Nero woke in the middle of the night to find the palace guard posts abandoned. He called out for a gladiator named Spiculus, one of his favorites, or some other percussor—expert swordsman—to come to his aid. He felt now that his life must end, but he wanted a capable executioner to end it. Instead two Greek freedmen, Phaon and Epaphroditus, answered the summons, and Sporus, the youth whom Nero had dressed to resemble Poppaea. Along with one or two others, they became Nero’s last cohort and honor guard. They disguised the princeps and helped him sneak out of Rome, a city that was already at
...more
