Nero

In Scarre's account of Nero I am not sure how he can be misunderstood. Labeling him as a monster and cruel seems accurate. He murdered various people harshly. He got his wife, Octavia killed because he had feelings for another women, Poppaea. Nero then married her, but while throwing a tantrum murdered her while she was pregnant for a second time after their four month child had died. Before all this also getting his mother killed. In addition, he harassed random people on the street at dark, stole from shops, and bribed judges at the Olympia. After the Great Fire he had tried to help, but even then his people believed he was the one that started the fire to make room for his golden house. With the information in this reading Nero does seem like monster, and there is not much room to misunderstand him.