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
The Roman gladiator captivated the masses and contributed to the very definition of ancient Rome. The consumption and coverage of football in America today is the modern equivalent to how gladiatorial games fit into the entertainment and overall culture of the ancient Roman world, with the gladiatorial games holding even deeper importance regarding spirituality. In a society built through the balancing of bloodshed and civility, the ancient Roman gladiator made his impact through spectacle by pure carnage. From 264 BC to AD 404, the Roman people were captivated by gladiators; their appeal remained constant through shifts in power and changes in overall purpose. The purpose of Roman gladiatorial combat went from being to honor the dead and
The Gladiator epic directed by Riley Scott (2000) is based on real life events of the Roman Empire, their society, as well as the role of gladiators. Scott tried to portray the Roman culture as accurately as he could, and even went further to ensure his authenticity by hiring several historians to do so . It is supported by the findings of historians’ research. The film is historically accurate in most parts, including the role of gladiators; gladiatorial games and the aspects of Roman society such as the religions and beliefs. Some characters such as Commodus, Lucilla and Marcus were loosely based on the real life characters. However some parts of the film were exaggerated such as the battles in the arena, where gladiators fought to
The gladiators where the pro football players of their time. They fought in arenas for the people of Rome’s entertainment. This research paper will tell you all about the gladiators of Rome, the names of the gladiators, their classes and who they are. We will also discuss how the gladiators obtained their freedom.
When most people think of roman gladiators they think of two men inside some kind of an arena fighting to the death with weapons and armor. Yes the roman gladiators were men who fought with weapons but there is so much more to the history of the roman gladiators that a lot of people don’t know. The Roman gladiatorial fights weren’t just fights people could watch but they were a major significance to the way the romans themselves ordered their lives. Being a part of the romans meant attending these games. The roman gladiator’s fights were one of the most popular events that took place during the ancient roman world. There is so much history when it comes to roman gladiators which is why they were so popular and entertaining to watch. To really understand why the gladiators and their
The film primarily focus’ on the role of the gladiator in Pompeii and the way they were treated by the higher class. The film Pompeii alters the position of Gladiators, giving the impression that all gladiators were only slaves, however historical sources state that, while slaves, criminals and prisoners of war made up the majority of gladiators, the title of ‘gladiator’ was not restricted to only slaves, but rather other citizens
Gore, drama, and action. These are what most people pay Hollywood to show them at the screens. The movie gladiator from the year 2000 is no different. The movie gladiator is a movie with contents that does not align itself historically. Rather it is tainted with a bit of historical accuracy resulting it to be more difficult to discern the accuracy of the movie as it is now ambiguous for which part of the movie is unreliable and reliable. Nevertheless, this paper will be contrast the content of the movie with the historical accuracy of some of the event, the people in the plot, and the gladiatorial combat in the movie, proving the lack of historical revelevancy.
Commodus' ambition begins after he kills his father Emperor Marcus Aurelius because he feels that his father did not love him enough and becomes the Emperor of Rome. Marcus says that Commodus "is not a moral man" and that "he cannot rule". Commodus is the Macbeth character in 'Gladiator' but is still not the main character. The main character in the film is Maximus who resembles Macduff in the film. While still being shown as a great fighter, Commodus is also shown in the film as a bit of a coward, after Maximus wins the war for Rome, Commodus shows up late to the victory celebrations acting as if he wasn’t even aware of a war even existing. Quickly after being crowned as Emperor of Rome, Commodus becomes disliked by the Senate and the people of Rome and seen as a pathetic leader. Commodus uses the ambition to be like his father to create barbaric fights in the Coliseum. "He'll bring them death and they will love him
There was much more to Ancient Roman gladiators than what they did in the arenas. The gladiators were more than just warriors who fought for the entertainment of the Romans, they were people. They had lives outside of the arena and often lived better than that of the low class Romans. This paper will explore the life of the gladiator, who they were, what parts of society they came from, and the different types of gladiators that existed in the arena. There will be an in-depth look at what happened to these individuals throughout their life and an exploration into gender among these warriors of the Coliseum. The gladiators weren’t just a type of fighter who happened to battle for the entertainment of others, there were different types of gladiators and battles that took place within those arenas.
After its debut in America on May 5th of 2000, the movie Gladiator has been a nationwide symbol of heroism(Imdb). The film was directed by Ridley Scott and the lead roles of the film were carried out by Russell Crowe as Maximus and Joaquin Phoenix as Commodus(Imdb). The movie takes place during the reign of the Holy Roman Empire in the year 180 A.D. The Emperor, Marcus Aurelius, is dying and wishes to leave the Roman Empire under the control of Roman General Maximus Meridius. The Emperor’s son Commodus betrays Maximus, kills his father, and takes control of Rome. In betraying Maximus, Commodus has his family killed. Maximus knowing this returns to Rome as a gladiator under the alias “Spaniard” in search of revenge(Imdb). According to
Gladiator is in the manner that the main characters became slaves/gladiators and the aspect of how “freedom” is earned. Maximus on the other hand, was a Roman General that refused to serve for the Roman new emperor, Commodus, who had murdered his father, Marcus Aurelius, in order to obtain control of the Roman Empire. The biggest difference between Gladiator and Spartacus is the manner in which their respective freedom is earned. Gladiators freedom is earned thru defeating Commodus, who sentences Maximus to be executed. The story begins after he escapes his captors and rides off to his farm. This is after he discovers that his family has been murdered by said King/Emperor Commodus. Maximus collapses from exhaustion and is then picked up by slave traders and sold to Proximo, thus leading to his voyage of becoming a Gladiator and his fight against the King. Another difference is that Spartacus is pressured into fighting the best gladiator of the Roman army, upon the conclusion of his training however, he is defeated. Afterward he becomes leader of the Army of Slaves and in an effort to gain the slaves freedom back, he leads them to battle. After being captured, Spartacus ultimately has to fight it out with a slave who is also captured and the winner will be crucified. In Gladiator, Gladiators from all over the Roman
Of the many monumental constructions that the Romans built, one of the most well known is the Coliseum, where brave Gladiators would fight dangerous animals and even each other to entertain the people of Rome. When people see the great arena, it is easy for them to forget the countless men, women, and animals that died fighting each other for amusement. Most people don’t know what it took for them to fight and either win or die, or how many hours they must have spent training to have a chance at defeating their opponents. Who were these gladiators?
The main character in the film Black Swan, twenty-eight year old female Nina Sayers, displays signs of numerous disorders through her abnormal behavior. Nina’s life is consumed by her occupation: professional ballerina/dancer. Nina resides with her mother and rarely socializes with others. She has difficulty concentrating, is restless, irritable, suffers from muscle tension, and sleep disturbances from nightmares. Nina also feels very uncomfortable in social and intimate situations. She appears to be unable to successfully interact with those around her. The interaction that Nina has with her fellow dancers appears to be strained and superficial. Nina exhibits behavior that indicates she views all other dancers as competition instead of
An individual on average would fight about three times a year, and for the rest of the time travel with the troop. The troops swore an oath to their master, and traveled from city to city looking for work (Roman Gladiator). The social class of the Gladiators was rather ironic in itself. On one hand they were considered slaves, that's the lowest class in a social structure, but on the other hand, some gained popularity and were looked upon as great warriors and heroes. Some rose to celebrity status in a short time as in the movie when Maximus became a hero to the public eye, worthy of praise of greater importance than even the king himself. In the movie this was a direct result in the downfall of Commodus, but this isn't factual, as Maximus is a fictional character. It just demonstrates the influence the Gladiators had on the public eye, he was the Rockstar of the Roman Empire'.
During the Roman Empire many emperors ruled in their own ways. Some were considered to be one of the “Five Good Emperors, ” and the others didn’t last because they were assassinated. They either just cared about themselves or actually cared about the citizens of Rome. The movie Gladiator portrays Roman life and the gladiatorial games. Really though, how does the movie compare to the history of the Roman Empire? I am really interested in the actual history of the gladiators and the movie is one of my favorites. That’s why I chose to do my review on it and I came to find out that the movie didn’t give me the information on the real life and times of the gladiators.
The story is about Maximus, one of the leading generals in the Roman army. He led the Romans to victory in a decisive battle with the Barbarians that ended a long war between them. This victory helped him gain trust and favour from the old Emperor Marcus Aurelius, which is now old and near his end. Emperor Aurelius wishes to appoint Maximus as the temporary leader of Rome, even though he has a son, Commodus. Commodus, being told by his father that he would not be the appointed emperor, murders Marcus in a fit of rage and claims the throne. He then ordered the execution of Maximus to secure his claim to the throne. Maximus escaped execution, but he was unable to save his son and wife in Spain from the soldiers