CAAS October Conference

I was thrilled to present my research paper “Nero In Greece: The Underlying Economic Motives of a Notorious Roman Emperor” at the CAAS Annual Fall Conference. The mission of the Classical Association of the Atlantic States is to strengthen research and foster public support for the languages, civilizations, and cultures of Ancient Greece and Rome. The conference is notable for its sessions on new directions in teaching and research.

My thesis argues that the Roman Emperor Nero’s tour of Greece was not solely for pursuits in the Arts and Athletics as advertIsed to the Roman Senate. I utilize epigraphic and numismatic evidence to argue that his tour instead was motivated by economic objectives for the Greek region. My research specifically explored his actions in the Greek city Corinth. I was delighted to address scholarly questions about my work from the audience and look forward to continuing my research at the collegiate level.

I want give a special thanks to my Latin teacher Dr. Scott Barnard at The Lawrenceville School for this incredible opportunity and mentoring my various Classics research projects.

Please find below a copy of my conference handout that includes my paper’s bibliography. Feel free to email me with any questions and if interested in the PDF of my paper.

Sienna K. Mora (smora25@lawrenceville.org), The Lawrenceville School; CAAS Confrence October 2024, New Brunswick, NJ 

Nero in Greece: The Underlying Economic Motives of a Notorious Roman Emperor 

Passage 1: Nero’s Speech to the Greek City of Corinth (IG VII, 2713: lines 6-19; translated by Johnson, Coleman-Norton, and Bourne in Ancient Roman Statutes)

“ἀπροσδόκητον ὑμεῖν, ἄνδρες Ἕλληνες, δωρεάν, εἰ καὶ μηδὲν παρὰ τῆς ἐμῆς μεγαλοφροσύνης ἀνέλπιστον, χαρίζομαι, τοσαύτην, ὅσην οὐκ ἐχωρήσατε αἰτεῖσθαι. πάντες οἱ τὴν Ἀχαΐαν καὶ τὴν ἕως νῦν Πελοπόννησον κατοικοῦντες Ἕλληνες λάβετ’ ἐλευθερίαν ἀνισφορίαν, ἣν οὐδ’ ἐν τοῖς εὐτυχεστάτοις ὑμῶν πάντες χρόνοις ἔσχετε· ἢ γὰρ ἀλλοτρίοις ἢ ἀλλήλοις ἐδουλεύσατε.”

“Since it is my desire to requite most glorious Greece for its loyalty and respect toward me….I bestow upon you, men of Hellas, a gift such as you never hoped for, even though my generosity knows no bounds, a gift so great that it never occurred to you to ask for it. All Greeks living in Achaea and what until now has been known as the Peloponnesus, receive your liberty and freedom from taxation, a freedom which you never had even in your most glorious days, for you were subject either to foreigners or to one another.”

Bibliography

Bradley, K. R. “Nero’s Retinue in Greece, A.D. 66/67.” Illinois Classical Studies 4 (1979): 

152–57. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23061138.

Bradley, K. R. “The Chronology of Nero’s Visit to Greece A.D. 66/67.” Latomus, vol. 37, no.

1,1978, pp. 61–72. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41530892. Accessed 21 Oct. 2023.

Doleno, Samantha, "Nero's Alexandrian Coinage: The Olympic Series of 66/67 and 67/68 CE 

and its Achaean Context" (2023). Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 

2935. https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/art_sci_etds/2935

Engels, Donald W.. Roman Corinth: an alternative model for the classical city. Chicago: 

University of Chicago Press, 1990.

Gallivan, Paul A. “Nero’s Liberation of Greece.” Hermes 101, no. 2 (1973): 230–34. 

http://www.jstor.org/stable/4475791.

G. J. D. Aalders H. Wzn. Mnemosyne 41, no. 3/4 (1988): 465–67. 

http://www.jstor.org/stable/4431770.

Hekster, Olivier, Erika Manders, and Daniëlle Slootjes. “Making History with Coins: Nero from 

a Numismatic Perspective.” The Journal of Interdisciplinary History 45, no. 1 (2014): 25–37. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43829562.

Johnson, Coleman-Norton & Bourne, Ancient Roman Statutes, Austin, 1961, p. 147, n. 180

Manders, Erika, and Daniëlle Slootjes. “Linking Inscriptions to Provincial Coins: A Reappraisal 

of Nero’s Visit to Greece.” Latomus74, no. 4 (2015): 989–1005. 

https://www.jstor.org/stable/48574595.

Middleton, J. Henry. “The Temple of Apollo at Delphi.” The Journal of Hellenic Studies 9 1888): 

282–322. https://doi.org/10.2307/623677.

Pérez, Aitor Blanco. "Nero and the Freedom of Greece." Judaism and Rome, 5 July 

2019, www.judaism-and-rome.org/nero-and-freedom-greece. Accessed 10 Nov. 2023.

Robinson, David M. The Classical Weekly 15, no. 6 (1921): 45–48. 

https://doi.org/10.2307/4388228.

Suet. Ner. 20. Captus autem modulatis Alexandrinorum laudationibus, qui de novo commeatu 

Neapolim confluxerant, plures Alexandria evocavit.

Syme, Ronald. “The Greeks under Roman Rule.” Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical 

Society 72 (1957): 3–20. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25080512.

Tim Whitmarsh. “Greek and Roman in Dialogue: The Pseudo-Lucianic Nero.” The Journal of 

Hellenic Studies 119 (1999): 142–60. https://doi.org/10.2307/632315.