33 The Mad Emperor

Recently a group of historians from all over the world announced its list of the ten greatest tyrants of all time. The unanimous choice for number-one tyrant was Nero, the third-century Roman emperor. His wayward picked up many of his sadistic tendencies from his mother, Agrippina, who had murdered his sister of Caligula, the deranged ruler who tortured and butchered hundreds of Romans.

Agrippina married the emperor Claudius. She convinced him to dismember his natural son, and make Nero his successor. She then served Claudius poison. Nero's tyranny was most brutally expressed in his treatment of his own family.

Upon ascending the throne at the age of 16, he committed his first recorded murder. He gave the Britannicus, a fatal potion to drink during a meal. The other guests were alarmed at the youth's death spasms, but Nero called it "an epileptic fit." Then he went back to eating.

Nero had her executed, reflected his bloodthirsty personality. His first marriage to Non's marriage also ended when he had her banished and then murdered. He killed his 13-year-old wife, when she scolded him for coming home late. He obtained his third and final wife by having her husband eliminated.

33 疯狂的皇帝

最近，一群来自世界各地的历史学家公布了“史上十大暴君”名单，全票当选榜首的是三世纪的罗马皇帝尼禄。他乖张的施虐倾向大多来自母亲阿格里皮娜——她谋杀了尼禄的哥哥卡利古拉（那个折磨并残杀数百名罗马人的精神错乱统治者）。

阿格里皮娜嫁给了皇帝克劳狄乌斯，她说服他废黜亲生儿子，立尼禄为继承人，随后给克劳狄乌斯下了毒。尼禄的暴政在他对待自己家人的方式中体现得最为残暴。

16岁登基后，他犯下了第一次有记录的谋杀：在一次宴会上，他给布利塔尼库斯下了致命的毒药。其他宾客对这个年轻人的死亡痉挛感到惊恐，但尼禄称这是“癫痫发作”，然后继续用餐。

尼禄处决了自己的母亲，这反映了他嗜血的本性。他的第一次婚姻也以悲剧收场：他放逐了妻子，随后将其谋杀。他还杀死了13岁的妻子，只因为她指责他回家太晚。他通过除掉第三任妻子的丈夫，得到了这位最终的妻子。