Chapter 6, Nero Summary and Analysis

Nero is Agrippina's son, one of Claudius' wives and nieces. Claudius adopts Nero when he is ten years old and restores all the wealth Gaius took from him as soon as Claudius becomes emperor. He turns over all of his public and private affairs to Agrippina and she often rides with him through the streets. He too starts out quite generous and never misses a change to show how merciful he is. When he has to sign execution orders he sighs and says "Ah, how I wish that I had never learned to write!" He is good with names and always greets everyone he knows when out and about.

During his reign he is intolerable of many public abuses. He severely punishes the Christians, which are a new religious sect at the time, and even expels pantomime actors from...