It is easy to see that an orchestra thus constituted would be better adapted for making a great noise than for music, while the pantomime itself was of such a brutal nature that the degradation of art may be said to have been complete.  As the decay of art in Egypt culminated under Ptolemy Auletes, so in Rome it culminated in the time of Caligula (12-41 A.D.), and Nero (37-68 A.D.).

The latter, as we learn from Suetonius, competed for prizes in the public musical contests, and was never without a slave at his elbow to warn him against straining his voice.  In his love of magnificence he resembled a Greek flute player, with unbounded means to gratify it.  His palace, the “Golden House,” had triple porticos a mile in length, and enclosed a lake surrounded by buildings which had the appearance of a city.  Within its area were corn fields, vineyards, pastures, and woods containing many animals, both wild and tame.  In other parts it was entirely overlaid with gold, and adorned with jewels and mother-of-pearl.  The porch was so high that a colossal statue of himself, one hundred and twenty feet in height, stood in it.  The supper rooms were vaulted, and compartments of the ceiling, inlaid with ivory, were made to revolve and scatter flowers; they also contained pipes which shed perfumes upon the guests.

When the revolt under Vindex broke out (68 A.D.), a new instrument had just been brought to Rome.  Tertullian, Suetonius, and Vitruvius agree in calling it an organ.  This instrument, which was the invention of Ctesibus of Alexandria, consisted of a set of pipes through which the air was made to vibrate by means of a kind of water pump operated by iron keys.  It was undoubtedly the direct ancestor of our modern organ.  Nero intended to introduce these instruments into the Roman theatre.  In planning for his expedition against Vindex, his first care was to provide carriages for his musical instruments; for his intention was to sing songs of triumph after having quelled the revolt.  He publicly vowed that if his power in the state were reestablished, he would include a performance upon organs as well as upon flutes and bagpipes, in the exhibitions he intended to institute in honour of his success.

From a musical point of view, Suetonius’s biography of Nero is interesting chiefly on account of its giving us glimpses of the life of a professional musician of those days.  We read, together with many other details, that it was the custom for a singer to lie on his back, with a sheet of lead upon his breast, to correct unsteadiness in breathing, and to abstain from food for two days together to clear his voice, often denying himself fruit and sweet pastry.  The degraded state of the theatre may well be imagined from the fact that under Nero the custom of hiring professional applause was instituted.  After his death, which is so dramatically told by Suetonius, music never revived in Rome.