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Title: The Great Fire of Rome

Subtitle: The Story of the Most Famous Fire in Roman History

Author: Charles River Editors

Narrator: Pam Tierney

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 27 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-15-15

Publisher: Charles River Editors

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: History, Ancient

Publisher's Summary:

Among all the natural disasters that struck Rome, one of the most well-known is the Great Fire of Rome, in part due to the popular myth that Emperor Nero fiddled while the Eternal City burned, even though no fiddle existed in first century Rome. Suetonius and Cassius Dio, two of Nero's ancient biographers, are adamant that it was he himself who set the fire (or ordered it set). They are also the originators of the myth that Nero played the lyre, danced around his palace, and sang "The Sack of Troy" while Rome burned outside his windows.

Even though those accounts are likely apocryphal, it is true that on the night of July 18, AD 64, the most significant event of Nero's time in power - and the one which, for better or for worse, would seal his name in infamy throughout the ages - took place. What became known as the Great Fire of Rome started sometime between the night of July 18 and the earliest hours of July 19, and it consumed almost a quarter of the city as it burned out of control for five days.

Members Reviews:

"Fiddled while Rome burned" still makes nice phrase and if I can be political for a ...

Interesting book. As everyone knows we have always blamed Nero for the fire and that he "fiddled while Rome burned". This is the first book that I've read on the fire that absolves of Nero of blame for the fire or blames him for doing nothing. Not that the book is that friendly to Nero who was a real scoundrel but he was out of town when the fire started probably by accident and could have done nothing to stop it due to local conditions if he had. Buildings were wooden & ramshackled. In another book I read that the old wooden apartment buildings each had an open brazer for cooking & heat so fire was a constant hazard. There was no fire department or pressure mechanisms to get water to the fire. Even in modern with more modern means we have had similiar fires (remember Chicago & San Francisco. None of the (Nero's lack of blame for the fire or his inability to stop it) absolves Nero of the blame for the Christian persecution after the fire. "Fiddled while Rome burned" still makes nice phrase and if I can be political for a moment well describes our present government in Washington. A very interesting book with a new slant on the event. Worth reading. RAG

A speculative view of history

It could be correct or then again might not, however it was a interesting concept that I found enjoyable

Nero's fiddle

This is by necessary more of a history of the emperor Nero than simply about the fire itself. The two are interconnected by myth and historical account. This short history mostly refutes the idea that he played music during or orchestrated the fire.

and tells the story of the great fire that destroyed much of Rome

The story goes back into the first century A. D. and tells the story of the great fire that destroyed much of Rome, a story which lives to this day. The writers tell the story from the standpoint of writers who lived during that time.

Another must for studying.

Excellent book, great writing and facts, fantastic history, learned a lot from this book.