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The Great Fire Of Rome By Ava Strieker

3711 Words15 Pages

The Great Fire of Rome – Ava Strieker Task one The conditions that might have led up to the fire. The Great Fire of Rome still has an unknown starting date. However, the overall opinion from secondary and primary sources is that the most likely dates are the 18th or 19th of July, 64AD, during the middle of a hot summer. According to Stephen Dando Collins, in The Great Fire of Rome, “This very morn, Sirius the Dog Star rose in the heavens, signalling the beginning of summer’s hottest period.” This secondary source material can back the claim that it was mid-July, as this star only rises in July. The geographical starting location was allegedly underneath the Circus Maximus. According to Tacitus, “It took its rise in the part of the Circus touching …show more content…

There were many shops packed with flammable goods such as lamp oil and candles, therefore when one broke out into a fire, the rest caught ablaze as a domino effect. At this time, Roman housing was mainly built out of wood due to a lack of resources and being easily accessible to support the growing population. This led to mass fire growth in a short space of time, due to the wood kindling the flames and getting its fuel from the merchandise inside. Another possible cause of the Great Fire of Rome is that it was set on purpose by one of Nero’s agents. According to Cassius Dio, in A History of Rome, Nero “sent out men who pretended to be drunk or engaged in other kinds of mischief”. “Caused them to go out to set fire to one or two or even several buildings”. He also stated that soldiers on watch would “instead of putting out fires, kindle new ones”. This could have gotten out of hand and been the start of this …show more content…

“He set the city of Rome on fire so that he might see the likeliness that the spectacle which Troy once presented when it was captured and burned.” Later generations concluded this to be a fact and dismissed its likeliness of being a rumour. However, Nero’s actions regarding relieving the fire can argue against his responsibility. Nero’s palace, the Domus Transitoria, was destroyed, and this can vouch for his innocence. Predominantly the sources are in disagreement, regarding the causes of the Great Fire, with Tacitus believing that it started among shops catching ablaze, and Cassius believing that Nero sent out men to commit arson. Robert Draper, in his article ‘Rethinking Nero’, National Geographic states that “Even Tacitus, the great accuser of Nero, writes that no one knows whether Rome burned from arson or by chance.” More weight could be given to Tacitus's account as he was alive during this

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