Suicide of Nero
Emperor Nero, having fled Rome after being declared a public enemy by the Senate, takes his own life in a secluded chamber of the Villa of Phaon. With the help of his freedman Epaphroditus, he stabs h
Setting
A secluded chamber in the Villa of Phaon, located just outside Rome. The room is sparsely furnished with marble floors and walls adorned with fading frescoes depicting pastoral scenes. A narrow window allows a sliver of morning light to enter.
Characters
Nero
primary
A man in his early thirties, with a round face and weak chin, his once carefully curled golden hair now disheveled and greasy. His body, once pampered and soft from imperial luxury, now shows signs of recent hardship - sunken eyes from lack of sleep, and a slight tremor in his hands. His complexion is pale, with patches of red from anxiety and weeping.
Epaphroditus
secondary
A middle-aged man of Greek descent, with a lean but sturdy build, his dark hair streaked with gray and tied back in a simple knot. His face is lined with worry, and his dark eyes reflect a mixture of duty and sorrow. His hands are calloused from years of writing and serving.
Phaon
secondary
A middle-aged freedman with a sturdy build, his face lined with the marks of both former hardship and recent worry. His dark hair is streaked with gray, and his olive skin bears the weathered look of a man who has known both servitude and prosperity. His hands, though now soft from years of comfort, still bear faint scars from his earlier labors.
Slave Boy
background
A thin, adolescent boy of about 12-14 years with sunken cheeks and large, dark eyes that reflect both malnutrition and constant fear. His olive skin is marked with faint scars from past punishments, and his close-cropped hair reveals patches where hair has been pulled out in distress.
Dialog
Nero
What an artist perishes in me! The world shall weep for Nero... but will they remember my verses or only my vices?
Epaphroditus
Domine... the horsemen approach. The Senate's judgment cannot be delayed.
Nero
Cowards! All of them! I gave Rome bread and circuses... and they repay me with treason?
Epaphroditus
If it pleases you, Domine... the steel is sharp. It will be... swift.
Nero
Swift? No... no... let me hear my own death song first...
Epaphroditus
The hour is late, Augustus. Even now they search the villa.
Nero
Hark! Is that... hooves? Very well... guide my hand, faithful Epaphroditus... guide my hand...