The Fall of The Roman Empire showcased that Rome faced some of the same issues while it was an empire that plagued its republican period. Marcus Aurelius decides to nominate Livius as successor to the emperor instead of his son Commodus in the film. Instead of recognizing the power of the patria potestas, friends of Commodus kill the emperor before he can make his succession announcement official. Commodus starts undoing his father’s great work, such as refusing to honor a peace treaty that Marcus Aurelius made with potential northern invaders. Marcus Aurelius also promised provincial leaders that their people would become citizens of Rome. Commodus decides to stick to the status quo and not allow this change while also doubling taxes on the eastern provinces. These poor decisions ultimately lead to chaos in the city, Commudus’s death, and the public auction of the Roman throne. This film plays out like the Roman legends from the beginning of the semester in many ways. Through my research of the period where the film was set, it appears The Fall of The Roman Empire is not close to an accurate portrayal of events. The fall of the Roman empire did not occur for at least 200 years after these events. In reality, there was no question that Commodus would be the next emperor, and Marcus Aurelius died of natural causes. However, as the film implies, Commodus was considered the opposite of his father and a poor emperor. This film showcased what would happen when Rome decided to ignore its traditions, such as respecting the patria potestas, fearing an invasion from the north, or valuing possible allies. If this film were shown to any Roman elite in the late republic or the empire, they would probably appreciate the references to the culture the movie got correct, such as consulting with the auguries. I would predict a Roman would take the results of the movie as a warning not to let Rome devolve to that state. If this film was a story told in Roman times, it would obtain the same significance as Rome’s creation myths.

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Additional Commentary

I was able to watch this film with my grandmas. When I asked them what they thought, they made a valid point. The movie highlights that Rome fell because people stopped believing in its principles. The grandmas believe this lesson will apply to modern nations as well. This situation is accurate for the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russia is evaporating because Putin is a maniac. Meanwhile, Ukraine is holding together based on stories of bravery. People believe in the nation, so the culture will survive in some form for generations to come. Overall, this movie is a worthwhile watch with lessons for the ancient Roman and the modern earthling.

For this Actum I decided to watch the Netflix TV series called “Barbarians” (2020), created by Heckmann, Nolting, and Scharf. It is an account of the war between the so-called Germanic tribes and the Romans beginning in 9 CE in the reign of Augustus, and largely follows the conflict from the perspective of the Cherusci people who, having come under the subjugation of the Romans, consider whether it is worth it to give up their freedoms for peace. I have not done any outside research into this war, but it is clear the showrunners are trying to portray the events with a good deal of accuracy while refreshingly trying to show a perspective and tell a story that is not Roman. They also make use of Latin being the language spoken by the Romans, which adds to the feeling of experiencing history.

            In the first episode, we get to see the Cherusci Reik arranging a marriage, before Roman soldiers arrive demanding tribute. Fearing that the Romans will take too much from them, the Reik, named Segimer, convenes other tribal leaders to discuss unifying and fighting. Here we see the politics of the semi-cohesive tribes contrasted with the brutality shown by the Romans, who demand unfair tribute and almost murder a child when the Reik won’t kiss their Eagle standard. The name of the show is undoubtedly drawing attention to the barbarism of the Romans themselves, who are shown to act as savage bullies, too stupid or ignorant to care that who they call the “Germanic People” is not at all a uniform group, although they do abide by similar or the same customs. The son of the Roman General Varus, named Gaius Julius Arminius, publicly executes an insubordinate Reik as a show of strength and fear. This prompts retaliation, and the Cherusci are divided as to whether they should offer more resistance.

            In episode two we get to see that Arminius, a high-ranking officer in the army, is in fact the biological son of Reik Segimer but had been adopted by Varus when he was forcibly taken in his childhood. Because of his prestige, it is compelling to think about the Roman attitudes towards the Germanic people. On the one hand we have discussed the perpetual fear in the Roman psyche, and additionally the Romans are shown to consider them barbaric and uncivilized. Varus can be quoted from the show as saying “there is no Germanic law, there is only Rome”. Yet at the same time he has a great deal of trust and respect for his adopted son, who struggles with his identity and loyalties. I am interested to continue watching this show, which is full of dramatic and emotional conflict that is all from the perspective of the Germanic people, who would not have gotten a voice in Rome’s version of history. I highly recommend this show and I am excited to learn more about the culture and political organization of these Germanic peoples.

Paul W. S. Anderson’s Pompeii begins with a Celtic rebellion in Great Britain which was quickly put down by the Roman Legions. Only one person survives, a little boy who wanders through the woods after seeing his family killed until he is enslaved. He emerges 17 years later in London as a feared gladiator. Known as the Celt, he emerges into the ring and kills 5 fearsome gladiators, while starting the match unarmed. The Celt is transported to Pompeii and on the way meets a nobleman’s daughter when he is tasked with putting her injured horse out of its misery. He displays his fighting skills among the rest of the gladiators when they attempt to kill him while he is eating a meal. The Celt refuses to reveal his name and is told he will be fighting the best gladiator in Pompeii. In the meanwhile, a Roman senator has come to express interest in investing in the city while also attempting to gather the nobleman’s daughter in marriage. The Celt realizes that the Roman senator was the one who killed his entire village and all his family. At a party celebrating investment in Pompeii’s future, the celt and the nobleman’s daughter run away on a horse after it gets startled by an earthquake. They are caught and the Celt is punished with 15 lashes but is also sanctioned to a new role in the gladiator festivities where he is supposed to die. However, he rises to the occasion and wins, breaking the Roman flag in half in the process. The senator is infuriated and orders the Celt killed but the volcano erupts which causes an earthquake and the colosseum falls apart, allowing the Celt to escape. The Senator also imprisons Cassia, the nobleman’s daughter, and kills her parents. The Celt frees her as fiery ash from the volcano rains down on the city. The city starts to flood from a tsunami and much of the city begins to fall into disarray. The senator recaptures Cassia and escapes on a chariot as the Celt gives chase on a horse. The Celt defeats the Senator in combat and locks him to a chariot to be consumed by the explosion. The Celt and Cassia ride away but the horse throws them off and they kiss before being engulfed in flames and memorialized in ash.

I felt that Pompeii, although cheesy, provided a great historical look at the city of Pompeii, the corruption of Roman Senators, and what it may have been like to experience being consumed by an exploding volcano. Pompeii uses a historical Roman conquest to fuel a love and revenge story, keeping the viewer on their toes while simultaneously giving a semi-historical representation. Perhaps it is the lack of knowledge from personal testimony that allows a director’s imagination to run wild on what the city was like that fateful day.

Over spring break, I chose to watch the movie Pompeii because I have always been a fan of disaster movies. This movie mainly takes place in 79 AD and is based on the eruption of Mount Vesuvius that destroyed the city of Pompeii. The film opens showing a tribe of Celtic horsemen being slaughtered by an army of Romans led by general Corvus in northern Britannia. A young boy, Milo, is the only survivor of the massacre and is eventually captured by slave traders. The next scene features a grown up Milo and it is evident that he has been trained in gladiator fighting. Known as the Celt, Milo performs well and is taken with other slaves to Pompeii. On the journey, a horse falls and injures itself while carrying Princess Cassia. Milo ends the horse’s suffering and it is obvious that Milo and Cassia are drawn to each other. Once he arrives in Pompeii, Milo is taken to the dungeons and befriends fellow gladiator, Atticus, who needs only one more victory in order to earn his freedom. The gladiators are then taken to a party, in which Corvus is in attendance. It is clear that Corvus wishes to marry Cassia.

At the party, Milo and Cassia are caught on a horse ride together and Corvus only spares Milo’s life at the request of Cassia, although he still receives fifteen lashes as punishment. The following day, the gladiators are chained and forced to fight dozens of Roman soldiers in the arena. Atticus and Milo survive, however, Cassia is forced to agree to marry Corvus during the battle. Shortly after, Mount Vesuvius begins to erupt, spewing ash and fire everywhere. In the chaos that ensues Milo finds Cassia and a tsunami forms, further devastating the city. Atticus finally reunites with Milo, while Cassia is captured by Corvus. In the midst of the eruption, Milo and Atticus fight a group of Roman soldiers as Corvus attempts to flee with Cassia. Milo saves Cassia from Corvus and the two try to escape to the hills. However, it soon becomes clear that they cannot outrun the destruction and Milo and Cassia die in each other’s arms as they are enveloped in fiery ash.

In this movie, it is evident that love cannot transcend such disasters, as none of the characters manage to escape the destruction of Mount Vesuvius. Pompeii lacked an original plot and there was minimal character development. Although I started this movie with low expectations, somehow I was still disappointed with this disaster film. Of all of the disaster movies I have seen, this one was probably the worst. The three natural disasters that ravaged Pompeii and intense fight scenes did little to improve this cheesy romance and the film’s subpar acting. I would not recommend this movie to anyone, unless they are prepared to sit through two hours of an unsatisfactory and overplayed story of two unlikely, yet lovestruck characters.

Pompeii starts in  Britannia, where Tribune Corvus killed all of the Celts. This does not seem accurate that Tributes could lead armies in the empire. A Celtic boy, later called The Celt, is enslaved as a gladiator. He is sent to Pompeii to fight. He meets the rich citizen love interest and ends a horse’s pain. Her roman house looks very similar to the one presented in class with a central courtyard with a fountain. The Celt wins a brawl. While sparring, the champion gladiator Atticus saves the Celt from being killed by the previous guy he brawled with. Severus, the love interest’s father, and a corrupt senator are doing a business deal. The Senator got mad about Severarus describing Emperor Titus as the new emperor. This is a reference to Roman’s dislike of new things. The love interest’s name is Cassia, and the Senator wants to marry her against her wishes. Vesuvius causes more and more earthquakes. The quaked scared Cassia’s horse, and The Celt calmed it down. Cassia wants to help the Celt escape, but he refuses to save her. The Celt finds out that Senator Corvus killed his family. As punishment for escaping, The Celt gets whipped, and Corvus plans for the Celt to die in the arena the next day. The Celt introduces himself to Atticus as Milo. The next day the proclaimers in the arena had masks on with the mouth to project sound. The arena reenacts the Celtic massacre. Corvus threatens Cassia’s father into agreeing to have Cassia marry him. After winning the battle, the crowd wants Atticus and Milo to live. This references to the court system where the people can save people. Milo fights the champion of Rome that helped kill his family. Vesuvius erupts, and the Arena breaks apart. Corvus kills Cassia’s dad. In the chaos, Milo and Atticus find Cassia and go to the arena for horses to escape. Corvus takes Cassia, and Milo follows him. Atticus fights the champion of Rome. Atticus dies and kills the champion of Rome. Milo kills Corvus by leaving him for the volcano. Milo and Cassia ride out of Pompeii. They kiss and then die.  Overall, this movie was less accurate in portraying Rome. It was more dramatized but still had accurate parts. It did a good job showing the reach of Rome of having similar gladiator pits in Britainia as Pompeii, and still, it being Rome across those distances. The movie does acknowledge that people of different social classes did not interact, however in real life, I doubt a gladiator and woman of a noble would form a relationship. They did show people being entertained by gladiators. The set design looked very realistic, specifically the roman house. It also accurately portrayed Pompeii since it was very destructive and few escaped. The movie also accurately portrayed the corruption that must have been prevalent in the senate and those in power. It also shows that Rome was brutal in putting down rebellions. 

The dying emperor’s son is Commodus, who wants to become emperor himself. Maximus wants to go home to his family, but the emperor plans to make Maximus, a respected general, emperor after he dies. The old emperor wants to bring Rome back to its true self. This is very Roman, where you need to go back to how things always were supposed to be like with the republic and two of the high officials like the two kings. Commodus is scared of Maximus’ possibility of being very political with an army behind him. Commodus kills his father, removes Maximus, and then kills Maximus’ family. Maximus escapes and goes home and sees his wife and son dead; he is captured and made a gladiator. Senator Gracchus tries to help Rome with its problems. This could reference the Grachi who wanted to help the people 200 years ago. Throughout this movie, characters mention that the senate is the people and the citizens are a mob. This is an interesting shift of SPQR where the Senate was not the people. Maximus is a great gladiator and is sent to Rome. In the colosseum, there is a reenactment of the battle of Carthage. The gladiators are Carthage and win due to Maximus’ strategy and command. In this way, Maximus was like Hannibal in directing incredible strategies to kill Romans. Maximus confronts the emperor and reveals himself. Commodus wants to kill him, but the people save them by chanting live. This is similar to when Romans can appeal their punishment to the people and possibly not be executed. Maximus wins against an undefeated champion and defies Commodus by sparing him. Maximus randomly comes across an old army friend. Maximus gets his friend to muster the Roman army and march on Rome after his ousting. This is very similar to Sulla, who marched on Rome with the loyal military when ousted from power. The escape attempt almost works, but Maximus is captured and is stabbed by Commodus to make it harder for him to fight.  Commodus and Maximus duel and Maximus kills  Commodus. This is a much better death than the usual punishment for patricide of being put in a sack with a dog, snake, rooster, and a monkey and thrown into a river. The movie ends with Maximus dying, having accomplished his revenge. This movie included many references to Roman history that we had learned about. Maximus was a hero because he had virtus and proved his worth on the battlefield, like the Horatti trial. Maximus was returning Rome to what it should be, a real Roman does, by giving the senate power again and removing the usurper. It also shows off the reason for the Roman fears of secrete meetings because, throughout the movie, there are secret plots to kill and change society. It seemed to accurately portray Rome through the values, sets, clothes, events, and people vying for power through various ways.

In Director Ridley Scott’s blockbuster movie, Gladiator, he chronicles fabled and fictional Roman General Maximus’s journey as a gladiator while also displaying many prominent aspects of the Roman government, social structure, and culture. After Maximus conquers the last of the rebellious Germanic tribes, he is greeted with great admiration by the Roman Emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Impressed by his general and in an aging state, Marcus Aurelius appoints Maximus as his successor over his own son, Commodus. Shown to be entitled and incompetent, Commodus is infuriated with this decision by his father, committing patricide in his rage and sending Marcus Aurelius to be executed. Marcus Aurelius heroically escapes his captors and heads to save his family in Spain but he is too late, finding them murdered by Praetorians. Maximus passes out and is enslaved by Proximo, a former gladiator who now buys and sells the fighters. Maximus soon emerges as his best fighter, winning over the local area’s fans and cementing himself as the man to beat. Proximo decides to bring his gladiator caravan to Rome, where they will have the opportunity to earn their freedom, as he did when he was granted it by Marcus Aurelius Their first competition is a reenactment of one of the battles of Carthage. They’re supposed to play the role of the losers, but end up destroying their competition under Maximus’s leadership. Commodus, who is at the games, is very impressed and goes down to meet the mysterious gladiator and then learns it is Maximus who he thought was dead. He can’t kill Maximus because he is a favorite of the crowd, so he sets him up for more and more challenging battles, hoping he will be killed. Maximus has pledged his revenge and works with Cicero and Commodus’s sister to round up a group to overthrow the evil emperor but this plot is thwarted by Commodus. Many of Maximus’s friends are killed or taken away, such as Proximo, Cicero, and Gracchus, and Maximus himself is recaptured while trying to escape. Commodus confronts Maximus and challenges him to a duel, but not before stabbing him so the odds are in his favor. Maximus eventually kills Commodus but also dies himself and the credits roll.

While the film mixes fact with fiction, it provides an interesting take on real events that occurred in the Roman empire. The viewer learns about culture and sport, as well as treachery in Roman bureaucracy while also following along with an animated storyline. The film leaves the viewer satisfied that justice has prevailed, while also leaving them wanting to learn more about Ancient Rome.

During spring break, I watched the movie Gladiator with my family. Released in 2000 and directed by Ridley Scott, this historical epic received critical acclaim. Taking place in 180 AD, the movie begins with a scene of the main character, Maximus, leading the Romans to victory against the armies of Germania. After this success, the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius declares that he wants Maximus to succeed the throne, not his son Commodus. Marcus Aurelius does not believe that his son is moral and capable of ending political corruption and restoring Rome to its former glory, emphasizing the Roman values of virtue and honor. Riddled with feelings of anger and betrayal upon learning of his father’s plans, Commodus suffocates and kills Marcus Aurelius. Maximus manages to escape execution at the order of Commodus, but soon finds his home destroyed and his wife and son brutally killed. 

Maximus is then captured and sold into slavery to a man named Proximo. To conceal his identity and former glory, Maximus removes his SPQR tattoo and goes by the alias of the Spaniard. Proximo trains Maximus to fight as a gladiator and when offered the opportunity to fight in Rome, Maximus is eager to find Commodus and enact revenge for the slaughter of his family. In his first fight in the Colosseum, Maximus encourages the gladiators to work together and they are victorious. However, after the battle, Maximus shocks Commodus and his sister Lucilla by revealing his true identity, as they thought he was long dead. Seeking to kill Maximus, Commodus has him fight the notorious Tigris of Gaul. In an act of defiance, Maximus refuses to kill his competitor, further angering Commodus. Simultaneously, fearing for their lives and the future of Rome, the Roman senator, Gracchus, Commodus’s sister, Lucilla, and Maximus plot to overthrow Commodus and end his dictatorial reign. Nonetheless, their rebellion goes awry when Commodus learns about the scheme through Lucilla’s son, Lucius. In the chaos that ensues, Maximus is captured by Commodus and Gracchus is imprisoned. Commodus then declares that he will fight Maximus in the Colosseum, but first stabs and weakens him. Despite being injured, Maximus defeats and kills Commodus in the arena. Maximus soon dies, but not before declaring the reinstatement of Senator Gracchus and Marcus Aurelius’s wish to restore the Roman Republic. Although the ending is unfortunate, it is not completely clouded in sadness, as Maximus is finally able to get revenge and reunite with his wife and son.

I enjoyed watching this movie and found the fight scenes especially interesting. The intense and graphic nature of the battle scenes reminded me of fights in the Lord of the Rings, specifically the Battle of Helm’s Deep and the Battle of Gondor. I also thought that the soundtrack was fantastic because it really captured the emotion and loss of characters, especially during the scene when Maximus returns home to find that his wife and son have been killed. Overall, I would definitely recommend this movie to a friend!

This weekend, I watched the popular and extremely well liked Roman film Gladiator. I am not someone who usually watches or enjoys action/adventure films so I was pleasantly surprised when the second half of Gladiator really captured my interest. The film is set in 180 A.D. Rome when Marcus Aurelius, a well loved emperor, is dying of old age. He appoints Maximus, a very loyal and skilled General, as his successor despite his lack of political aspirations. Marcus has high hopes that Maximus will fix Rome’s unjust political system. When Marcus’s self-centered and greedy son Commodus finds out his father is going to appoint Maximus as the next emperor, he throws a fit and strangles his father. With his father now dead, Commodus is left in command of the Roman empire. His first task is to have Maximus executed but the cunning general escapes his execution and runs off. Commodus believes Maximus is dead but in reality he winds up in North Africa as a slave to Proximo, a famous former gladiator. The real story starts then as Maximus becomes a gladiator in his own right and fights his way back into the Coliseum. After winning battle after battle and killing countless others, Commodus demands that the gladiator reveal himself and is shocked to learn the brave and daring gladiator that has captured the hearts of thousands of fans is Maximus. After having won the hearts of many Romans the big question is will Maximus win back Rome and restore it to its former republic glory?

When watching the film my favorite part was the scene of chariot racing in the Circus Maximus and seeing how huge and packed the stadium was. It’s really hard for me to imagine the large stadium packed with hundreds of thousands of spectators. The concept of killing each other and watching the killing that takes place after a clear winner in the fight is established is a little unsettling. Another one of my favorite scenes was at the beginning when the role of Marcus Aurelius as father was made clear. He said to Commodus that his faults as a person were his faults as a father which really stuck with me and showed the connection and responsibility that fathers have over their family but especially their sons. In contrast it was really cool to see how he said Maximus was essentially a son to him and acted more like a real son than Commodus ever did.