Nero exhibition to spotlight misogyny

AN exhibition on Nero will examine the misogynist treatment of women in the Roman Empire.

The British Museum is hoping to open its exhibition on Nero, who succeeded to the throne aged 16, next month.

It is billed as a “fresh look at the Emperor”, who is said to have killed his mother after an incestuous relationship with her, as well as killing his first and second wife and setting fire to Rome.

The exhibition will feature more than 200 objects to question the traditional depiction of the “tyrant”, which is based on a “narrow range” of “brutally biased and partisan” sources from just after Nero’s death.

A section will also examine the role of Imperial women, with women having been “vilified” and portrayed as “adulterous and incestuous”.

Curator Thorsten Opper said it is “shocking how misogynistic the sources are,” with tales of adultery being “politically motivated”.

“It has an impact on how little positive is remembered about these women,” he said.

The exhibition will feature “humble graffiti next to grand sculpture” and rare loans from Europe to go on show in the UK for the first time.

Visitors will be able to see graffiti, sculpture, manuscripts, objects destroyed in the fire of Rome, jewellery and slave chains from Wales, “telling the story of rich and poor”.

Other objects include a bronze head of Nero, longmistaken as Claudius, found in Suffolk in 1907.

The Fenwick Hoard treasure, discovered in 2014 in Colchester, will also be shown.

Museum director Hartwig Fischer defended the exhibition’s sponsorship by BP in the wake of controversy about links to the oil giant, saying partnerships are “crucial to delivering our mission”.