Making Connections in Roman History with the Movie Gladiator

In the movie, many things portrayed are the same as what really happened in Roman history. Some things, though, are a little different in the actual history of Rome than in the movie. Scenes were changed in the movie too, to make the plot more interesting. I connected what I could between the movie and the actual history of Rome.

Maximus was the general of Rome, and a really good general at that. He led Rome to many victories. He was so great and loyal that in the movie, Marcus Aurelius actually asked him to succeed him on the throne. When Commodus heard this from his father, he killed him and sentenced Maximus to death. When Maximus escaped, he was picked up by a group of men and sold as a slave to become a gladiator. As a gladiator, he fought many different types of gladiators. Quicker ones had nets with tridents, and slower ones had curved swords with shields. There were some gladiators who even had chariots. In the actual history of Rome, there really were different types of gladiators. The gladiators with the net and trident were called the Retarii. The gladiator with the curved sword and shield was called the Samnite. I'm not too sure if there were gladiators that used chariots as their weapons, but it sounds likely since it is thought that the Colosseum was filled up and used for boat wars. Using chariots would be easy for them and entertaining for the crowd. There's a scene in the movie where it's a one-on-one battle between Maximus and a champion gladiator. Maximus is barely armed and protected. All he has is a sword and shield, I believe. The other man has two swords, a mask for protection, and heavy armor. This shows how each type of gladiator was to fight a different kind of gladiator so the match would be even and fair.

In the movie, Commodus is very sneaky and vengeful. He uses murder in his politics, too. He killed his father, tried to kill Maximus, and even wanted to get rid of the senate in order for him to become a "true emperor." He thinks the Senate is unneeded and believes himself to be more of a people's person than the actual senators. In history, there was much murder in the government as well. The Gracchis were murdered as well as Caesar. Commodus tries to assassinate and kill Maximus, since Maximus is supposed to be the successor to the throne after Marcus Aurelius. In Roman history, the Romans never developed a formal policy of succession. Although many emperors named their successors, the Roman army often refused to accept the new emperors and assassinated them. This is what Commodus tried to do with Maximus in order for himself to become emperor and rule.

Gracchus wants the citizens of Rome to be happy in the movie and makes sure the emperor hears the problems and needs of the people when he talks with him. He even suggests possible solutions to the problems. He seems to be very people-oriented and knows how some of the senators can be crooked. In Roman history, there were actually two Gracchis who were both murdered because they were disliked by crooked senators who used violence to get ahead. The real Gracchis wanted to help the citizens out as well. They even used public funds to purchase grain to be sold to the poor at low prices so they could afford it. They also improved the political status of the equites (business and land-owning people).

Lucillia, sister of Commodus, has a son named Lucius. I did some research to find out that her son was named after his father, who died in 169 A.D. His name was Lucius Veras. In the movie, she is portrayed as a widow, but, in real history, she remarries to Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus Quintianus of Antioch. In the movie, she joins the plot for the good of the Roman people, but she really participated in this plot because she lusted after power. She also supports her brother in the movie but was actually involved in a plot with her cousin to assassinate Commodus and raise her husband up as emperor. The plan was figured out, and she was banished to the island of Capri. In the movie, it shows her as outliving her brother, but she is actually executed on the island because he changed his mind.

As you can see, many things that happened throughout the movie were similar to what happened in the history of Rome. A few minor details were changed, but nothing too noticeable. The only major difference I could see was in Lucillia and how she was portrayed. Her role had to be changed, or else the whole movie would have been different and probably more boring. Definitely, when you put the two, movie and history, side-by-side, you see how good of a job they really did sticking to the facts and, at the same time, making the movie wicked-awesome with its totally cool action.

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