On 27 November 176, Marcus Aurelius bestowed the title of Imperator on Commodus and in summer 177 he made him a full joint emperor by giving him the title of Augustus. Commodus butchered dozens of animals in single appearances at the Colosseum on other occasions. Maximus : You would fight me? His family is murdered, and he becomes a slave, and then sold off to become a gladiator. Were theonlyPop Archaeology site combining scientific research with out-of-the-box perspectives. [4] Commodus was supposedly in a drunken stupor after Marcia had poisoned him[1] and Narcissus proceeded to strangle his master in his bathtub[1] or, according to Herodian, in his bed.[3]. Was this German silver mine really defended by two Roman forts and a line of "spike defenses? Commodus, who is portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix, was indeed the son of Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) and an emperor of Rome. Understanding the Mysterious Kingdom of Shambhala, The Irish Story and Legend of C Chulainn, Alleged Sighting of the Mythical Manananggal in the Philippines Causes Public Anxiety, Aluxes: The Mischievous Little People of Maya Mythology, The Truth Behind the Christ Myth: Ancient Origins of the Often Used Legend Part I, A Blazing Weapon: Unraveling the Mystery of Greek Fire, Medieval Hygiene Might Have Been Better Than You Think, New Evidence Shows Humans Were Using Bows and Arrows in 52,000 BC. He also believed himself to be a reincarnation of Hercules and enjoyed fighting in an arena as a gladiator. This assassination attempt was successful, and both Commodus reign as Roman Emperor, and his life, ended on the final day of 192. Commodus was the son of marcus Marcus Aurelius and later Roman Emperor. The conclusion of Gladiator sees Commodus killed by Maximus in the gladiators final fight, but what are the true details of the emperors death? 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.. The Untersberg is a great mountain straddling the Austro-German border opposite Salzburg. The ending of "Gladiator" makes it seem like Commodus' death means a new beginning for Rome. The emperor eventually decided to abandon the reins of the empire and chose to give himself up to chariot-racing and licentiousness and performed scarcely any of the duties pertaining to his office. He appointed a series of his favorites to manage the administration of his empire, each of whom seemed crueler and more incompetent than the last. Commodus is commonly regarded as being an inadequate and megalomaniacal emperor, but Gladiators distortion of history portrays him as exclusively and resolutely evil. Aurelius himself, and the four emperors that had preceded him, had all been adopted. The first attempt used poisoned meat, but Commodus vomited it up. The first, Sextus Tigidius Perennis, Commodus put to death after becoming convinced he was conspiring against him. His outrageous tactics, such as slaying people with disabilities and slaughtering wild beasts in the arena, brought much negative attention, and were believed to have played a role in his eventual assassination. According to Dio Cassius, Perennis, though ruthless and ambitious, was not personally corrupt and generally administered the state well.[21]. Commodus : The general who became a slave. He is based in the UK and studied English at Kings College London. Commodus was spoilt and decadent and his decadence led to the decline of the empire. 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!'. 1. The film portrays a fictionalized account of historical events, and it illuminates aspects of the culture of ancient Rome. What is the origin of the legend of the Christed Son who was born of a virgin on December 25th? The scene portrays the extent of Emperor Commodus malice and provides a realization of the vengeance sought by Maximus, following the crucifixion of his wife and child. 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]. The 2000 film, directed by Ridley Scott, is steeped in the culture of ancient Rome. Maximus is a powerful Roman general, loved by the people and the aging Emperor, Marcus Aurelius. 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. His father was the philosopher-king, Marcus Aurelius, who Record 10 significant and detailed observations about Rome that you noticed while watching the video. Whatever its roots, the conspiracy failed and the incident aroused an insane paranoia in Commodus, who began seeing plots and treachery everywhere. 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. Every illness was treated to ensure he remained strong and healthy. Only a famous death will do. This horrified the Roman people. [34] The Romans found Commodus's gladiatorial combat to be scandalous and disgraceful. 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? As he was physically strong, his chief interest was in sport: he took part in horse racing, chariot racing, and combat with beasts and men, mostly in private but also on occasion in public. A former Roman General sets out to exact vengeance against the corrupt emperor who murdered his family and sent him into slavery. The first crisis of the reign came in 182, when Lucilla engineered a conspiracy against her brother. Commodus's death marked the end of the NervaAntonine dynasty. Except where otherwise noted, the notes below indicate that an individual's parentage is as shown in the above family tree. In April 175, Avidius Cassius, Governor of Syria, declared himself emperor following rumours that Marcus Aurelius had died. Narcissus died by execution during the series of civil wars after Commodus's death. Thegoal of Ancient Origins is to highlight recent archaeological discoveries, peer-reviewed academic research and evidence, as well as offering alternative viewpoints and explanations of science, archaeology, mythology, religion and history around the globe. In the famous words of noted historian Dio Cassius, Commoduss lack of interest in political affairs was the starting point for the decline of the Roman Empire, leaving Commodus responsible for initiating Romes decline "from a kingdom of gold to one of iron and rust. The second, the freeman Cleander, he allowed to be torn apart by a mob who were outraged at the freemans abuses. 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 192 AD, Commodus's concubine [2] and conspirator Marcia poisoned Commodus's wine. Interestingly, it took Scott a while to realize that, like a sadistic emperor at a gladiatorial display, the ending demanded Maximus's death. He thought of himself as the reincarnation of Hercules, frequently emulating the legendary hero's feats by appearing in the arena to fight a variety of wild animals. Lucilla was exiled to Capri and later killed. Russell Crowe's Maximus asks the crowd "Are you not entertained?" 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]. It was reputed in local legend to be the seat of the god Wotan and to be haunted. It was three years later that Verus died, leaving Commodus as the only surviving son. An illustration of the murder of Commmodus. 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. Commodus hired a wrestler to train him to be even better in the arena. Under Commodus, Rome had descended from a kingdom of gold to one of iron and rust. Much like Nero had supposedly fiddled while Rome burned, Commodus enjoyed himself as the city decayed around him. after executing a double-sword beheading on an unfortunate opponent, delivering an iconic moment in movie and internet history. The real Commodus was also a gladiator superfan, and he really did get in the arena and fight people. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. His body was buried in the Mausoleum of Hadrian. Unrest around the empire increased, with large numbers of army deserters causing trouble in Gaul and Germany. He then returned to Rome and celebrated a triumph for the conclusion of the wars on 22 October 180. The three of them plotted to assassinate the emperor. Commodus received extensive tutoring by a multitude of teachers with a focus on intellectual education. Ancient Chinese Earthquake Detector Invented 2,000 Years Ago Really Worked! It's a great story of revenge but the character of Maximus is entirely made up. He was left-handed and very proud of the fact. It was presumably there that, on 15 October 172, he was given the victory title Germanicus, in the presence of the army. However, in private practice fights, Commodus would slay his opponents. Maximus is given a very clear ending, but what about the rest of Rome? But now, the people want to know how the story ends. Early in 188, Cleander disposed of the current praetorian prefect, Atilius Aebutianus, and took over supreme command of the Praetorian Guard at the new rank of a pugione ("dagger-bearer"), with two praetorian prefects subordinate to him. 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. This ancient Roman biographical article is a stub. Wife of M. Annius Libo: Levick (2014), p. 163. The Libyan-born Septimius Severus has gone down in history as the first African Emperor of Rome . Early Life - Chapter I: 1:03. [27] Another event, as recorded by the historian Aelius Lampridius, took place at the Roman baths at Terme Taurine, where the emperor had an attendant thrown into an oven after he had found his bathwater to be lukewarm. One of the ways he paid for his donatives (imperial handouts) and mass entertainments was to tax the senatorial order, and on many inscriptions, the traditional order of the two nominal powers of the state, the Senate and People (Senatus Populusque Romanus) is provocatively reversed (Populus Senatusque). Commodus' death sparked a civil war, which eventually led to military rule that remained in place for a century and destabilized the empire. Nowadays Commodus is best remembered as the villain of Ridley Scott's movie "Gladiator", a sneering and arrogant portrayal by Joaquin Phoenix. 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. Striking story! Her husband, Pompeianus, was not involved, but two men alleged to have been her lovers, Marcus Ummidius Quadratus Annianus (the consul of 167, who was also her first cousin) and Appius Claudius Quintianus, attempted to murder Commodus as he entered a theater. 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. Claudius M. Appius Atilius Bradua Regillus Atticus, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Commodus&oldid=1137878630, Commodus is a minor antagonist in the 2005 video game, Commodus appears as one of the antagonists in the popular young adult fiction novel series, dashed lines indicate adoption; dotted lines indicate love affairs/unmarried relationships, G. Alfldy, "Der Friedesschluss des Kaisers Commodus mit den Germanen,", P. A. Brunt, "The Fall of Perennis: Dio-Xiphilinus 79.9.2,", J. Gag, "La mystique imperiale et l'preuve des jeux.

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