Commentary
In July of 64AD, a great fire swept through the city of Rome. It broke out in the merchant shops (probably a bakery) near the Circus Maximus, and raged for more than a week. The inhabitants of the city at the time lived mostly in wooden houses and shacks, easy prey for fire.
Once it was finally tamed, over two-thirds of the city had been destroyed.
The Roman historian Tacitus wrote that the emperor of the time, Nero, was at Antium on the coast when the fire began. Word began to spread that while the fire was raging, Nero had been seen performing on a stage in a private home singing of the fall and destruction of Troy, hence the origin of the saying “Fiddling while Rome burns.”…