The film is a modern masterpiece that has stood the test of time and there was even a Gladiator sequel planned at one point. After losing everything, in his grief, Maximus--no longer a high-status general--is sold into slavery. Of course, he's then also quickly drafted into Rome's local gladiator games without choice. He's an underdog who's fighting for his life when he has nothing else to live for but the vengeance he seeks.
But while he utilizes that rage to become an incredibly successful gladiator, as well as a crowd favorite, he's often referred to by a nickname that doesn't seemingly fit: " The Spaniard. After all, Maximus doesn't appear to be of Spanish descent or have a Spanish name.
You simply won't Are we so different, you and I? You take life when you have to Maximus : I have only one more life to take. Then it is done. Commodus : Then take it now. Commodus : They tell me your son Commodus And your wife Maximus : The time for honoring yourself will soon be at an end. Maximus : Highness. Juba : Can they hear you? Maximus : Who? Juba : Your family.
In the afterlife. Maximus : Oh yes. Juba : What do you say to them? Maximus : To my son - I tell him I will see him again soon.
To keep his heels down while riding his horse. To my wife Maximus : Are you in danger of becoming a good man, Proximo? Proximo : Ha! Proximo : He knows too well how to manipulate the mob. Maximus : Marcus Aurelius had a dream that was Rome, Proximo. That is not it. That is not it! Proximo : Marcus Aurelius is dead, Maximus. We mortals are but shadows and dust. Shadows and dust, Maximus! Gracchus : And after your glorious coup, what then?
You take your five thousand and Maximus : Yes, I will leave. The soldiers will stay here for your protection, under the guidance of the Senate. Gracchus : So, after Rome's all yours, you just give it back to the people. Tell me why. Maximus : Because that was a dying man's last wish. I will kill Commodus.
The fate of Rome, I leave to you. Gracchus : Marcus Aurelius trusted you. His daughter trusts you. I will trust you. Give me two days, and I will purchase your freedom. And you, stay alive, or I'll be dead.
Proximo : Congratulations, you have very persuasive friends. Lucilla : My brother's had Gracchus arrested. We daren't wait any longer. We must leave tonight. Proximo will be here t midnight and take you to the gate. Your servant, Cicero will be waiting there with horses. Maximus : You have done all this? Lucilla : Yes. Maximus : [sighs] You risk too much. Lucilla : I have much to pay for. Maximus : You have nothing to pay for. You love your son, you are strong for him.
Lucilla : I am tired of being strong. Maximus : Because your father chose me. Lucilla : No because my father loved you Maximus : A long time ago. Lucilla : [smiles] Was I very different then?
Maximus : shakes his head, touches her face with his finger You laughed more. Lucilla : I have felt alone all my life, except with you. I must go. Maximus : Yes. Lucilla : What did my father want with you? Maximus : To wish me well before I leave for home. Lucilla : You're lying, I could always tell when you were lying because you were never any good at it. Maximus : I never acquired your comfort with it. Lucilla : True, but then you never had to, life is more simple for a soldier. Or do you think me heartless?
Maximus : I think you have a talent for survival. Maximus : Quintus, look at me. Look at me! These consuls, with equal power, were to guard against dictatorship. So, perhaps Marcus really did have Republican inclinations, as attested to in the film, or perhaps this was a Machiavellian maneuver undertaken in an attempt to avoid the fate of the perceived dictator Julius Caesar.
This was the first time in history that the Roman Empire had two joint emperors of formally equal constitutional status and powers, although in reality, Marcus was clearly the ruler of Rome.
If the ancient sources can be trusted, Commodus was even more bizarre in real life than he was in the film. Reality was very different than the film in this instance. Commodus was, as depicted in Gladiator, present with his father during the Danubian wars, and yes, this is where Marcus Aurelius died. Historians from the time of Commodus have not been kind to him.
As aristocratic intellectuals, they were not amused by his crude antics. Hence, our present day historiography still reflects, rightly or wrongly, this ancient bias. His father, possessing the virtues seen as noble by the literate aristocracy, was, and often still is, regarded as a great man, while his son was hated by the Senate and ridiculed by historians.
Yet it is said that the army and the lower classes loved him. Indeed, some historians even question his sanity. Commodus, in his own time, was accused of being a megalomaniac. But the effect was to make him the laughing stock of the aristocratic class. Some sources suspect that he did. The fact that he was present at the time, made a hasty peace with the enemy, and a quick retreat back to Rome in a victory triumph, has fueled speculation.
The official story is that Marcus Aurelius died of plague. In this case, the truth is even stranger than the fiction. Commodus claimed to be descended from the God Hercules, and even began to dress like him, wearing lion skins and carrying a club. He also fought wild beasts.
Dio Cassius wrote that Commodus killed five hippopotami at one time. Herodian tells us further that Commodus had a special platform constructed which encircled the arena, from which he would display his skills as a hunter. He is recorded to have kil led one hundred leopards with one hundred javelins. As a theatrical treat, he would slice the heads off of ostriches with crescent-headed arrows, which would then run around the amphitheater headless.
Dio Cassius reveals that Senators were m ade to attend these spectacles, and that on one occasion Commodus killed an ostrich and displayed the severed head in one hand, his sword dripping with blood in the other, thus implying that he could treat them the same way. However he was assassinated, and, by an athlete. There were numerous plots and attempts upon his life, but the one which finally succeeded was carried out by a wrestler named Narcissus, while Commodus was in his b ath.
The plot was orchestrated by his closest advisors, and apparently even included his mistress, Marcia. It occurred on the very last day of the year CE, and indeed, exactly when the rest of Rome was preparing festivities for the New Year, CE. Maximus and his subordinate Quintus defeated the Bararians in a battle. After the battle, he was honored by the Emperor for his duty. He was envied by Marcus' son Commodus, who was a coward. Maximus was offered the title of Caesar by Marcus, who knew that Commodus was too weak to rule Rome.
He accepted the post, but Commodus killed his Father in secret and later became the Emperor. He was betrayed by Quintus, and was sent to be executed in the woods. He escaped by killing the executioner and three other men, only to find that Commodus had ordered his wife and son to be brutally murdered. His arrival at his farm was gruesome; he found his family crucified.
He buried his wife and son before falling unconscious from exhaustion by their grave side. He later avenged his family in the Colosseum of Rome by killing Commodus during the days of games. Maximus was captured by a band of drifting thieves while asleep. He made acquaintance with Juba, a hunter who was also taken to be sold as a slave.
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