Nero (also called Nero Claudius) was the fifth Roman emperor, whose rule is usually associated with tyranny and extravagance. He was an emperor who, if left alone and uncontrolled, would often pursue his own tastes and pleasures.

Nero saw that he could do what he liked without fear of censure and retribution, that was how his inordinate artistic pretensions began. Not only did he think himself to be a poet, charioteer and lyre player, he also began giving public performances, taking the roles of anything from pregnant women to executed slaves. To the general populace, these antics looked liked serious breaches of civic dignity and decorum.