Gladiator followed the strife between Maximus and Commodus. Commodus’s father was emperor but felt that his son was too immoral to be the next one so he tells his friend Maximus that he is next. Well, Commodus does not like this very much and kills his father and then kills Maximus’s entire family. After the death of his father, he meets with the Senate where it is made utterly clear that he only cares about power, not the people of Rome. While Commodus holds power he throws a series of special gladiatorial games to honor his father where Maximus comes disguised and does incredibly well. However, Commodus discovers who he actually is well, not pleased, but Maximus had already won the favor of the crowd so it’s not like Commodus could kill him, or at least not yet. It is here that Maximus declares that he intends to get revenge on Commodus. After this Commodus’s sister visits him bc she has suspicions about her brother but Maximus does trust her due to her relations with Commodus. However, it’s not long until they’re hooking up and plotting to overthrow Commodus along with some other accomplices. At that point though Commodus has made it very clear that he is in fact evil. After a lot of scheming on both sides Commodus and Maximus end up battling each other where Maximus technically wins but they both die, but it’s okay because the republic is saved which ultimately was the goal. This is the film where the famous “are you not entertained?” scene comes from but I’m going to be honest, I wasn’t very entertained. Parts were hard to follow for me and I found the romance plot cheesy and very American rather than Roman. But I guess that’s Hollywood for you. I wish it was either more Roman and accurate or leaned into the cheesy Hollywood more, I just didn’t feel like the two mixed well. I would rate it a 5/10, I know it’s controversial but I don’t get the hype. I much preferred Netflix’s “Roman Empire.”

Gladiator is the story of Maximus, a Roman general turned gladiator. The film begins with Maximus having led the Romans to victory. After returning home, the emperor informs Maximus that he feels his own son, Commodus, is unfit to rule, and he would like Maximus to succeed him in his place. Commodus, in reaction to this news, kills his father and seizes power. After refusing to follow the new emperor, Maximus is arrested and his family is killed. Maximus fights his way to freedom only to be taken by slavers and sold to a gladiator trainer. Maximus excels in his matches and starts to gain popularity. Through the advice of his trainer, Maximus attempts to win his freedom through combat.

During a series of games held by Commodus to honor his father’s passing, Maximus disguises himself and leads his side to victory. After winning, Maximus is forced to reveal his identity. Upon revealing his identity, Maximus declares that he will have vengeance on Commodus. Maximus’ life is only spared through the persuasion of the crowd. Maximus continues to win battles, even gaining the title “Maximus the Merciful” for the clementia he demonstrated in sparing an opponents’ life. 

Maximus attempts to use the power of his old legions to overthrow Commodus. These plans fall short, however, once Commodus discovers this plot against him. Maximus is captured once more and Cicero, with whom he was plotting, is killed. 

In a last attempt to win back the favor of the people, Commodus duels with Maximus in the Colosseum. Despite his usage of unfair tactics, Commodus is still overpowered by Maximus and ultimately killed. However, in the end Maximus also dies succumbing to the wounds inflicted upon him. He makes a number of dying requests for changes within Roman politics, and to free the other gladiators.

This movie was very entertaining, albeit maybe not very historically accurate. From the outside research I did, it seems that Gladiator was loosely based on actual historical events but it certainly took some liberties. That being said, it also seems that Ridley Scott took care to make sure that Roman culture was represented with historical accuracy. So while the plot might not be entirely true to history, there is an impressive dedication to showing how Roman culture actually looked. I think that the movie definitely does a good job of showing the audience just how cruel Rome in its traditions and politics could really be.

Gladiator begins with the roman General Maximus leading his army to victory against the germanic tribes. After the battle, the emperor, Marcus Aurelius, tells Maximus that he believes that his son, Commodus, is unfit to rule and wants Maximus to succeed him. Maximus asks for time to consider his offer, which Aurelius understands. In the meantime, he goes to tell Commodus of his intentions, who, instead of being understanding like Aurelius expects, kills Aurelius on the spot. Commodus declares himself the new emperor to the public, and asks for Maximus’ loyalty, which he refuses to give. Commodus puts Maximus under arrest and sends his men to go to Maximus’ home and kill his family as punishment. Maximus is put to death but in secret, and Maximus is able to fight his way out and escape his captors. He manages to make it back to his home and bury his family, but collapses from his injuries. Some slavers find Maximus and take him away, where he is sold to the gladiator trainer Proximo.

Maximus fights in local tournaments and shows and gains popularity. When Proximo takes his gladiators to Rome to fight in the Colosseum for Commodus’ special event, Maximus wears a mask to hide his identity. Proximo’s gladiators, including Maximus, are told to fight in a reenactment of the Battle of Zama on the side of the Cartheginians, who historically lose. However, Maximus leads his friends to victory, and Commodus enters the arena to offer his congratulations. He asks Maximus to remove his mask, which he reluctantly complies to. Commodus reels at seeing Maximus alive but is not able to demand he be killed on the spot because of the crowd. Maximus swears he will get his revenge. Commodus tries to kill Maximus by giving him increasingly more difficult gladiator fights, but Maximus wins them all while also becoming even more popular among the Roman people.

This whole movie has not been very historically accurate, but the ending is especially ridiculous. After Maximus is convinced to try to take Rome by force in a conspiracy from Commodus, the plan is leaked by Lucilla’s son and Commodus’ nephew, and Commodus successfully prevents the conspiracy. Instead of handling this in private like a rational being, Commodus challenges Maximus to a duel in the Colosseum to try to regain the favor of the people, which would just never happen realistically. Commodus stabs Maximus in the back before the fight to gain the upper hand, but even still, Maximus prevails. Maximus ultimately succumbs to his wounds, but he is able to call for the gladiators to be freed and Senator Graccus to become the new emperor in Commodus’ place, ultimately completing the goals of the conspiracy. Ultimately, the movie felt more like a story that the writers wrote and then framed in the context of Rome for popularity rather than taking real inspiration from history.

    After taking three college-level courses about Roman culture, language, and history, Rome: Rise and Fall of an Empire, a documentary series produced by the History Channel, was rather underwhelming. Most of the content was historically accurate, drawing extensively from the writings of Plutarch, and including interviews with a range of classics professors from universities across America, but it was not made for serious students of Rome. The first episode focuses on the decade-long battle between the Romans and the Cimbri in the late second century BCE, and the second episode studies the gladiator revolt led by Spartacus in the 70s BCE. Actors move through scenes of military camps and battles while a narrator leads the viewer through the story, occasionally broken up by a few sentences from an expert.

    Every few minutes, the show would mention some concept about Rome; glory in battle, resistance to the new, the cursus honorum, political corruption, or the like. Each time, the description of the concept would be shallow and incomplete. Since the first few episodes (and judging by the titles, the rest of them as well) focus on militiae over domi, everything was viewed through the lens of foreign military campaigns. Additionally, the show glossed over the important fact that many gladiatorial fights were not to the death, after playing up the lengthy, rigorous training and the expense of maintaining a fighter. I know that this is better in the context of a TV show meant for a casual and easily distracted audience, but I could not help feeling a bit disappointed. 

    However, the show did manage to give me a new perspective on some particulars of Rome. Throughout Roman Revolutions, I noticed how often Roman armies would suffer a terrible defeat at the beginning of a war, before turning the tide in later battles and eventually securing victory. In the first episode, one of the experts pointed out a key reason why this happened, which I had not considered before. This reason was the yearly re-election of the consuls, combined with Roman resistance to novi homines occupying positions of power, even if qualified. The responsibility of military leadership thus fell on consuls who were often inexperienced in matters of war, and it is these untested officials who would lead the first Roman army to defeats, as Gnaeus Papirius Carbo did in 113 BCE, and as the praetors Glaber and Varinius did in 73 BCE.

    I was also pleasantly surprised by my ability to fill in the gaps left by the show. In the second episode, when the narrator mentioned Pompey’s victory over some “dangerous rebels in Spain,” I instantly remembered the key details of the Sertorian Revolt. In the previous episode, I recalled our in-class discussions about the extent to which Marius’ reelection to the consulship was a paradigm shift for Roman politics, which was briefly touched on by the show, but not explored in detail. Roman Revolutions has provided me with an excellent base of knowledge, and has prepared me well to understand and think critically about content relating to Rome.