A young emperor of Rome who wanted to be a singer — and became famous for all the wrong reasons.
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Before we read, let's learn the important words. Match each word (1–8) to its meaning (A–H). Say your answers out loud — "I think 1 is D" — then check.
1 = B (an emperor) · 2 = E (an empire) · 3 = H (cruel) · 4 = A (to perform)
5 = F (to blame) · 6 = G (a fire) · 7 = C (a rebellion) · 8 = D (famous)
Read each part. Then try the questions from memory, and talk about the last one.
In the year 54 AD, a boy of only sixteen became the emperor of Rome. His name was Nero. He ruled a huge empire, from Britain in the west to Syria in the east.
Nero did not win his power himself. His mother, Agrippina, was very clever and very ambitious. She married the old emperor and made sure that her son became the next ruler. At first, she wanted to control Rome through Nero.
For a few years, two wise men helped the young emperor. One was his teacher, Seneca. They kept him calm and helped him rule well. People say these were the "good years" of Nero. But Nero and his mother began to fight for power. In 59 AD, Nero did a terrible thing: he had his own mother killed. After that, he slowly became a much worse ruler.
1. How old was Nero when he became emperor? Who helped him get the power?
2. What terrible thing did Nero do in 59 AD?
1. He was only sixteen. His clever, ambitious mother Agrippina got the power for him.
2. He had his own mother killed.
In the year 64 AD, a big fire started in Rome. It burned for days and destroyed much of the city. There is a very famous story: people say that Nero played music and sang while Rome was burning. But this story is not true! In fact, Nero was not even in the city when the fire started. He was at his house by the sea, and he came back to help the people.
But Nero did make some people angry. After the fire, he built himself a giant golden palace on the burned land. And he needed someone to blame for the fire, so he blamed a small group of people — the Christians — and was very cruel to them.
Nero also loved music and acting. He wanted to be an artist! He sang, he played an instrument, and he even raced chariots — in front of crowds of people. To us, this is not strange. But the important people of Rome were shocked. They thought an emperor should lead armies, not sing on a stage like an actor.
1. The famous story says Nero sang while Rome burned. Why is this story not true?
2. Why were the important people of Rome shocked by Nero?
1. Because Nero was not even in Rome when the fire started — he was at his house by the sea, and he came back to help. (Also, that kind of instrument did not exist yet.)
2. Because he performed in public — he sang, played music and raced chariots — and they thought an emperor should not do these things.
In the end, the people of Rome turned against Nero. He spent too much money and was cruel to many people. In the year 68 AD, a big rebellion started. Soldiers and leaders all over the empire said "no more!" Even the Senate, the leaders of Rome, said that Nero was an enemy.
Nero ran away from the city. He had no friends left, and he knew the soldiers would come for him. So he took his own life. He was only about thirty years old. People say his last words were: "What a great artist dies with me!"
After Nero died, the leaders of Rome tried to erase him. They pulled down his statues and took his name off buildings. But here is something important: almost all the stories about Nero were written later, by people who hated him. So we are not sure how much is true and how much is just a bad story made by his enemies.
1. How did Nero's life end in 68 AD?
2. Why can't we be sure that the bad stories about Nero are all true?
1. There was a big rebellion, the leaders of Rome said he was an enemy, he ran away from the city, and then he took his own life (aged about thirty).
2. Because almost all the stories were written later by people who hated him, so some of it may be exaggerated or not true.
When something is very strong or extreme, we can show it with so or such. They mean "very" — but they also tell us the result.
1. Nero was cruel that even his friends feared him.
2. It was a big fire that half of Rome was destroyed.
3. The young emperor was popular that the crowds loved him.
4. He was a vain man that he sang in front of everyone.
1. so (adjective alone: so cruel)
2. such (noun: such a big fire)
3. so (adjective alone: so popular)
4. such (noun: such a vain man)
Join the two ideas with so … that or such … that. Then read it out loud.
1. Nero was very cruel. Even his friends feared him. →
2. He was a very vain emperor. He built a giant statue of himself. →
3. The fire was very big. Thousands of people lost their homes. →
1. Nero was so cruel that even his friends feared him.
2. He was such a vain emperor that he built a giant statue of himself.
3. It was such a big fire that thousands of people lost their homes.
Use so with an adjective, and such when there is a noun.
There is a real podcast about Emperor Nero. It is for native speakers, so it is fast and quite difficult — that is normal! You do not need to understand every word.
From the Noiser podcast network. Hosted by historians, roughly 50 minutes.
Listen on Spotify →Do all three tasks out loud. Use the timer to keep talking.
Tell the story of Emperor Nero in your own words. Use these steps to help you: a boy of sixteen becomes emperor → his mother helps him → the fire in Rome → he builds a golden palace and blames the Christians → he sings and performs → a rebellion → the end.
At the strong moments, use so … that and such … that to stress how extreme it was ("He was so cruel that…", "It was such a big fire that…"), and some of the key words (emperor, empire, cruel, perform, blame, fire, rebellion, famous).
The story of "Nero singing while Rome burned" is famous, but it is not true. Do you know any other famous stories that many people believe, but that are not really true? Why do you think these stories spread?
Tell the story of any famous person you choose — a leader, a singer, a sports star — who was very powerful or successful, and then had a big problem or a "fall". What happened to them? Use so … that or such … that to stress how extreme it was ("She was so famous that…", "It was such a big mistake that…").
Not sure what to talk about? Choose one: