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Hector Castillo
Cody K. Carlson
Western Civilization 1100
5 September 2015
Gladiator (Film Review)
The philosopher-Emperor Marcus Aurelius rule the Roman Empire between AD 161 and
180. The General Maximus Decimus Meridius was trusted by the emperor to keep the Empire
under control in terms of wars. The Emperor was getting old and although he had a son, he felt
that the General Maximus should be the next successor. Things got out of control when
Commodus the Emperors son finds out that his own father didnt want him to be the next
Imperator, so Commodus assassinates the Emperor. After the death of Aurelius, Commudus
become the new Emperor and Meridius was force into slavery. Meridus was use as a gladiator to
fight in different locations, and then he was taken to the coliseum where he was well known.
Soon the Emperor Commodus discovers that one of the gladiators behind the mask was the
remarkable roman General Maximus. The emperor did the unthinkable and got into a brutal
combat with Maximus. Thousands of spectators at the coliseum witness how their Emperor and
the General slay each other.
In Gladiator, they claim that the Emperor Marcus Aurelius was assassinated by his son
Commodus; this didnt happen in real life. In 180 AD Marcus Aurelius caught smallpox and then
starved himself to death at the age of 58 (Birley). In the film Commodus is killed in the arena
with the roman General Maximus during a brutal combat in the coliseum. This event did not take
place in ancient Rome for the predominant reason that Maximus Decimus Meridius (his full
name is stated only once in the film) was a fictional character in Gladiator. Narcissus strangled

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him in his bathtub (Birley). In the film Gladiator, producers and director Ridley Scott did a great
job by claiming that Marcus Aurelius son was Commodus. This in fact, turned out to be true. In
the book, Marcus Aurelius A Biography by Anthony R. Birley Page (45), Commodus is
mentioned as the son of Marcus Aurelius. Two thumbs up for this film are that the Coliseum that
was shown in Gladiator was pretty much the same compared to the one ancient Rome. The use of
the Coliseum had the predominant purpose of entertaining citizens, the senate, and of course the
Emperor. The gladiators were slaves who were force to fight with other gladiators. To make the
events more interesting and amusing romans sometimes used wild animals like: tigers, lions,
bears and elephants that fought with the gladiators. The Coliseum in fact was covered with sand
and surrounded with statutes. The film was pretty good; however, I could have enjoyed more this
film if the producers and the directors of Hollywood didnt manipulate the history of Rome.
This film fits in the Western Civilizations 1100 class because Gladiator is based on the
era of Marcus Aurelius who was the last of the Five Good Emperors in the second century it is
part of the Roman history that we would be learning and covering in this class. Aurelius was
considered a good emperor. Why? He cared for the citizens of Rome and for the Roman
Republican. He wrote hundreds of meditations that reinforce his caring for others: If it is not
right do not do it if it is not true do not say. Accept the things to which fate binds you, and love
the people with whom fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart. The only wealth
which you will keep forever is the wealth you have given away. (Marcus). The film was pretty
accurate when The Empero r Aurelius was worried about how he was going to be remembered
when he was gone; as a man that brought peace and freedom to Rome or as Tyrant? All these
meditations tell us that he was very concerned for the citizen of Rome. No wonder he was one of
the Good five Emperors.

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Works Cited Page

Marcus Aurelius Meditations 167 AD
Birley, Anthony R. Marcus Aurelius: A Biography (Roman Imperial Biographies). 1993. Print.