  The Domus Aurea, Nero's last "palace" constructed in the very heart of
ancient Rome, is a true masterpiece of Roman architecture. We explore here
symbolic aspects of the emperor's project, analysing the archaeoastronomy of
the best preserved part of the Domus, the Esquiline Wing. In particular, we
study the so-called Octagonal Room, the huge vaulted room which is in many
respects a predecessor of the Pantheon. The project of the room turns out to be
connected with astronomy, as will be that of the Hadrian's Pantheon 60 years
later. Indeed, the divinization and "solarisation" of the emperor placed at the
equinoxes as a point of balance in the heavens are shown to be explicitly
referred to in the rigorous orientation of the plan and in the peculiar
geometry of the design of the dome.
