Nero in the Sibylline Oracles

Abstract

This article investigates the puzzlingly conflicting and contradictory images of the emperor Nero that appear in the texts of the Sibylline Oracles, composed in large part by Jewish authors of the Roman Empire. The diverse representations depict him both as a cruel tyrant, murderer, and hybristic aspirer to divinity on the one hand, and an effective champion of the east who exacted a just vengeance against the plunders and oppression perpetrated by the Roman Empire on the other. The author seeks to set these clashing images in the context of tales that emerged in the east after Nero’s death and the distorted memories of Nero’s responsibility for the fall of Jerusalem, and also proposes a link with the great fire in Rome under Nero.