What did Nero do to early Christians in Rome?

Answer 1

We have no firm evidence that Nero had any interest at all in the Christians. However, later Christian tradition holds that Peter and Paul were martyred in Rome during his reign, Christians were fed to the lions, and the Chistians living in Rome were blamed for the Great Fire of Rome. On each of these traditions, in turn:

1. There is no information that Peter ever went to Rome, not that either Peter or Paul was martyred. Acts of the Apostles, written some fifty years later, is largely about Peter and Paul, but does not mention them as being martyred. On the balance of probabilities, this did not happen.
2. Nero actually tried to stop the gladiatorial games in Rome, or at least minimise the deaths that occurred in them. Unlike his immediate predecessors, Nero does not appear to have enjoyed the spectacle of death. Some two hundred years later, the third-century Church Father, Origen (Contra Celsum), wrote that there were not many Christian martyrs up to his own time - and that it was easy to count them.

   So, there is no evidence that Nero instituted the practice of sacrificing Christians at the games, or even that there were many early Christian martyrs at all. It seems that the tradition of widespread Christian martyrdoms in the early Roman Empire developed long after his time. Certainly, Suetonius does record, "Punishment was meted out to the Christians, a class of men professing a new and wicked superstition", so no doubt there were some punishments of some sort incurred.

3. Writing of the Great Fire, Tacitus (Annals) says, "To quash the rumour, therefore, Nero substituted other culprits, those commonly known as Christians, who were hated for their disgraceful activities - and he inflicted excruciating punishments on them."

   On this evidence, some Christians were punished, probably unjustly. However, Warnington (Nero Reality and Legend) points out "No other writer, Christian or pagan, in the following centuries refers to Nero using the Christians as scapegoats, although Christian tradition knew of Nero as a persecutor ..." G. Walter discusses the possibility that part of the reference in Annals is a later 'pious interpolation' by Christian apologists.

Answer 2

He persecuted them and a lot of them were killed. However, Nero did not "persecute" them for being Christians, as later emperors did. He punished them for arson, which was a capitol offense in ancient Rome. As soon as all the excitement died down, the Christians were free to practice their religion as before.