Gina Dimuro is a New York-based writer and translator. Commodus accompanied his father during the Marcomannic Wars in 172, and on a tour of the Eastern provinces in 176. Soon after he became sole ruler, Lucius changed his name to Marcus Aurelius Commodus Antoninus. Nowadays Commodus is best remembered as the villain of Ridley Scott's movie "Gladiator", a sneering and arrogant portrayal by Joaquin Phoenix. [42] Later, he decapitated a running ostrich with a specially designed dart[43] and afterwards carried his sword and the bleeding head of the dead bird over to the Senators' seating area and motioned as though they were next. The Carnac stones are an exceptionally dense collection of megalithic sites around the French village of Carnac, in Brittany, consisting of more than 3,000 prehistoric standing stones and erected by the pre-Celtic people of Brittany. Commodus lunged at the Senator. And while some people may seem content with the story as it stands, our view is that there existcountless mysteries, scientific anomalies and surprising artifacts thathave yet to be discovered and explained. The most famous scene in "Gladiator" is the one that launched a thousand memes (to use a phrase from a different Ancient European society). However, just when the days of the mad emperors seemed long gone, Commodus brought the madness roaring back. His great simplicity, however, together with his cowardice, made him the slave of his companions, and it was through them that he at first, out of ignorance, missed the better life and then was led on into lustful and cruel habits, which soon became second nature."[26]. Then, discover the most fascinating facts from the entirety of ancient history. One such notable event was the attempted extermination of the house of the Quinctilii. The Horsemen of Oyo were legendary warriors who served the Oyo Empire of West Africa. Lucius Aurelius Commodus, born 161 A.D., was appointed co-emperor by his father Marcus Aurelius in 177 A.D. when he was just 16 years old. The latter is what has made the movie timeless. [39] Dio also wrote that it was Commodus's custom to privately use deadly weapons to fight, murdering and maiming his opponents. Die ''Terme Taurine'' von Civitavecchia ein rmisches Heilbad. They then sent in an athlete to strangle the 31-year old emperor in his bath. The climax came in the year 190, which had 25 suffect consuls a record in the 1,000-year history of the Roman consulshipall appointed by Cleander (they included the future Emperor Septimius Severus). Wikimedia CommonsA bust of Roman Emperor Commodus, styled as if he were a reincarnation of Hercules, which is precisely what he believed himself to be. Available from: http://www.roman-empire.net/highpoint/commodus.html, M R Reese is a writer and researcher with a passion for unlocking the mysteries of ancient civilizations. Are the Misty Peaks of the Azores Remnants of the Legendary Atlantis? He also had the head of the Colossus of Nero adjacent to the Colosseum replaced with his own portrait, gave it a club, placed a bronze lion at its feet to make it look like Hercules Romanus, and added an inscription boasting of being "the only left-handed fighter to conquer twelve times one thousand men".[23]. Known for their equestrian skills and bravery in battle, they played a crucial role in expanding the empire and establishing its dominance. A bust of Commodus as a youth. Commode-Hercule et l'anthropologie hercalenne,", M.P. Murdering the emperor, after all, was frowned upon even one as hated as Commodus, who had bankrupted Rome with his egotistical demands and was infamous for ordering cruel executions. Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) takes power and strips rank from Maximus (Russell Crowe), one of the favored generals of his predecessor and father, Empero Dio Cassius 73.10.2, Loeb edition translated E. Cary. In fact, the rule of Commodus might have gone down as quite unremarkable in the history of Rome were it not for one unfortunate incident. First, she attempted to kill him by poisoning his food. The poison failed, so Narcissus entered Commodus's bedchamber. The character is, however, portrayed fictionally in Gladiator, and his death during Maximus final fight in the Colosseum is an example of the films historical inaccuracy. After those attempts on his life, Commodus spent much of his time outside Rome, mostly on the family estates at Lanuvium. Commodus ruled with chaos and left chaos in his wake. In November 192 he held the Plebian Games, in which he would use arrows and javelins to shoot hundreds of animals every morning, and then engaged in gladiator battles each afternoon. The following year he became the youngest emperor and consul up to that point, at the age of 16. He was co-emperor with his father Marcus Aurelius from 177 until his father's death in 180. fascinating facts from the entirety of ancient history. Ancient Chinese Earthquake Detector Invented 2,000 Years Ago Really Worked! Gracchus and Commodus stared evenly at eachother, with mutual hatred. Composite Character: Maximus, compared to real life. As Edward Gibbon noted in his famous Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, in the intervening years between the death of Domitian and the reign of Commodus, the vast extent of the Roman empire was governed by absolute power, under the guidance of virtue and wisdom. The Five Good Emperors, ruled efficiently and under them the Roman people enjoyed a rational freedom.. Als besonders skandals empfand man die Beziehung zwischen Eppia, einer Frau aus reicher Familie, die Senatorengattin war, und dem Gladiator Sergiolus. It was presumably there that, on 15 October 172, he was given the victory title Germanicus, in the presence of the army. Man in Peru Caught Out Drinking With an 800-year-old Mummy! Commodus, who is portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix, was indeed the son of Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) and an emperor of Rome. [34] The Romans found Commodus's gladiatorial combat to be scandalous and disgraceful. Meanwhile, Commodus was lapsing into insanity. The film portrays a fictionalized account of historical events, and it illuminates aspects of the culture of ancient Rome. ( Louisonze/CC BY-SA 3.0 ). Wife of M. Annius Libo: Levick (2014), p. 163. He served jointly with his father Marcus Aurelius from 177 until the latter's death in 180, and thereafter he reigned alone until his assassination. [45] On other occasions, Commodus killed three elephants on the floor of the arena by himself,[46] and a giraffe.[47]. Husband of Salonia Matidia: Levick (2014), p. 161. Strange that they didn't kill him earlier. The activities which held Commodus attention and with which he spent his time were primarily surrounding gladiatorial combat. He would take to the arena and engage in combat, which the Romans viewed as being scandalous and disgraceful. This ancient Roman biographical article is a stub. By using our Services, you agree to our use of cookies. Innumerable statues around the empire were set up portraying him in the guise of Hercules, reinforcing the image of him as a demigod, a physical giant, a protector, and a warrior who fought against men and beasts (see "Commodus and Hercules" and "Commodus the Gladiator" below). Commodus's death is an example of how the film has historical references but often distorts them to create its narrative Gladiator's Commodus being less power-hungry than his historical counterpart refocuses the movie around Maximus' personal struggle rather than the wider Roman political landscape. On 31 December, Marcia poisoned Commodus's food, but he vomited up the poison, so the conspirators sent his wrestling partner Narcissus to strangle him in his bath.[24]. Gladiator is a 2000 epic historical drama film directed by Ridley Scott and written by David Franzoni, John Logan, and William Nicholson.The film was co-produced and released by DreamWorks Pictures and Universal Pictures.DreamWorks Pictures distributed the film in North America while Universal Pictures released it internationally through United International Pictures. Through his teen years, Commodus, now a young man with curly blonde hair, joined Aurelius on military campaigns. It's ironic that we watched the film Gladiator the other night. But in reality, it was marked the end of the promise of Rome. "Commodus' progeny will rule Rome!" "Back!" yelled the Praetorian guard. Now at the zenith of his power, Cleander continued to sell public offices as his private business. "Exsuperatorius" (the supreme) was a title given to Jupiter, and "Amazonius" identified him again with Hercules. English translation) UCLA Press, Berkeley CA (1961), 1.15.1-9, Dio Cassius 73.20.3, Loeb edition translated E. Cary, Gibbon p. 106 "disgorged at once a hundred lions; a hundred darts". Interestingly, it took Scott a while to realize that, like a sadistic emperor at a gladiatorial display, the ending demanded Maximus's death. After repeated attempts on Commodus's life, Roman citizens were often killed for making him angry. Commodus also had a passion for gladiatorial combat, which he took so far as to take to the arena himself, dressed as a secutor. Every illness was treated to ensure he remained strong and healthy. The gladiator who defied an emperor. But he vomited the poisoned food up, foiling that plan. Wikimedia CommonsEmperor Commodus lust for power is widely credited with bringing an end to the fabled Pax Romana. But frankly, the rest of "Gladiator" also deserves a standing ovation from an arena full of bloodthirsty Roman citizens (and modern audiences), especially the ending. Commodus was a greater curse to the Romans than any pestilence or any crime and the city had descended into bankruptcy and chaos. While the true story behind his reign and death are fascinating, I prefer the fictional story, where he is killed in the arena before thousands of subjects by a gladiator whose family was ordered killed by the emperor. Commodus' death sparked a civil war, which eventually led to military rule that remained in place for a century and destabilized the empire. Perhaps seeing this as an opportunity, early in 192 Commodus, declaring himself the new Romulus, ritually re-founded Rome, renaming the city Colonia Lucia Annia Commodiana. 37 Dirty Medieval Manuscripts That Prove People In The Middle Ages Weren't So Prudish After All, Inside The Little-Known Story Of Laura Bullion, The 'Thorny Rose' Of The Wild Bunch, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. , they played a crucial role in expanding the Empire and establishing its dominance Romana., discover the most fascinating facts from the entirety of ancient history poisoning. In expanding the Empire and establishing its dominance events, and on a tour of the Atlantis... 'S ironic that we watched the film portrays a fictionalized account of historical events, and on a tour the! Brought the madness roaring back what has made the movie timeless wife M.! 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