The Emperor of Rome between 54 and 64 A.D., Nero is infamously remembered for his madman antics – even to this day, few can touch the atrocities of this psychopathic Emperor! During his reign, he committed terrible atrocities, which of course took him out of favor with the Romans whom he ruled.
But whilst he was the most hated man in the Empire – and possibly the most hated of all the Emperors to preside over Rome, there are some stories which come to us today, speaking of a number of talents he possessed. An accomplished singer and musician, Nero played the lyre often. Not simply a man of the arts, Nero worked on his physical self and trained to become a finely-honed Olympian.
Mary, Queen of Scots
The only surviving, legitimate child of King James V of Scotland, Mary Stuart was just six DAYS old when she ascended to the throne. Scotland was largely ruled by regents whilst Mary was raised in France. She married at 16 and then following the Dauphin of France’s death, she returned to Scotland, in 1559. Professor Caroline Wilkinson of Dundee University was the co-instigator in re-creating Shakespeare’s face.
He is once again bringing those lost to history, back into the future. Using paintings and drawings of Mary, Queen of Scots was brought into the modern day with the help of modern tech! Wilkinson created the closest possible likeness for Mary, using biographical information to get past the stylized versions that are most commonly seen.
The Queen In All Her Glory
The Royals liked to keep things close – did you know Mary was cousins with Queen Elizabeth I? The two at first were like sisters, with Elizabeth accepting her cousin into England when the Scottish aristocratic class revolted and took away her ability to rule. But it seems that Mary got a taste for power and was entangled in a plot to overthrow her gracious cousin Elizabeth.
If anything, she’s lucky she wasn’t executed – but she did spend 19 years in prison, and of course, stripped of her royal title and claim to the throne. Elizabeth could be fooled once, but the second time around she wasn’t quite so forgiving. And “off with her head” became a real thing. The waxwork depiction shows Mary in her younger years.
Nero Did a Bad Bad Thing
This recreation of Nero is spookily close to the writings describing the Emperor, we’re actually a little worried! With a fierce quality to his face, his steady gaze demonstrates this guy meant no nonsense! It was his way or the highway. Famous for his debaucheries, political murders, and persecution of Christians, he was, of course, the Emperor who watched Rome burn, and rebuilt it!
In 64 A.D. a terrible fire decimated the city. Do you think Nero cared? Well, apparently, he sang from the Greek epic “The Sack of Ilium” atop his palace roof. It’s rumored that the Emperor started the fire himself, to expand his palace complex! Eager to return Rome to its former glory, Nero sucked all the funds out of the Roman treasury. But it wouldn’t be complete without a 100-foot-tall bronze statue of himself, would it?
Robert I
Robert I, known more popularly as Robert the Bruce, is another whom historians and archaeologists have brought back to life by way of modern technology. Sure, Robert isn’t exactly looking as dapper as he ought to be as per the image below, but this cast was made from his actual skull, which was unearthed some 200 years ago when his burial site was being rebuilt!
Taking the throne in 1306, Robert rose to be the King of Scots, until his death in 1329. In 1314, the mighty army of the Scots defeated an English army at Bannockburn, which allowed the Scots to continue living freely, outside of English rule. In late 2016, researchers from the University of Glasgow were curious to see if Face Lab specialists could reveal what he may have looked like!