It was said by Suetonius and Cassius Dio that Nero sang the " Sack of Ilium " in stage costume while the city burned . Popular legend claims that Nero played the fiddle at the time of the fire , an anachronism based merely on the concept of the lyre , a stringed instrument associated with Nero and his performances . ( The fiddle was not invented until the 10th century . ) Tacitus 's account , however , has Nero in Antium at the time of the fire . Tacitus also said that Nero playing his lyre and singing while the city burned was only rumor .