Cookies help us deliver our Services. On 12 October 166, Commodus was made Caesar together with his younger brother, Marcus Annius Verus. On 31 December 192 AD, Commodus's concubine[2] and conspirator Marcia poisoned Commodus's wine. 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!'. Commodus brought an end to his father's campaign against the Germans. However, just when the days of the mad emperors seemed long gone, Commodus brought the madness roaring back. 1475); the hero wears his characteristic lionskin and wields a club. Once that's done, he only has one more goal: reunite with his family in the afterlife. 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. He wanted to avenge the deaths of his wife and son, as well as clear the way for the Senate to restore order in Rome. . One of the things that the film followed fairly accurately was the . It's a great story of revenge but the character of Maximus is entirely made up. Didius Julianus, the future emperor and a relative of Salvius Julianus, was dismissed from the governorship of Germania Inferior. Only a famous death will do. He showed no interest in government or military matters and was consumed by self-indulgence. Whatever its roots, the conspiracy failed and the incident aroused an insane paranoia in Commodus, who began seeing plots and treachery everywhere. Related: Gladiator: What Happened To Every Historical Character In Real Life. Husband of Rupilia Faustina: Levick (2014), p. 163. Commodus ruled with chaos and left chaos in his wake. Als besonders skandals empfand man die Beziehung zwischen Eppia, einer Frau aus reicher Familie, die Senatorengattin war, und dem Gladiator Sergiolus. Commodus, who is portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix, was indeed the son of Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) and an emperor of Rome. Ancient Origins 2013 - 2023Disclaimer- Terms of Publication - Privacy Policy & Cookies - Advertising Policy -Submissions - We Give Back - Contact us. 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]. Commodus remained with the Danube armies for only a short time before negotiating a peace treaty with the Danubian tribes. 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. 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. The film portrays a fictionalized account of historical events, and it illuminates aspects of the culture of ancient Rome. Ulpius Marcellus was replaced as governor of Britain by Pertinax; brought to Rome and tried for treason, Marcellus narrowly escaped death. 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[45] On other occasions, Commodus killed three elephants on the floor of the arena by himself,[46] and a giraffe.[47]. He was very vain, and strongly believed himself to be the reincarnation of Hercules so much so that he ordered statues of himself be dressed like Hercules, and he ordered that people call him Hercules, son of Zeus. Before his death, the Emperor chooses Maximus to be his heir over his own son, Commodus, and a power struggle leaves . He was appointed co-emperor of Rome and ruled alongside his father when he Marcus Aurelius is famed for various accomplishmentshis title as the last of the Five Good Emperors; his extensive study of and literary accomplishments in the field of Stoicism; and, last but not Long bouts of bad weather have been blamed as a cause for the downfall of ancient civilizations around the world. The gladiator who defied an emperor. Joaquin Phoenix's character is bad news, but he doesn't quite have the same unhinged level of megalomania as his real-life counterpart. He gave Rome a new name, Colonia Commodiana (Colony of Commodus), and imagined that he was the god Hercules, entering the arena to fight as a gladiator or to kill lions with bow and arrow. Commodus, who is portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix, was indeed the son of Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) and an emperor of Rome. 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The Chilling Mystery of the Octavius Ghost Ship, What is a Wendigo? 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). Wife of M. Annius Verus: Giacosa (1977), p. 10. Commodus's assassination in 192, by a wrestler in the bath, marked the end of the NervaAntonine dynasty. He also reduced the silver purity from 79percent to 76percent the silver weight dropping from 2.57grams to 2.34grams. He also believed himself to be a reincarnation of Hercules and enjoyed fighting in an arena as a gladiator. Commodus is known to have been at Carnuntum, the headquarters of Marcus Aurelius during the Marcomannic Wars, in 172. The Untersberg is a great mountain straddling the Austro-German border opposite Salzburg. 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. Commodus, the son of the famous Emperor Marcus Aurelius, lived an interesting life, combining 15 years of rule alongside his father with 16 years of chaos. This rumor was further fueled by Commodus love for engaging in gladiator battles as an adult, which led to speculation that his father was indeed a gladiator with whom Faustina had an affair. After a failed assassination attempt in 182, however, his rule became erratic and brutal, and he imagined himself to be Hercules. The megalomania of Commodus was not limited to the Colosseum. A work of history that reads like fiction, The Gladiator brings to life Spartacus, Commodus, Caligula, and all of the other memorable players of the nearly thousand-year-long gladiatorial era. During 191, the city of Rome was extensively damaged by a fire that raged for several days, during which many public buildings including the Temple of Pax, the Temple of Vesta, and parts of the imperial palace were destroyed. Commodus was a spoiled, narcissistic young man who was something of an embarrassment to his father. Despite his notoriety, and considering the importance of his reign, Commodus's years in power are not well chronicled. 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. [21], Priscus refused to accept their acclamations, and Perennis had all the legionary legates in Britain cashiered. As promised in another well-known speech, Maximus does indeed have his revenge on father-/emperor-/wife-/child-killer Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix). 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. Other victims at this time were the praetorian prefect Julius Julianus, Commodus's cousin Annia Fundania Faustina, and his brother-in-law Mamertinus. He also had four surviving sisters, all of them with husbands who were potential rivals. 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. The poison failed, so Narcissus entered Commodus's bedchamber. She has earned Read More. Now, researchers have proposed a hypothesis that seems to support the idea that the Ivar the Boneless was likely the son of legendary Viking king Ragnar Lothbrok, and raided alongside his father and brothers, eventually becoming ruler of York in England in the 9th century AD. Bust of Commodus as Hercules, hence the lion skin and the club. After repeated attempts on Commodus's life, Roman citizens were often killed for making him angry. An illustration of the murder of Commmodus. By 192 A.D., the Roman people had had enough. [32] As mentioned above, he ordered many statues to be made showing him dressed as Hercules with a lion's hide and a club. We'll explain. Aurelius himself, and the four emperors that had preceded him, had all been adopted. 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. Striking story! On this channel we focus on Roman History and right now we're doing a video on every Roman Emperor, if you're interested in that subscribe or watch the playlist here: https://bit.ly/32CUA2g. [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. On the other hand, the real Emperor Commodus was even more outlandish than Gladiator's version in some ways, as he renamed Rome "the Colony of Commodus" at one point. Commodus is commonly regarded as being an inadequate and megalomaniacal emperor, but Gladiators distortion of history portrays him as exclusively and resolutely evil. Omissions? Dissatisfaction with this state of affairs would lead to a series of conspiracies and attempted coups, which in turn eventually provoked Commodus to take charge of affairs, which he did in an increasingly dictatorial manner. This assassination attempt was successful, and both Commodus reign as Roman Emperor, and his life, ended on the final day of 192. He is viewed as having been an inept emperor, his megalomaniac tendencies leading to odd behaviors which frustrated and upset the Roman people. Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus was born on 31 August AD161 in Lanuvium, near Rome. [44] Dio notes that the targeted senators actually found this more ridiculous than frightening, and chewed on laurel leaves to conceal their laughter. 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. The legions were renamed Commodianae, the fleet which imported grain from Africa was termed Alexandria Commodiana Togata, the Senate was entitled the Commodian Fortunate Senate, his palace and the Roman people themselves were all given the name Commodianus, and the day on which these reforms were decreed was to be called Dies Commodianus. It was three years later that Verus died, leaving Commodus as the only surviving son. To "accept kinship with Commodus the bluntly pragmatic decision was taken to deify the former emperor, thus legitimizing Severus' seizure of power. The gladiator who defied an emperor. 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. Except where otherwise noted, the notes below indicate that an individual's parentage is as shown in the above family tree. 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