1

Neros Golden House

After Rome nearly burned to the ground in 64 CE1, many citizens and senators became
pessimistic about the future of their once great city. However, the energetic strength of the
emperor, Nero, was not shaken by this tragedy. This strong willed emperor rebuilt much of Rome
replacing damaged buildings and debris with studier, more fire resistant structures2. Not
surprisingly, his swift and positive approach to the reconstruction of Rome quickly earned him
the respect of the Roman Senate and citizenry. However, this respect swiftly turned to outrage
following the construction of Neros, so called Golden House3. Perched atop one of the
principle hills of Rome, this extravagant palace, called the Domus Aurea or Golden House (See
Figure 1). The palace complex boasted a pool and vast gardens, as well as a towering statue of
Nero himself as the Sun God Sol. The copious excesses displayed in the palace were seen by
many Romans as arrogant and wasteful. Although the Golden House was only in existence for
about forty years before being replaced by subsequent Roman emperors4, it had a profound longterm influence on Roman architecture5. What made the Golden House so divergent from Roman
imperial norms that it was able to transform the perception of a once venerated emperor, into a
despised villain is the thesis of this paper.
The idea for the Domus Aurea arose from Neros yearning for a larger palace. He desired to
combine his palace on the Palatine, which he thought was too small, with the gorgeous and
immense gardens on the Esquiline and the Oppius. Never before had an emperor built his palace
in the center of Rome, simply because it would be considered ostentatious and would take up
1 Kleiner (2007) p. 116
2 Champlin (1997) p.103
3 Kleiner (2007) pp. 116-117
4 Roth (1993) pp. 2278
5 Ball (2003) pp. 2-4

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space where the citizens lived and worked6. Neros dream for his Golden house was put on hold
due to the dense population living in the area, until the great fire of 64 CE. The thickly populated
area on the Esquiline was devastated, and Nero could finally begin construction of the palace that
would ultimately play a pivotal role in sealing his legacy.7
Nancy Ramage, a professor at Ithaca College, as well as many other scholars, believes the rumor
that Nero may have contributed to the fire himself; or at least fiddled while Rome burned so he
could make room for his enormous palace complex8. Rome burned fiercely, with only one
reprieve, for nine days. Out of the fourteen regions of Rome, only four survived untouched,
seven were horribly devastated, and three quarters were completely destroyed and left in a pile of
ashes.9
When Nero began rebuilding, he resurrected the city with an austere and fire-safe building code;
and of course, he turned to religious relief10. Decorative efforts were made to propitiate the gods
in his new buildings. During the rebuilding, suspicions arose that the people responsible for the
fire were of a deviant Jewish sect, who hated humans and apparently foretold that the earth
would soon be engulfed in flames. Whether this rumor was true or not, much unfortunate gossip
began to spread throughout Rome about how the fire had started. The most prevalent rumor was
that Neros own agents had started the devastating fire, and that Roman soldiers were fanning the
fires instead of trying to put them out. The fire was said to have continued only so Nero could
rebuild Rome as Neropolis.11 Unfortunately, many of Neros good deeds were consumed by
this unfavorable rumor and his legacy as a Roman emperor has been tarnished ever since.
6 Winter (1914) p. 163
7 Ramage (2005) p. 1
8 Ramage (2005) pp. 1-2
9 Champlin(1998) p. 103
10 Champlin (1998) p. 104
11 Champlin (1998) pp. 103-105

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The prominent location, extravagance, and overall mystique of the imperial palace further,
affected the opinions of Roman citizens towards Nero. Indeed, the sheer opulence of the grand
palace helped advance the view that Nero had taken advantage of the devastation caused by the
fire to build a monument to his legacy. This served to reinforce the speculation that Nero may
have started the fire himself, or at least let it ravage the thickly populated quarter into devastation
and rubble.
There is little doubt that the Domus Aurea, and the rumors that it inspired, played a
significant role in Roman life and history; but much remains unknown about the details of the
palace. The extent of land that the palace covered remains a controversial topic, and the dining
hall and vast gardens as well as the overall grandeur appearance of Neros Golden House are all
topics of speculation. 12 Nevertheless, despite years of excavation and research, the prevailing
view of the Golden House remains one of wonder and awe.
According to Pliny the Elder13, a respectable historian at the time, the palace was known as the
Domus Aurea because the central structure of the palace was completely gilded with gold,
mother of pearl, and gemstones14. Nero extended his plans to include an entire valley
surrounding a lake, upon which Vespasian built the Roman Coliseum sixteen years later15 (see
Figure 2). Towards the south, Neros implausible countryseat in the center of Rome stretched as
far as the Temple of Claudius on the Caelian Hill, which Nero apparently nearly destroyed in
carrying out his dream abode. On the east, the palace extended towards the gardens of Maecenas.
Towards the western edge of the villa, its grounds extended to the Palatine Hill and the Velia
12 Warden (1981) p. 271
13 Murphy (2004) Pliny the Elder, known at the time as Gaius Plinius Secundus, lived from 23
CE to 79 CE and wrote extensively on several topics of his time. His writings are considered
amongst the largest single collection of works of the period to survive to modern time.
14 Boethius (1960) pp. 103-107
15 Kleiner (2007) pp. 127-129

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Hill. On the north end, the landscape gardens are thought to have stretched as distant as the
Forum of Augustus. In the valley flanked by the Esquiline, Palatine and Caelian hills, an artificial
lake was built16. Pliny asserts numerous times that the Domus Aurea enclosed the whole city of
Rome. A pasquinade of Neros Rome once complained, All Rome is transformed to a villa!
Romans flee to Veii!17
Tactitus and Suetonius insisted the most amazing part of Neros palace was that Severus and
Celer, Neros architects, created a splendid heavenly landscape including gardens, groves,
pastures, herds, wild animals, and artificial rural isolation.18 Essentially, Nero had his own
private paradise in the center of Rome. Axel Boethius contended that the Domus Aurea could be
more accurately described as a magnificently landscaped garden that had a villa in it, and that the
landscape was the main component. Furthermore, Boethius emphasized that the Golden House
was planned to take advantage of the land it was built on.19
The Domus Aurea was also one of the first grand concrete buildings faced with brick20. In
addition, the planning and vaults, the octagon (see Figures 3 and 4) as well as the rows of
sellaria (or reception room) foreshadow the beginnings of the Baroque style which later
contributed to Domitians palace planning. One must wander what an average Roman citizen
thought of such splendid luxurious living taking place on the ground that was once covered by
hundreds of Roman homes and shops.
The colossal gilded statue of Nero, as the sun god Sol, no doubt contributed to the view by some,
that Nero was a megalomaniac21. According to Pliny, the bronze statue reached about thirty
16 Ball (2003) p. 4
17 Boethius (1960) p. 108
18 Boethius (1960) p. 109
19 Warden (1981) p. 271
20 Ramage (2005) p. 1
21 Shotter (2005) p. 53

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meters in height.22 In addition, the prominent position of the statue at the main entrance and
reception area of the Domus Aurea in the vicinity of the large atrium of porticoes that divided the
Roman streets from the concealed private villa only added to its pretentiousness.23 Of course, one
of the most notable aspects of Neros Golden House was the miraculous, rotating ivory-veneered
dining hall. Apparently, the ceiling of the great hall sprinkled flowers and perfume on the seated
guests below, and the floor was heated. Like the rest of Neros dream home, the walls were all
lavishly decorated with delicate frescoes24 (See figure 5).
In 15th century, the Renaissance painter Raphael, and his friends crawled into the barely
unearthed passageways of the Golden House. After jotting their names on the walls, they copied
the faint frescoes they found. Ironically, the delicate plants, cupids, animals and various motifs
were later reproduced onto the walls of the Vatican.25 Ironically, one could even argue that
Raphaels vandalism of the Domus Aurea in the 15th century helped introduce Neros love for the
lavish and ornate into the ostensibly modest values of Christianity.
While it is widely accepted by scholars that the Golden House covered a large part of
Rome (80 hectares, or almost 200 acres), a professor from the University of Pennsylvania,
Gregory Warden, thinks otherwise. In his essay, The Domus Aurea Reconsidered, he brings
issues of topography and chronology to light within the Domus Aureas architecture. Warden also
agrees with, Boethius, mentioned earlier, who emphasized that the Domus Aurea was more a
landscape garden, with the buildings serving only as components of the landscape26. Warden and
Boethius both make these assumptions from the astonishing differences in architecture in the
proposed map of the Domus Aurea. The most notable idiosyncrasy in the plan is the contrasting
22
23
24
25
26

Ramage (2005) p. 1
Champlin (1998) p. 105
Ramage (2005) pp. 1-2
Ramage (2005) p. 2
Warden (1981) pp. 271-272

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architectural styles of the eastern and western wings (See Figure 6). The difference in these two
sections is generally explained by the result of two architects, Severus and Celer, having different
ideas for the palace. But, why would they not try to integrate their plans?27 Moreover, if Boethius
and Warden are correct in their assumptions, the Domus Aurea would probably not have been as
historically significant, and would have been less likely to cause the citizens of Rome to despise
Nero so much for its construction.
After Nero committed suicide at the age of thirty, Senators commonly referred to future
emperors they disliked as Worse than Nero, and Christians saw him as the Beast of
Revelation, and sometimes even the Antichrist himself.28 Certainly, Nero was not the Antichrist,
although he may have been one of Romes worst Emperors. However, the balance of evidence
reviewed here advances the thesis that Neros Domus Aurea may have played a pivotal role
shaping his legacy as the emperor who fiddled while Rome burned.

27 Warden (1981) pp. 272-276

28 Champlin (1998) pp. 97-98

Bibliography
Ball, L. F. The Domus Aurea and the Roman Architectural Revolution. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2003.
Boethius, A. The Golden House of Nero. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1960.
Champlin, E. "Nero Reconsidered." New England Review 19, no. 2 (1998): 97-108.
Kleiner, F. S. A History of Roman Art. Belmont: Clark Baxter, 2007.
Murphy, T. M. Pliny the Elder's Natural history: The Empire in the Encyclopedia. Oxford,
England, Oxford University Press, 2004
Ramage, N. H. What Nero Built after Rome Burned. Wall Street Journal, Easter Edition, 2005.
Roth, L. M. Understanding Architecture: Its Elements, History and Meaning (First ed.). Boulder,
CO: Westview Press, 1993
Shotter, D. C. A. Nero. London: Routledge, 2005
Warden, G. P. "The Domus Aurea Reconsidered." Journal of Architectural Historians
(University of California Press) 40, no. 4 (Dec 1981): 271-278.
Winter J. G. "The Golden House of Nero." The Classical Weekly 7, no. 21 (March 1914): 163165.

Figures

Figure 1: Schematic map in Neronian times. The Domus Aurea is the stippled area.
Source: Ball, L. F. The Domus Aurea and the Roman Architectural Revolution. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2003.

Figure 2: Present day aerial photograph of the Flavian Amphitheater covering the ancient
artificial lake from Neros Domus Aurea.
Source: Boethius, A. The Golden House of Nero. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press,
1960.

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Figure 3: Floor plan and section of the Octagonal Hall in the Domus Aurea.
Source: Kleiner, F. S. A History of Roman Art. Belmont: Clark Baxter, 2007.

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Figure 4: Photograph of the present day octagonal hall in the Domus Aurea
Source: Kleiner, F. S. A History of Roman Art. Belmont: Clark Baxter, 2007.

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Figure 5: Fourth Style Mural painting in room 78 of the Domus Aurea

Source: Kleiner, F. S. A History of Roman Art. Belmont: Clark Baxter, 2007.

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Figure 6: Floor plan of the Esquiline Wing. Notice the differences in architecture from the east
and west wings. The eastern section (right) is more innovative than the western section (left)
which is very linear and traditional.
Source: Warden, G. P. "The Domus Aurea Reconsidered." Journal of Architectural Historians
(University of California Press) 40, no. 4 (Dec 1981): 271-278.