History in Hollywood
Gladiator
James Loftus
4/23/18
In the movie Gladiator, Maximus, a powerful Roman general, is captured by slave traders and taken to Africa to train to become a gladiator. and forced to become a gladiator. He eventually is taken to Rome to fight at the Colosseum for the entertainment of the Roman people. The way that Maximus’s gladiator battles are portrayed are accurate to how they were during the Roman Empire.
A Roman gladiator was an ancient professional fighter who specialized with particular weapons and armor. They fought before the public in organized games held in large purpose-built arenas throughout the Roman Empire from 105 BCE to 404 CE. Most gladiators did not live long, since fights were usually to the death. Because of this, most gladiators were slaves and prisoners, and were forced to fight as a gladiator.. Without doubt, gladiator battles were the most common form of Roman entertainment..
The gladiator battles in the movie were fought at the Colosseum. Located just east of the Roman Forum, the massive stone amphitheater known as the Colosseum was commissioned around A.D. 70-72 by Emperor Vespasian of the Flavian dynasty as a gift to the Roman people. In A.D. 80, Vespasian’s son Titus opened the Colosseum–officially known as the Flavian Amphitheater–with 100 days of games, including gladiatorial combats and wild animal fights. After four centuries of active use, the magnificent arena fell into neglect, and up until the 18th century it was used as a source of building materials. Though two-thirds of the original Colosseum has been destroyed over time, the amphitheater remains a popular tourist destination, as well as an iconic symbol of Rome.
Roman gladiator games were an opportunity for Emperors and rich aristocrats to display their wealth to the populace, to commemorate military victories, mark visits from important officials, celebrate birthdays or simply to distract the populace from the political and economic problems of the day. The appeal to the public of the games was as bloody entertainment and the fascination which came from contests which were literally a matter of life and death. Hugely popular events were held in massive arenas throughout the Empire, with the Colosseum (or Flavian Amphitheatre) the biggest of them all.
After Maximus collapses in the desert, he is taken by slave traders. In real life, there were slave traders who brought slaves to the Colosseum to become gladiators. The Slave Traders who plied their trade in the Slave Markets and Slave Auctions across the Empire were called Mangones or Venalitii. The rich men who invested in slaves had a high social standing but the actual Roman slave traders who operated in the slave markets were viewed with some distrust, even likened to pimps. As their honesty was often questioned slave traders had to guarantee that the slaves they were selling were sound and that any faults were pointed out – the slave trade had to gain the confidence of the buyers to ensure the success of the business. Slaves were therefore commonly exposed for sale naked. The slave traders were under the supervision of the Aediles who ensured that their wares were sold publicly, either in the slave markets of the open forum or in shops. If the slave had defects not shown in his guarantee, the dealer had to take him back in six months or make good the buyer's loss.
In the movie, Commodus is the emperor of Rome. Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus was the emperor of Rome from 177 to 192. Commodus’s father was Marcus Aurelius, who ruled Rome before him, from 161 to 180. In the year 182, Commodus’s sister, Lucilla along with a group of senators conspired to assassinate him. They failed, and Commodus had many of his leading senators executed. During his rule, Commodus was becoming insane. He renamed Rome Colonia Commodonia, which is Latin for the Colony of Commodus. Commodus believed that he was the reincarnation of the Greek hero Hercules and enjoyed fighting as a gladiator. He had many outrageous tactics as a gladiator, such as slaying the crippled and slaughtering wild animals. This brought a lot of negative attention and may have been a contributing factor to his assassination. Some of Commodus’s accomplishments for Rome included negotiating a peace settlement in Rome’s favor and devaluing the Roman currency. He reduced the weight of the denarius and decreased the purity of silver. Despite this, he would delegate his responsibilities most of the time so that he could do activities he enjoyed. In the year 192, conspirators sent Commodus’s wrestling partner Narcissus to strangle him, and he died.
In the movie, Marcus Aurelius, who is an old and wise emperor of Rome, wants Maximus to become his successor. In real life, Marcus Aurelius was one of Rome’s most respected emperors. Growing up, Marcus was dedicated to learning Latin and Greek. His main intellectual interest was the study of stoicism, which emphasized fate, reason, and self-restraint. When his father died in 161, he rose to power as emperor. Marcus Aurelius insisted that his adopted brother served as his co-ruler. His brother was Lucius Aurelius Verus Augustus. He was usually referred to as Verus. Unlike the peaceful and prosperous rule of Antoninus, the joint reign of the two brothers was marked by war and disease. In the 160s, they battled with the Parthian empire for control over lands in the East. Verus oversaw the war effort while Marcus Aurelius stayed in Rome. A lot of their success in this conflict was because of the generals working under Verus, especially Avidius Cassius.
In the movie, Maximus was a skilled general of the Roman army as well as a skilled gladiator. In real life, there was no Maximus; he was entirely mad up for the movie. Although Maximus did not exist, he may have been based off of several real life people. One of these people may have been Avidius Cassius. Avidius Cassius was one of the generals in Marcus Aurelius’ army. He declared himself emperor or revolted after thinking that Aurelius died in 175 but was killed after it was discovered that he was not dead. There was also a Roman general by the name of Maximus who lived in the late Roman Empire. Another person Maximus’s character may have been based on is Taruttienus Paternus, the commander of Roman forces at the battle of the Germanic tribes in 179 AD. Additionally, Maximus’s story is similar to that of Spartacus, who was a Thracian slave who became a gladiator and later led a rebellion against the Romans, later winning nine significant battles before his defeat.
Another historical inaccuracy in the movie was the battle against the Germanic tribe in the first scene. The movie begins with Marcus Aurelius watching Maximus lead a battle against a Germanic tribe. The battle is portrayed as being a crucial part to bringing peace to Rome’s northern frontier. The tribe is shown wearing Neolithic clothing, which is inaccurate as the clothing would have been more modern and complex. During Aurelius’ reign, long wars took place against Germanic tribes. The wars were mostly inclusive, although they were close to annexing Moravia and West Slovakia.
Next, it was unlikely that Marcus Aurelius would want to name Maximus as emperor. Other than the fact that Maximus did not exist, it was traditional for emperor’s successors to be their sons. Even though Marcus may have disliked Commodus, he would not have wanted to break tradition and name someone who was not his son as emperor. Also, it is unlikely that Aurelius would appoint a general of the Roman forces as the emperor, it would be much more likely for him to appoint someone higher up than Maximus.
Many of the deaths in the movie are also historically inaccurate. For example, Marcus Aurelius was not killed by Commodus, but died from the plague in Vindobona in 180. The epidemic, believed to be either smallpox or measles, swept the Roman Empire during the reign of Marcus. Also, in the movie, Commodus is killed by Maximus. In real life, Commodus was assassinated by Narcissus, who strangled him.
In the movie, Lucilla is the daughter of Marcus Aurelius, and the sister of Commodus. In the beginning of the movie Marcus Aurelius tells her he wished she was a man because she would rule Rome appropriately. Lucilla is very smart and is very interested in the politics of Rome. Commodus is in love with her and does not want anyone to have her. She understands his love and uses it to her advantage. In the movie, she does anything she can to distract Commodus and keep him happy in order to save Maximus. Lucilla, Maximus and Gracchus plot to kill Commodus The romantic relationship between Lucilla and Maximus is clearly evident, and it truly angers Commodus. Commodus becomes very suspicious and threatens Lucius. Lucilla informs Commodus about her plans in order to save her son, and Commodus captures Maximus. In real life, Lucilla conspired to kill Commodus in 182, but was found out and was killed. Unlike what the film depicts, Lucilla was probably ambitious to be a co-ruler with her husband (she is shown as a widow in the movie), which is why she may have conspired. However, she may have not considered herself as a possible ruler until she witnessed her erratic brother's behavior. Unlike the film, Commodus probably did not try to have incestuous relations with his sister.
In conclusion, the movie Gladiator has some historical inaccuracies, as most historical movies do. The movie was intended to be for entertainment, and not to inform the watcher about Roman history. While the movie was based on the Roman gladiators and historical figures such as Marcus Aurelius, Commodus, and Lucilla, there are also many made up or inaccurate events and people such as the character Maximus and the ways that Marcus Aurelius and Commodus died.
Works Cited
“8 Historical Inaccuracies From the Film Gladiator.” Made From History, 31 Mar. 2018, madefrom.com/history/antiquity/historical-inaccuracies-from-the-film-gladiator/.
“Gladiator: History or Hollywood?” Gladiator: History or Hollywood, ux.brookdalecc.edu/fac/history/Tangents/gladiatiors.htm.
History.com Staff. “Marcus Aurelius.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2009, www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/marcus-aurelius.
“How Historically Accurate Is the Gladiator?” How Historically Accurate Is the Gladiator? – DailyHistory.org, dailyhistory.org/How_historically_accurate_is_the_Gladiator%3F.
Slave Trade, www.tribunesandtriumphs.org/roman-life/slave-trade.htm.