Bad reputation: British Museum takes new look at Rome's Nero

A bronze head of Roman emperor Nero dating from around AD 54-61 and found in the River Alde at Rendham in Suffolk, eastern England, is displayed during a preview for the 'Nero: The Man Behind The Myth' exhibition, at the British Museum in London. Photo: AP

The British Museum’s new exhibition on the Roman Emperor Nero opens with a piece of fake news from the ancient world.

Visitors are greeted with an image of Peter Ustinov as Nero in the movie Quo Vadis strumming a lyre - a famous image of the cruel tyrant who notoriously fiddled while Rome burned.