> Emperor Nero: The most disgraceful competitor in Olympic history

In 67 CE, the 211th Olympic Games were host to a very unlikely, powerful, and fairly unpopular competitor. At 29, Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, spurred on by a love of Greek culture and his own hubris, decided he was a worthy opponent to the best athletes in the whole of Greece. And if the name didn’t give it away, yes, he was the ruler of the entire Roman empire at the time. What could possibly go wrong?

The astute may be thinking that holding the Olympics in 67 AD doesn't add up to the four-yearly cycle, and you’d be right. Nero, unwilling to postpone his Greek odyssey, demanded this sacred event be moved to coincide with his visit, and his meddling didn’t end there.

Back in Rome, Nero’s key activities included drinking, lounging and cavorting about town causing trouble. Therefore, events involving running or any kind of physical prowess didn’t really appeal to him.

He did however adore the arts. So, thanks to some pretty astronomical bribes, poetry, playing the lyre, singing and acting miraculously became Olympic sports in 67 AD. In a clear demonstration of dominance over Greece, Nero demanded events in which he considered himself an expert be added to the programme...and then had himself declared the winner of every single one.

Unlike many other events Nero ‘won’, chariot races were an actual Olympic category. Two and four-horse chariot races had taken place at the Hippodrome since 680 BCE. These were the only events that could have a female winner, as the owners of the chariots or horses were deemed the winners, not the participants.

Nero had opted to enter the quadriga race. As the name implies, these were chariots that were typically drawn by four horses. However, in a further display of disregard for tradition, Nero entered a 10-horse chariot. He was thrown from his chariot as he lost control and was unable to finish the race due to his injuries. None of this stopped him from declaring himself the winner though.

While everyone involved was embarrassed for him, Nero’s perceived success at the Olympics only served to further inflame his ego. So much so that he took off around Greece entering as many sporting events as he could and he reported back on each one to the Senate as if it were a great conquering victory in battle.

Incidentally, the actual battles Rome was embroiled in were not going well. When the Emperor finally gave in to the Senate’s pleas and returned home, he demanded a public procession wherein a haul of 1,808 first-place prizes was paraded.

Nero may have been posthumously stripped of every single Olympic title, but the damage he’d done to relations between Rome and Greece remained.