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 Nero came to power at the age of seventeen. For his first five years he ruled with clemency and justice – though privately he was a licentious and depraved young man. His lust for power, however, led him along a path of senseless destruction. To further his political ends, he had his mother clubbed to death, and his brother, wife, and other family members killed. He kicked his second wife, Poppaea, to death. He also forced his tutor and aide, Seneca, to commit suicide.
On July 19, 64 AD, the most destructive fire in Rome’s history began. It engulfed 10 of Rome’s 14 regions and left thousands dead and homeless. The fire destroyed most of the city. Temples, monuments, buildings, and the collected art of centuries were ruined. Public rumor traced the fire to Nero, who wanted to rebuild Rome and call it Neropolis.
To divert suspicion, Nero cast the blame upon the hated Christians. He crucified and killed many in violent and gruesome ways. Some were sown in the skins of wild beasts and exposed to mad dogs in the arena. He covered men and women with pitch, nailed them to posts of pine, and burned them as torches for the amusement of the mob.
According to the overwhelming testimony of the Church Fathers, Paul and Peter were both martyred during this persecution. Peter was crucified upside down on the Vatican Hill. Paul, spared the disgrace of crucifixion because of his Roman citizenship, was beheaded on the Ostian Way at Tre Fontane (the Three Fountains).
Nero’s madness escalated. When the Roman Senate declared him an enemy of the state in 68, he committed suicide. He was thirty-one.
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