Tacitus was very much a traditional Roman and he objected to the warping of Roman values seen during his own lifetime. He had experienced tyranny first-hand under Domitian and wished his histories to be a judgement on the tyrants of the past. The Annals are therefore not as impartial as Tacitus claims in his prologue, and we see this clearly in his depiction of Nero. Through subtly suggestive language and the deployment of pithy, often …showed first 75 words of 898 total…

…showed last 75 words of 898 total…Nero scorns the Juvenalian Games as "parum celebris" for "tantae voci" - he has clearly fallen for the flattery of his courtiers and believes himself talented. The sarcasm implicit in Tacitus' account invites mockery, and sets-up Nero as a risible performer and emperor. Indeed, Nero fails to see that no-one attending his performance is there for the art: some have come for the unusual spectacle ("fama"), others have come for various personal advantages ("varios usus").