Quinquennial Neronia
The quinquennial Neronia was a massive Greek-style festival created by the Roman Emperor Nero, and it was designed to return every five years. Roman emperors had long used public games to celebrate themselves, but Nero wanted something borrowed from the Greek world. That ambition raises several questions. What actually happened at such a festival, and in what order? Whose example was Nero following? What does it mean to count five years, and why does the word quinquennial carry a small puzzle? And why did an event built to repeat on a fixed cycle never complete a third round?
Music, oratory and poetry opened the festival, and they came first on purpose. The program was divided into three parts, and the opening part gave pride of place to the arts of voice and word. Gymnastics formed the second part, bringing athletic competition into a festival that had begun with performance. Horseriding came last and closed the sequence. This structure is what made the Neronia Greek in style: it joined artistic and physical contests in a single celebration instead of treating them as separate occasions. The festival was also described as massive, which suggests ambition on a scale beyond an ordinary day of games. Yet the arrangement was not Nero's only model, because Roman rulers before him had already tied public spectacle to their own reigns.
Julius Caesar and Augustus had both set a pattern that Nero chose to continue. They held celebratory games to mark the anniversary of their reign, turning a personal milestone into a public event. The Neronia belonged to that tradition. It combined an established Roman habit of honoring the ruler with a Greek-style program of music, athletics and horsemanship. By following Caesar and Augustus, Nero placed his festival in a line of rulers who used games to remind the city of their power. The festival was therefore both an inheritance and an innovation. What remained was the question of its calendar, and here the Latin word in its name hides a counting problem.
The word quinquennial means every five years, but the Romans did not count the interval the way a modern listener might expect. The Neronia was counted exclusively rather than inclusively, so the event simply took place once every five years. Nero's accession came in 54. The first Neronia was held in 60, which was six years after he took power. The second followed in 65, five years after the first. A third installment never happened. Nero's death, followed by damnatio memoriae, the official condemnation of his memory, prevented it. A festival meant to keep returning ended after two editions, and the ruler who created it was erased from official honor.
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Common questions
What was the quinquennial Neronia?
The quinquennial Neronia was a massive Greek-style festival created by the Roman Emperor Nero. It was meant to take place every five years.
What events were part of the quinquennial Neronia?
The Neronia had three parts. The first was music, oratory and poetry, the second was gymnastics, and the last was horseriding.
Who created the quinquennial Neronia?
The Roman Emperor Nero created the quinquennial Neronia. He followed a tradition set by Julius Caesar and Augustus of holding celebratory games to mark the anniversary of their reign.
When was the quinquennial Neronia held?
The first Neronia was held in 60, six years after Nero's accession in 54. The second was held in 65.
How was the quinquennial Neronia counted every five years?
The Neronia was counted exclusively rather than inclusively. The event took place once every five years.
Why was there no third quinquennial Neronia?
Nero's death and damnatio memoriae prevented a third installment of the festival. Only two Neronia were held.