the lyre; he often composed his own
music. More importantly, Nero was actually 35 miles away in
Antium when the fire broke out. In fact, he let his palace be
used as a shelter.
Legend has long blamed Nero for a couple of reasons. Nero did not
like the aesthetics of the city and used the devastation of the
fire in order to change much of it and institute new building
codes throughout the city. Nero also used the fire to clamp down
on the growing influence of Christians in Rome. He arrested,
tortured and executed hundreds of Christians on the pretext that
they had something to do with the fire.
73, K.O. n0kfq
Another old retired guy
E-mail: n0kfq@winlink.org
N0KFQ@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
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