# Nero — Triplanetary character guide

> Nero in Triplanetary by E. E. Smith.

**Role:** supporting

**First appearance:** 0008-iii-the-fall-of-rome

## Snapshot

The emperor whose garden torches are human bodies and whose laughter is the last sound many conspirators hear.

## Who they are

Nero rules Rome with a theatrical cruelty that turns atrocity into spectacle, from burning Christians as party lights to watching gladiators die for his amusement. He is the sun around which the arena's violence orbits, a paranoid tyrant whose efficient spies have crushed every previous plot. His presence transforms the gladiators' rebellion from a political act into a personal vendetta, raising the stakes to life, death, and the fate of an empire.

## Relationships

### [Livius](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/triplanetary_se/characters/livius)

_psychological_

Livius and Nero have a manipulative or victim-perpetrator dynamic, with Nero likely exerting control over Livius.

### [Patroclus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/triplanetary_se/characters/patroclus)

_rivalry_

Nero and Patroclus are enemies or competitors, likely in a power struggle within the ancient narrative.

### [Livius](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/triplanetary_se/characters/livius)

_psychological_

Livius and Nero have a manipulative or victim-perpetrator dynamic, with Nero likely exerting control over Livius.

## In the story

### [Book I: Dawn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/triplanetary_se/chapters/book-i-dawn)

Roman emperor influenced by Eddorian manipulation.

### [III: The Fall of Rome](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/triplanetary_se/chapters/iii-the-fall-of-rome)

The Roman emperor, revealed as Gharlane's puppet, presiding over the arena and unaware of the gladiators' conspiracy.

### [II: Arisia](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/triplanetary_se/chapters/ii-arisia)

Identified as Gharlane of Eddore, the agent who will sow ruin in Rome.

### [Rome](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/triplanetary_se/chapters/iii-rome)

Emperor of Rome; target of the assassination plot; revealed to have Eddorian powers.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/triplanetary_se/characters/nero
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/triplanetary_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/triplanetary_se/characters