Emperor Nero

When I think of Nero, I often find myself thinking of Macbeth, someone who did not necessarily want power but did indeed have ambition, and once in power, became paranoid and insecure that he would lose it. This is most evident in the poisoning of Britannicus, Claudius's natural son and the heir to the title before Nero was adopted, and his mother Agrippina, who had extreme influence over him but encroached on his authority. While he was a cruel person, his tenure as emperor started out well because of moderation and good advisers. Once Burrus died and Seneca faded "into the background" (likely out of concern for his life), Tigellinus's actions of Nero's behalf hurt his reputation, with the deciding blow being the Great Fire, which spelled the death knell for his relationship with the Senate. And while he was a patron of the arts, the "imperial reputation" didn't improve, since the Romans liked an emperor who was a conscientious leader both in battle and in Rome, and only reinforced his "playboy image". Thus, a combination of attributes he was born with and the power he came into contributed to his nature. If he had become an artist instead of the emperor I think his life would've turned out much better.