Historical Accuracy Of The Gladiator

The movie The Gladiator could be defined as a fictional movie that used real figures in history and portrayed their characteristics as accurately as possible while sticking to the storyline. While the filmmakers made the movie very realistic, they made liberties such as the main character, Maximus Decimus Meridius, and they combined many factual events and people to create the story in the way that they wanted. Viewers should not look at the movie as a true story but as an insight to what Rome was like as a civilization and a society.

The Gladiator was based during the times of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus. However, its main character is Maximus Decimus Meridius. The movie began with a battle scene where Maximus, the general, led his men

to victory against a Germanic army with the emperor, Marcus Aurelius, looking on. After the battle, Aurelius made Maximus his heir and then adopted him. After telling Maximus, he told his biological son, Commodus, who then murdered Aurelius before it could be known that Maximus was the true heir. When Maximus did not swear loyalty to Commodus, Commodus ordered for his execution and his families’. Maximus was able to escape, but when he arrived at his home he saw the corpses of his wife and son and lost his will. The next scene starts as he wakes up as a slave. Soon, he becomes a gladiator and works so one day he can see Commodus again and get his revenge. After many fights, he gets to the Coliseum and soon gives his identity. Later, after a failed coup and after garnering the support of the Roman mob, he would fight Commodus in the Coliseum and would be victorious. After, he restored the republic, freed his fellow gladiators, and then died from his wounds.
Probably one of the best visual portrayals in the movie was the portrayal of Rome’s society. The people of Rome in the 2nd century AD were very violent, and the movie portrayed them in that way. From the starting scene where the Roman legion began to “unleash hell” and annihilate the Germanic army, to Maximus’ capture and execution of his family, to his time as a gladiator, to the time of the attempted coup that was blocked by the Praetorian Guard, violence was shown and the threat of violence always remained. Violence was a threat to everyone, and the best way to overcome it was to become more powerful. To do this, it was important for the characters to acquire powerful friends, which is why the senate and Commodus wanted to find where Maximus’ stances were on political issues after he won the battle, and it is why Marcus Aurelius grew close to him and adopted him.
While many characters were true, many others were fictitious.

If they were based off a real person the character stayed true to their personality, and the made up characters stayed true to those in Roman society. For example, Marcus Aurelius was a real Roman emperor and since he was a philosopher, the movie was more likely than not correct about his personality because in the movie, he was always looking at the bigger picture. Another historical accuracy with him was that he actually did spend his time on the frontier battling along the border, he was actually loved by many Romans as shown when Proximo, the gladiator owner who was previously a gladiator himself, expressed his love for him and talked about him as a godlike

figure.
Although Maximus Decimus Meridius did not exist, he was the combination of multiple true figures that inspired his character. As Maximus was Aurelius’ top general, so was a general Avidius Cassius. Cassius claimed to be emperor after Aurelius’ death, much like Maximus should have been in the movie, however, Cassius was killed by his own troops shortly after his claim, while Maximus was supposed to be executed but escaped. Also, later in the film, it was revealed to him that his army was still loyal to him and wanted him to lead them in a coup against Commodus. Another real historical figure that Maximus took traits from was Diocletian, who came from the lower classes outside of Italy, became the emperor’s favorite bodyguard, and soon became a general and heir to the throne.
One aspect the movie did not have entirely correct was its political system.

While it was correct in emphasizing the importance of the mob of people that was Rome and the success of games to make them happy, the political system seemed too simple in the movie. Senator Gracchus, a fictitious character with similar attributes to the Gracchus brothers, was a senator that was primarily concerned with helping the poor and restoring the Republic. The problem, however, was that he realistically would have been a plebian tribune, not a senator as senators were more a part of the oligarchy that took from the poor and did not really give to

them.
As far as the movie’s depiction of Commodus, it was pretty accurate. He was obsessed with games and played in them. As a gladiator, he supposedly killed many animals such as rhinoceroses, elephants, and leopards. While it was not proven that he killed Aurelius, there was a rumor that he did. Although he did not like his sister Lucilla or have sexual relations with her, she did plot against him and he did most likely have sexual relations with his other sisters. Overall, Commodus was as mentally unstable as he was depicted in the movie, so his personality was probably accurate like the movie portrayed him to be.