commodus death gladiator

Commodus mistress, Marcia, played an important role in his assassination. It appears that Aurelius was desperate to have a son of his own bloodline succeed him. Having been accepted as emperor by Syria, Judea and Egypt, Cassius carried on his rebellion even after it had become obvious that Marcus was still alive. The Emperor Commodus Leaving the Arena at the Head of the Gladiators (detail) by Edwin Blashfield (18481936), Hermitage Museum and Gardens, Norfolk, Virginia. Were theonlyPop Archaeology site combining scientific research with out-of-the-box perspectives. Related: Gladiator: What Happened To Every Historical Character In Real Life. He gripped the iron bars in front of him and was pushed back by one of the guards. 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. These tendencies now increased to megalomaniacal proportions. In 177 Lucius was made coruler and heir to his father, the emperor Marcus Aurelius (reigned 161180). By December of that year, he declared that he would inaugurate the New Year on January 1, 193 as a gladiator in the arena. ( Public Domain ). [45] On other occasions, Commodus killed three elephants on the floor of the arena by himself,[46] and a giraffe.[47]. View GLADIATOR - CHW3M.docx from HIS CHW3M at Wexford Collegiate School for the Arts. While co-emperor, Commodus became the youngest consul up until that point in Roman history. When Marcia found a list of people Commodus intended to have executed, she discovered that she, the prefect Laetus and Eclectus were on it. We'll explain. Only a famous death will do. We will never see the like of the Roman Empire ever again. 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. Non-military citizens who had lost their feet due to injury or illness would be tied together for Commodus to club to death. Despite his notoriety, and considering the importance of his reign, Commodus's years in power are not well chronicled. His fictionalized depiction as a mad emperor in the film Gladiator actually plays down some of his less believable excesses while giving him a nobler death. Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus was born on 31 August AD161 in Lanuvium, near Rome. In 192 AD, several senators, led by Praetorian prefect Quintus Aemilius Laetus, recruited Narcissus to assassinate the emperor after a previous failed attempt by the conspirators. Commodus murders his father (Richard Harris) to gain power, orders the death of war hero Maximus (Russell Crowe) in order to circumvent any possible challenge to his rule, puts the moves on his. All the months of the year were renamed to correspond exactly with his (now twelve) names: Lucius, Aelius, Aurelius, Commodus, Augustus, Herculeus, Romanus, Exsuperatorius, Amazonius, Invictus, Felix, and Pius. Roman Artwork. Commodus' death sparked a civil war, which eventually led to military rule that remained in place for a century and destabilized the empire. The gladiator who defied an emperor. A gladiator, a god to his people, and eventually the man behind the collapse of over 80 years of Roman peace, Commodus was anything but one strict thing. Commoduss father was Marcus Aurelius, an emperor who presided over what has been regarded as one of ancient Romes golden ages. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). He engaged in one-on-one combat with many other gladiators, each of whom was obliged to lose to the emperor. The first, Sextus Tigidius Perennis, Commodus put to death after becoming convinced he was conspiring against him. Narration by: Alexander Dobby. The historian Herodian, a contemporary, described Commodus as an extremely handsome man. Commodus was a greater curse to the Romans than any pestilence or any crime and the city had descended into bankruptcy and chaos. To "accept kinship with Commodus the bluntly pragmatic decision was taken to deify the former emperor, thus legitimizing Severus' seizure of power. Jack is a feature writer for Screen Rant. Cookies help us deliver our Services. . After the murder of the powerful Saoterus, Perennis easily took over the reins of government and Commodus found a new chamberlain and favourite in Cleander, a Phrygian freedman who had married one of the emperor's mistresses, Demostratia. Commodus received extensive tutoring by a multitude of teachers with a focus on intellectual education. Aside from the manner of his death in Gladiator, Commodus' onscreen depiction has a few other historical reworkings that help add spice to the plot, although some changes serve to tone down the character. 1475); the hero wears his characteristic lionskin and wields a club. Commodus (/kmds/;[4] 31 August 161 31 December 192) was a Roman emperor who ruled from 177 to 192. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Commodus. His father was the philosopher-king, Marcus Aurelius, who [44] Dio notes that the targeted senators actually found this more ridiculous than frightening, and chewed on laurel leaves to conceal their laughter. Instead, he devoted himself to his harem of 300 females and a like number of males, played gladiator at Rome's. Did you realise that "Gladiator" was a revamp of the 1960's movie "THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE" starring Sir Alec Guiness, Sophia Loren, Christopher Plummer, Steven Boyd and Omar Sharif? Moreover, as Hercules, he could claim to be the son of Jupiter, the supreme god of the Roman pantheon. The plot failed, and Commodus retaliated by executing a number of leading senators. [36] Popular rumors spread alleging he was not actually the son of Marcus Aurelius, but of a gladiator his mother Faustina had taken as a lover at the coastal resort of Caieta.[37]. An inscribed altar from Dura-Europos on the Euphrates shows that Commodus's titles and the renaming of the months were disseminated to the furthest reaches of the Empire; moreover, that even auxiliary military units received the title Commodiana, and that he claimed two additional titles: Pacator Orbis (pacifier of the world) and Dominus Noster (Our Lord). 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]. His brutal misrule precipitated civil strife that ended 84 years of stability and prosperity within the empire. A bust of Commodus as a youth. He then returned to Rome and celebrated a triumph for the conclusion of the wars on 22 October 180. 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. Composite Character: Maximus, compared to real life. Commodus was born on August 31, 161 AD in Lanuvium, 14 miles (22.5 km) southeast of Rome. Papirius Dionysius was executed, too. Gladiator movie clips: http://j.mp/1Je0zMpBUY THE MOVIE: http://amzn.to/v7o2YKDon't miss the HOTTEST NEW TRAILERS: http://bit.ly/1u2y6prCLIP DESCRIPTION:Afte. [6][7] The latter died in 169 having failed to recover from an operation, which left Commodus as Marcus Aurelius's sole surviving son. [10] Among his teachers, Onesicrates, Antistius Capella, Titus Aius Sanctus, and Pitholaus are mentioned.[10][11]. Condianus and Maximus were executed on the pretext that while they were not implicated in any plots, their wealth and talent would make them unhappy with the current state of affairs. From all angles, Commodus was groomed to succeed on the throne. Wife of M. Annius Verus: Giacosa (1977), p. 10. The latter is what has made the movie timeless. Commodus was made coruler when he was just 16 years old, and he was emperor before he turned 19. The Horsemen of Oyo were legendary warriors who served the Oyo Empire of West Africa. We seek to retell the story of our beginnings. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. The pivotal 2000 historical drama follows the betrayed general, Maximus, on a quest for revenge against Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), the usurper emperor of Rome, who murdered his wife and son. 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. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. Als besonders skandals empfand man die Beziehung zwischen Eppia, einer Frau aus reicher Familie, die Senatorengattin war, und dem Gladiator Sergiolus. [16] On 1 January 177, Commodus became consul for the first time, which made him, aged 15, the youngest consul up to that time (the minimum age for the consulship was around 30). In AD 191, he took over more of the reins of power, though he continued to rule through a cabal consisting of Marcia, his new chamberlain Eclectus, and the new praetorian prefect Quintus Aemilius Laetus. Commodus was a secutor, a type of gladiator who carried a gladius and a heavy shield. Or, were the Romans protecting something even more valuable than silver? Lucilla was exiled to Capri and later killed. Maximus : You would fight me? Contrary to the plot of Gladiator where Emperor Commodus is portrayed as having killed Marcus Aurelius the two ruled together, from 177 until the latters death in 180. One of these is Commodus' relationship with his sister Lucilla. Commodus was the son of marcus Marcus Aurelius and later Roman Emperor. Ridley Scott's Gladiator famously kills off Maximus (Russell Crowe) at the end, but the original plan for the ending was very different. Whatever its roots, the conspiracy failed and the incident aroused an insane paranoia in Commodus, who began seeing plots and treachery everywhere. In the story of Gladiator, the Roman general Maximus is betrayed by the evil Emperor Commodus. Dio Cassius 73.1.2, Loeb edition translated E. Cary, Dio Cassius 73.5.3, Loeb edition translated E. Cary. Upon his fathers death in 180, Commodus became the sole emperor. Top Image: Bust of Commodus, 17th Emperor of the Roman Empire. [5] He was the son of the reigning emperor, Marcus Aurelius, and Aurelius's first cousin, Faustina the Younger, the youngest daughter of Emperor Antoninus Pius, who had died only a few months before. Commodus as Killing Machine and Gladiator Commodus as Megalomaniac The End of Commodus Like Father, Not Like Son Commodus's father Marcus Aurelius was a morally upright and beloved emperor who ruled Rome through a devastating plague epidemic and endless frontier wars against invading Germanic tribes. [22], Thus, he presented himself as the fountainhead of the Empire, Roman life, and religion. Thereafter his rule became increasingly arbitrary and vicious. In 195, the emperor Septimius Severus, trying to gain favour with the family of Marcus Aurelius, rehabilitated Commodus's memory and had the Senate deify him. Conveniently, both of these goals are achieved by killing Commodus. Are the Misty Peaks of the Azores Remnants of the Legendary Atlantis? Her motive is alleged to have been the envy of the Empress Crispina. Through his teen years, Commodus, now a young man with curly blonde hair, joined Aurelius on military campaigns. His reign is commonly thought of as marking the end of a golden period of peace in the history of the Roman Empire, known as the Pax Romana. Nowadays Commodus is best remembered as the villain of Ridley Scott's movie "Gladiator", a sneering and arrogant portrayal by Joaquin Phoenix. Cassius Dio recorded one incident where, after becoming tired out, Commodus ordered a cup of chilled wine to him and drank it at one gulp. In an amusing anecdote, Dio continued, At this both the populace and we senators all immediately shouted out the words so familiar at drinking-bouts, Long life to you!'. The first crisis of the reign came in 182, when Lucilla engineered a conspiracy against her brother. After repeated attempts on Commodus's life, Roman citizens were often killed for making him angry. First, she attempted to kill him by poisoning his food. He kept most of the advisers from his fathers regime in place and the first three years of his reign ran as smoothly as that of his father with the added benefit that Rome was no longer fighting any wars. But in reality, it was marked the end of the promise of Rome. Annius Verus: Giacosa ( 1977 ), p. 10, 161 AD in Lanuvium, near.! To injury or illness would be tied together for Commodus to club to death years, Commodus put death! Romans than any pestilence or any crime and the city had descended into bankruptcy and.! 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