Commodus

Commodus was a notorious Roman emperor who had an obsession with competing as a gladiator in the arena. He may be well-known to many of us because of Joaquin Phoenix's portrayal of him in the Gladiator movie.

Commodus is most remembered today as the "mad" emperor who brought an end to the Pax Romana, or so-called Golden Age of Rome, during his calamitous reign from A.D. 180 to 192. Marcus Aurelius's son, Commodus succeeded his father as co-emperor when he was 16 years old. Commodus joined his father during the Marcomannic Wars in 172 and on a tour of the Eastern Provinces in 176. In 180 AD, after his father's death possibly from sickness or murder, he ascended to power on his own. He was infamous for his ego and thought of himself as above everyone. Even though gladiators were flashy and well-known at the time, the Roman upper classes nevertheless regarded them as beneath. In order to compete as a gladiator in secret, Commodus had portions of his palace transformed into an arena.

Commodus' opponents in the arena are compelled to constantly surrender to the emperor. He therefore never loses. Commodus never murdered the gladiators he faced off against; instead, he accepted their submission. His strongest rivals frequently praised his wins because they knew that the wounds inflicted by an Emperor's hands were a symbol of valor. According to Cassius Dio, the residents of Rome who had their legs severed due to injury or disease were taken to the arena and chained together to fight Commodus. He frequently used lethal weapons in battle to fight, kill, and kill his opponents. Not only that, he demanded a million sestertius from the city of Rome each time he performed in the arena, which imposed a burden on the Roman economy.

Commodus, who disagreed with his father's philosophical inclinations, was really proud of his athletic prowess. The Herodian historian of the time praised Commodus as being quite attractive. He commissioned several sculptures to depict him as Hercules, complete with lion hide armor and staff. He regularly appears in the arena to fight a variety of wild beasts and makes the claim that he is the reincarnation of Hercules, imitating the mythical hero's accomplishments. The Roman populace was horrified and disgusted by the odd beasts that Commodus was notorious for battling in the arena. Commodus is a talented archer who can kill an attacking leopard in the arena. 100 lions were slain by Commodus in a single day. He then used a specially crafted dart to decapitate a sprinting ostrich, carrying the bleeding dead bird's head to the senator's seat and leaving while making a sign that they were the next. Commodus personally slaughtered a giraffe and three elephants on the arena floor on various occasions.

To sum up, Commodus:

• was a notorious emperor and ruthless gladiator of ancient Rome.
• won most of his matches in the arena.
• also became a popular icon in Roman pop culture. His image is featured in many movies, novels, songs, and even video games.