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Gladiator Greek Culture

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The Roman Empire was famous for it’s Colosseum and the gladiatorial events held within the historic architecture. Because of the famous site and it’s history many writers, directors, and artists have been inspired to display Rome’s culture in artwork, books, and movies. One recent movie, Gladiator, is one of these movies as it hones in on the end of Marcus Aurelius’ reign and Commodus’ reign. It focuses on the main protagonist- Maximus- and his life during the time period. The movie ends with the slay of Commodus by Maximus and Maximus dying due to previous injuries. The culture and history hinted at and shown throughout the film accurately portray Rome during Commodus’ reign. However, despite the accuracies of the film, there are in …show more content…

Marcus says that Maximus will be the next emperor instead of his son, this infuriates Commodus and in his rage he sentences Maximus to be executed along with his family. Maximus manages to escape but after finding his family dead he is captured and forced to be gladiator. Quickly, he becomes one of the best and soon enough finds himself in the Colosseum where Commodus is hosting a massive event. Maximus keeps gaining popularity and eventually Commodus finds out who he is. Due to Commodus spending so much on the gladiator events- sending the Roman economy into a devastating downward spiral- and due to his behavior as emperor, the Council along with his sister plot his demise. This plan is outed and Commodus executes a massacre on the council members and Maximus. Maximus is forced to fight Commodus while injured in a final battle, which he wins, however in the end he dies as well due to blood loss. The movie ending with a hopeful tone for the future of Rome with Commodus gone. This movie is based around the final victories the Romans had “on the Dacian Frontier in 107 A.D.” and the “123 days” of games had to commemorate the victory (Lidz 1). As well as the drama that revolved around Commodus and his inner circle. These historical foundations for the film allow the director to incorporate the accurate portrayal of cultural aspects of the …show more content…

This is done through the protagonist- Maximus- whom never existed, how the gladiators were treated and what they wore, and how Commodus eventually died to name a few examples. Proving the inaccuracy of the film despite attempting to contain so much precision in other aspects of the movie. This movie adds to the suspicion of other “historically accurate” films and how accurate they truly are after researching what truly occurred in

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