In 64, the Great Fire of Rome broke out — started by Nero, Suetonius said. The Emperor had seized on some casual remark, and conceived the fire as an artistic way to clear the ground for an enlarged palace and for the prettification of Rome. The fire burned for a week, and citizens fled to what safety they could find.

While the city burned, Nero retired to his estate, set up a stage, put on a costume and performed a musical melodrama of his own named ‘The Sack of Troy’, which he felt artistically appropriate. After the fire abated, he looted the city’s wealth under the colour of offering a free cleanup service, and seized the assets of landowners.

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