Will the Real Nero Please Stand Up?

One of Rome's most famous emperors is an enigma

You know who’s had a bit of a comeback in recent years? It’s the guy who was, for centuries, the very embodiment of a megalomaniac monarch. A man who made the short list of every leader’s “who not to emulate” list. The ruler who best represented the stereotype of the Roman emperor — decadent, self-absorbed, incestuous, capricious.

That’s right, Nero is …