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Roman Society event on Emperor Nero

Dr Siobhan Chomse on Nero's hunt for buried treasure

  • Date06 October 2021

On the 29th September Dr Siobhan Chomse took part in an event for the Roman Society to explore 'Curiosity and Knowledge at the Court of Nero', tying-in with the current exhibition at the British Museum, 'Nero: the Man Behind the Myth'.

Nero aureus cropped – Chomse Classics.png

A Neronian aureus (credit: Wiki Commons).

Dr Chomse organised the event with Prof. Dominic Rathbone of King's College London and they both gave talks along with Dr Rebecca Flemming (Cambridge) and Dr Shushma Malik (Roehampton). The talks explored topics including medicine in the Neronian age, Nero's obsession with Egypt, and the life and afterlife of Nero the music-lover. Dr Chomse's talk explored the bizarre story (told by both Tacitus and Suetonius) of Nero's fruitless hunt for the buried treasure of Queen Dido. 

The event took place in person at Senate House but was also live-streamed and you can watch a recording of all four talks on the Roman Society YouTube channel.

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