Nero was the last emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty.
Biography[]
Ruling Rome[]
Nero was the son of Agrippina and became the heir of Claudius when the Roman emperor adopted him, though Claudius privately decided that Nero wasn't fit to rule, spending his days in the Subura's wine shops and his nights in the city's lupanar. His stepfather wanted Nero to learn quickly, though he doubted even Seneca's wisdom would be able to temper him. He succeeded Claudius due to his mother's machinations, but soon ended her political manuevering as well due to her disposing of anyone who gained favour on his court as he confided to a close friend, his reign from 54 to 68 being defined by hubris and excess.[2] He was also rumored to have held the thirty pieces of silver that once belonged to Judas, the apostle that betrayed Jesus Christ of Nazareth, in his possession.[3]
At some point, Nero encountered Abgal, a large and imposing member of the Nephilim Order,[2] a tribe of giants who sought to atone for their ancestors' involvement in the Great Flood some tens of thousands of years before the time of Jesus. The Nephilim met with Saint Peter and formed a secret alliance with the Vatican to protect the world from mankind's meddling with seventeen stones connected to the prehistoric cataclysm.[4] Enraptured by his immense size, Nero recruited Abgal whether by choice or coercion as a gladiator for the games he held in the Italian capital. To disguise Abgal's identity, Nero sent an Imperial messenger for the Greek metalsmith Theodorus of Alexandria once the metalsmith's bronce skills reached his ears, then ordered him to forge a gladiatorial helmet with the visage of a ferocious bull under certain specifications, including the etching of forbidden inscriptions and symbols inside the helm. Sworn to secrecy under the penalty of death by Nero and unaware of its intended wearer's background, Theodorus finished the work after three months. With the helmet, the anonymous Abgal engaged in multiple gladiatorial contests for Nero, never losing a single fight as a champion known as the "Monster of Crete".[2]
Towards the end of his rule, Nero sought out Pythía, the Oracle of Apollo, at her mountain retreat in Delphi, Greece for guidance. She warned him to "beware of seventy-three". With Pythía's prophecies open for interpretation, Nero concluded that his death would come at the age of seventy-three. Instead, Nero was ultimately overthrown at age thirty-one by Galba, who was precisely seventy-three.[1]
Legacy[]
Throughout the construction of the Colosseum, Abgal seemingly continued his role as the Imperial champion for Nero's successors. He eventually took on a hibernation-like sleep-"Semper vivus", always living-inside the Tauroctony Chamber, beyond what was known as the "Monster's Gate", the centuries obscuring the memory of Nero's champion.[2]
Among the rumors that Nero once possessed the silver for which Jesus Christ was betrayed and killed, said silver coins eventually passed from Nero to Genghis Khan, Torquemada, Vlad the Impaler, the Borgias, Machiavelli, Baron Munchausen until it eventually came into the collection of Baron Joseph Dygan, a wealthy Hungarian supporter of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.[3]
In October 1922, Professor Dorian Belecamus of the Sorbonne took the chance to tell her students, among them Indiana Jones, of Nero's mistake with Pythía's prophecy about him when telling them the story about the Oracle of Apollo to explain her interest on Delphi–actually part of a ploy to trick Jones into assisting her and her lover in acquiring the Omphalos.[1]
On October 23, 1937, after having become a famous archaeologist, Jones found himself looking into the Nephilim Order after his interest in the Nameless Crusader's helmet was piqued by Father Orlando Ricci. The priest, who kept a bust of Nero at Palazzo Ricci, was actually the leader of a Mithras cult obsessed with tracking down Nero's champion under the belief that sacrificing what they thought was a bull would bring them enlightenment. During his research, Jones uncovered fragments of Nero's past and encountered a statue of him at the Shrine of the Gladiator holding a section of the Arcanum Tripartitus. The search ultimately concluded with Jones fighting the still-alive Abgal at the Colosseum, managing to break the undefeated streak of Nero's champion long after his master's death before the giant gladiator destroyed the arena floor and accidentally claimed his own life.[2]
Personality and traits[]
Growing up, Nero was described by his stepfather Claudius as having inherited his mother Agrippina's charm but lacking any dignity befitting of a Caesar, deeming him unfit to rule as an emperor because, rather than be present for when his duties called, Nero was hardly ever there, either spending nights at the lupanar or days in Subura's wine shops, with Claudius doubting that even Seneca's wisdom would ever temper him despite his responsibility as his heir, eventually seeing Nero's adoption as a "grievous error". Even after he succeeded Claudius, Nero's reign was marked by excess and hubris, as well as bloodlust, considering how he organized gladiatorial games that ended with Abgal always killing his opponents.[2]
Once Rome's ruler, Nero acknowledged how his mother's machinations were ever present at his court, with those who gained the slightest influence without her approval mysteriously succumbing to sudden ailments or being found fallen upon their own daggers, but he made it his personal goal to surpass her in all her methods, as he felt the day was approaching in which he could truly stand alone, without her shadow looming over his throne, showing a total lack of gratitude to the woman who gave birth to him and ensured his inheritance. While he did have friends like the loyal one he wrote to about his thoughts on his mother, he did threaten to lethally punish anyone who didn't keep his secrets.[2]
Behind the scenes[]
The DLC story expansion for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle titled "The Order of Giants" saw Indiana Jones facing off against foes in "Emperor Nero's secret gladiator games".[5]
Appearances[]
- Indiana Jones and the Peril at Delphi (Mentioned only)
- Indiana Jones and the Great Circle – The Order of Giants (Statue)
Sources[]
- Indiana Jones Artifacts
New Trailer Revealed for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: The Order of Giants on Lucasfilm.com (backup link on Archive.org)
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Indiana Jones and the Peril at Delphi
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 Indiana Jones and the Great Circle – The Order of Giants
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Indiana Jones Artifacts
- ↑ Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
- ↑ Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: The Order of Giants: What You Need to Know After the DLC's Reveal at Xbox Wire
