(1) Per haec Rōmānō orbī exsecrābilis ab omnibus simul dēstitūtus est et ā senātū hostis iūdicātus; cum quaererētur ad poenam, quae poena erat tālis ut nūdus per publicum ductus furcā capitī eius īnsertā virgīs ūsque ad mortem caederētur atque ita praecipitārētur ā saxō, ē Palātiō fūgit et in suburbānō lībertī suī, quod inter Salariam et Nōmentānam viam ad quārtum urbis mīliārium, sē interfēcit.
(2) Aedificāvit Rōmae thermās, quae ante Nerōniānae dictae nunc Alexandriānae appellantur.
(3) Obiit trīcēsimō et alterō aetātis annōs, imperiī quārtō decimō, atque in eō omnis Augustī familia cōnsūmpta est.
notes
The Death of Nero, 68 CE
(1) Per haec: "through these acts"
Rōmānō orbī exsecrābilis: "detestable to the Roman world"
hostis: "public enemy," predicate nominative after iudicātus (est). The so-called hostis-declaration stripped a named individual of citizen rights and meant he could be killed without trial.
cum quaererētur ad poenam: cum here is circumstantial (AG 546)
quae poena erat tālis: "the punishment was such, that..."; tālis anticipates a result clause (AG 537)
furcā capitī eius īnsertā: "with a fork inserted on his head," i.e. with his head put in a wooden apparatus in the shape of a letter A (ablative absolute with perfect passive participle AG 419). The punishment envisioned is a standard one for slaves, and the typical lead-up to crucifixion suffered by bandits and pirates, but with hurling over a cliff substituted for actual crucifixion.
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The Romans were not the only ancient people to engage in crucifixion (crux), but they perfected its horrific combination of torture, public humiliation, and execution. As a prelude, the man condemned, commonly a slave or bandit/pirate/revolutionary (the three things being hard to separate in Roman thinking), was bound to a wooden apparatus with a fork (the furca). He was then made to carry this around the neighborhood, earning him the nickname furcifer (a common insult in Roman comedy, usually translated "gallows-bird"). He was often beaten in addition, but this was only preparatory to the crucifixion proper. In other cases, and routinely in Christian times, the criminal simply hung by the neck from the wooden fork until he was dead. The piece of wood was in the form of the letter A, which was placed upon the shoulders of the offender, whose hands were tied to it. Slaves were frequently flogged in this way, and were obliged to carry about the furca wherever they went. (Livy 2.36; Cicero, On Divination 1.55)
ā saxō: the Tarpeian Rock (Hazzard)
ē Palātiō: The Palatine Hill in Rome
suburbānō: supply praediō, "an estate near Rome," "a suburban villa"
lībertī suī: his name was Phaon (Hazzard)
inter Salariam et Nōmentānam viam: the Via Salaria ran north from Rome to Ancona on the Adriatic (Hazzard)
interfēcit: as he prepared to die Nero was said to have wept and said repeatedly, "What a loss my death will be to art!" (Suetonius, Nero 49)
(2) thermās: In 61 CE Nero built the gymnasium and Baths named after himself on the Campus Martius, northeast of the Pantheon. Alexander Severus rebuilt and extended them (Bird).
(3) Obiit: Nero died in 68 CE. He was not deified (See Smith, s.v. Apotheosis).
vocabulary
Core Vocabulary | Numbers | Dates
| exsecrābilis, e [exsecror], adj. | accursed |
| dēstituō, ere, ī, ūtus | to set down, deposit |
| furca, ae, f. | a two-pronged fork; yoke |
| īnserō, ere, uī, tus | to fasten into; insert |
| virga, ae, f. | a rod |
| praecipitō, āre, āvī, ātus [praeceps] |
to throw headlong, cast down; rush down |
| Palātium, ī, n. |
the Palatine Hill; the imperial palace, which was on the hill |
| suburbānus, a, um [urbs], adj. | near the city, suburban |
| lībertus, ī [līber], m. | a freedman |
| salārius, a, um [sāl, salt], adj. |
of salt, salty; via Salāria, the road from Rome to Reate |
| Nōmentānus, a, um, adj. |
pertaining to Nōmentum, a Sabine city |
| mīliārium, ī, n. | a milestone, mile |
| aedificō, āre, āvī, ātus [aedis + faciō] | to build 2 |
| thermae, ārum, pl. f. | warm baths |
| Nerōniānus, a, um, adj. |
belonging or pertaining to Nerō; Nerōniānae thermae |
| Alexandrianus, a, um | Alexandrian (baths) |
| obeō, īre, īvī (iī), itus |
to go to meet; attend to, perform; die, perish 3 |
| sepeliō, īre, īvī (iī), sepultus | to bury, inter |
| Augustus, ī, m. |
a title of honor given to Octavianus in 27 BC and after him to all the Roman emperors |