WEBVTT - Was Commodus One of Rome's Worst Emperors?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to BrainStuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey BrainStuff, Lauren

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<v Speaker 1>Vogelbaum here. If the name Commodus sounds familiar, it may

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<v Speaker 1>be from the film Gladiator, released in the year 2000

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<v Speaker 1>from director Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe. The movie's

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<v Speaker 1>villainous emperor, played with slimy panache by Joaquin Phoenix, is

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<v Speaker 1>based on a real-life Roman emperor named Commodus. He lived

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<v Speaker 1>from the years 161 to 192 CE, and a historian

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<v Speaker 1>a few decades later called him a greater curse to

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<v Speaker 1>the Romans than any pestilence or any crime. There are

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<v Speaker 1>lurid stories about Commodus' unquenchable appetite for sex and violence,

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<v Speaker 1>that he had 600 concubines, mostly young women and boys,

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<v Speaker 1>and that he slaughtered scores of men and wild animals

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<v Speaker 1>in gladiatorial bloodbaths, and that he rubbed his skin and

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<v Speaker 1>hair with the blood of his victims. But these tales

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<v Speaker 1>should be taken with a large grain of salt. For

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<v Speaker 1>the article this episode is based on, HowStuffWorks spoke with

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<v Speaker 1>Barry Strauss, a classicist and military historian at Cornell University

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<v Speaker 1>and author of nine books on ancient history. He explained,

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<v Speaker 1>the ancient sources are full of malicious gossip about all

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<v Speaker 1>the emperors. The sources were written either by senators or

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<v Speaker 1>by people who made their living being paid by senators.

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<v Speaker 1>Marcus Aurelius was the most kind to the Senate, so

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<v Speaker 1>he got good press. Commodus was just the opposite. He

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<v Speaker 1>killed a lot of senators, so of course they trashed him. Yes,

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<v Speaker 1>Marcus Aurelius was an exception. He was Commodus' father and

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<v Speaker 1>predecessor as emperor. Marcus was a morally upright and beloved

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<v Speaker 1>emperor who ruled Rome through a devastating plague epidemic and

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<v Speaker 1>endless frontier wars against invading Germanic tribes. He also penned Meditations,

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<v Speaker 1>a philosophical memoir that remains a classic of Stoic philosophy.

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<v Speaker 1>Commodus was the only surviving son of Marcus Aurelius with

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<v Speaker 1>Faustina the Younger, the daughter of Marcus's predecessor. Commodus was

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<v Speaker 1>hand-picked to succeed his father's emperor, partially to shore up

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<v Speaker 1>the line of succession and prevent rebellion. When Commodus was

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<v Speaker 1>just 11 years old, he joined his father at the

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<v Speaker 1>frontier encampments where Marcus was leading Roman troops to battle.

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<v Speaker 1>and at 15, his father named him co-emperor. This was

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<v Speaker 1>all highly unusual. The emperorship didn't often pass to a

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<v Speaker 1>biological son, and this was the first time in the

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<v Speaker 1>history of the empire that a child had been raised

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<v Speaker 1>with the office in mind. So what was Commodus like

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<v Speaker 1>at that point? Some of the few clues that we

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<v Speaker 1>have to go by are from the aforementioned historian Cassius Dio.

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<v Speaker 1>He was a senator who wrote an extensive history of

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<v Speaker 1>Rome during the first couple decades of the 200 CE,

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<v Speaker 1>and he was no fan of Commodus, so he may

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<v Speaker 1>have exaggerated or invented some of his faults. He describes

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<v Speaker 1>young Commodus as a clueless coward who fell in with

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<v Speaker 1>the wrong crowd. Here's a word from Dio, translated by

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<v Speaker 1>Ernest Carey in the early 1900s. Quote, Commodus was not

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<v Speaker 1>naturally wicked, but, on the contrary, as guileless as any

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<v Speaker 1>man that ever lived. His great simplicity, however, together with

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<v Speaker 1>his cowardice, made him the slave of his companions. And

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<v Speaker 1>it was through them that he at first, out of ignorance,

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<v Speaker 1>missed the better life, and then was led on into

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<v Speaker 1>lustful and cruel habits, which soon became second nature. Whatever

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<v Speaker 1>the case, when Marcus Aurelius died, probably from the plague

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<v Speaker 1>but reportedly at his son's hand, Commodus was crowned sole

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<v Speaker 1>emperor at age 18 in 180 CE. Unlike his father,

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<v Speaker 1>who fought tirelessly against the Germanic tribes, Commodus immediately struck

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<v Speaker 1>peace accords and made a beeline for Rome. Dio wrote,

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<v Speaker 1>for he hated all exertion and craved the comfortable life

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<v Speaker 1>of the city. Back in Rome, Commodus systematically killed all

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<v Speaker 1>of his perceived enemies in the Senate, as well as

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<v Speaker 1>anyone else who appeared to have the wealth and renown

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<v Speaker 1>to overthrow him, again, according to Dio. Dio wrote, This

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<v Speaker 1>created something of a power vacuum, and a number of

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<v Speaker 1>friends and sycophants are said to have come into high

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<v Speaker 1>offices at this time, some of whom used their newfound

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<v Speaker 1>power to line their own pockets. An official bust of

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<v Speaker 1>Commodus carved in Rome around that time, circa 180 CE,

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<v Speaker 1>depicts the young emperor in relatively straightforward military dress, notably

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<v Speaker 1>not styled as either a senator or a religious figure.

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<v Speaker 1>But Dio reported that Commodus wasn't really into the daily

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<v Speaker 1>grind of governing. He left the work of conducting military

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<v Speaker 1>affairs and standing as the head of the state to

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<v Speaker 1>a series of military leaders who came into his favor

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<v Speaker 1>and often fell out of it hard. Commodus busied himself

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<v Speaker 1>with preferred activities like horse and chariot racing. Of course,

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<v Speaker 1>gladiatorial contests were big entertainment in ancient Rome, and Commodus,

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<v Speaker 1>like other emperors, knew how to stage a spectacle. But

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<v Speaker 1>Commodus went a step further. he dressed up like a

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<v Speaker 1>gladiator and fought in the contests himself. Emperors were supposed

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<v Speaker 1>to be above the base violence of the gladiatorial ring,

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<v Speaker 1>but Commodus apparently fancied himself the people's champion and a

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<v Speaker 1>skillful fighter. Strauss said, it was kind of scandalous. According

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<v Speaker 1>to Dio, Commodus slaughtered animals, both domestic and wild, the

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<v Speaker 1>wilder ones like bears, tigers, and elephants from a safe

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<v Speaker 1>distance with spears and javelins. As for fighting people, Commodus

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<v Speaker 1>didn't fight to the death in public. He'd compete with

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<v Speaker 1>a wooden sword against other athletes and gladiators, collecting a

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<v Speaker 1>handsome son from the gladiatorial fund every day. Because, of course,

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<v Speaker 1>he always won. Insert Dio's eye roll here. We know

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<v Speaker 1>that the Coliseum, which had been inaugurated a century before

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<v Speaker 1>in 80 CE, was home to amazing spectacles. Orchestras played

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<v Speaker 1>music during the fights and other displays. The entire floor

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<v Speaker 1>of the amphitheater was built atop a series of tunnels, trapdoors,

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<v Speaker 1>and machinery underground so that animals, props, or people could

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<v Speaker 1>appear like magic. Commodus probably popped into the arena via

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<v Speaker 1>this network. There may have been elaborate costumes and stunt

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<v Speaker 1>doubles involved. Dio wrote that the senators were compelled to

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<v Speaker 1>attend all of these spectacles, and even to cheer on

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<v Speaker 1>Commodus with scripted chants, including this mouthful, Commodus certainly didn't

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<v Speaker 1>suffer from a lack of confidence. He called himself the

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<v Speaker 1>Roman Hercules, and even dressed the part with a full

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<v Speaker 1>lion skin and club. A later bust portrait of Commodus,

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<v Speaker 1>carved near the end of his life, around late 191

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<v Speaker 1>or 192 CE, portrays him in this getup, the lion's

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<v Speaker 1>skin tied at his neck by its paws, its fearsome

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<v Speaker 1>upper jaw crowning his curly hair. He holds Hercules' club

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<v Speaker 1>in one hand and the mythic golden apples of the

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<v Speaker 1>Hesperides in the other. Far from the simple base of

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<v Speaker 1>his earlier bust, this one sits on symbols of divinity.

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<v Speaker 1>He's held up by two kneeling Amazons, two Tritons, two Cornucopias,

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<v Speaker 1>and a shield bearing symbols of the god Jupiter, Hercules' father.

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<v Speaker 1>He wasn't the first emperor to cultivate an association with

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<v Speaker 1>the gods, but he took it further than most. A

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<v Speaker 1>later biography of Commodus, written at least a century after

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<v Speaker 1>his rule in the collection Historia Augusta, claims that he

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<v Speaker 1>wore gold dust in his hair to dazzle his onlookers,

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<v Speaker 1>though that may be sheer hearsay. What's more sure is

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<v Speaker 1>that Commodus renamed things after himself, and not small things either.

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<v Speaker 1>After a fire raged through Rome in 191, he refounded

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<v Speaker 1>it as, in translation, Commodus City. He also renamed the

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<v Speaker 1>months of the year after 12 of his names, including

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<v Speaker 1>Amazonius and Hercules. And outside of the Colosseum, he refreshed

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<v Speaker 1>a grand statue of Emperor Nero, another interesting leader, with

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<v Speaker 1>his own likeness, and had a bronze statue of a

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<v Speaker 1>lion placed at its feet. When Commodus sent messages to

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<v Speaker 1>the Senate, Dio wrote, they began with his full 12

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<v Speaker 1>names and several other titles, including the pacifier of the

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<v Speaker 1>whole earth, the invincible, and the Roman Hercules. Strauss questions

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<v Speaker 1>the veracity of Cassius Dio's reports, but points out that

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<v Speaker 1>Commodus certainly wasn't the only Roman emperor to have megalomaniacal

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<v Speaker 1>tendencies or to act like a tyrant. It's the sheer

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<v Speaker 1>level of Commodus' eccentricity that stands out. A man like

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<v Speaker 1>Commodus makes a lot of enemies, and during his 12-year

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<v Speaker 1>solo reign, he survived numerous assassination attempts, including one plotted

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<v Speaker 1>by a number of senators with his oldest sister, whom

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<v Speaker 1>he exiled and later executed. But fate finally caught up

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<v Speaker 1>to Commodus on New Year's Eve in the year 192.

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<v Speaker 1>two of his highest officials, along with his favored and

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<v Speaker 1>politically powerful mistress, Marcia, tried to poison him. And when

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<v Speaker 1>that failed, they sent his wrestling partner to strangle him

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<v Speaker 1>in his bath. The reign of Commodus is sometimes pegged

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<v Speaker 1>as the beginning of the end of the Roman Empire,

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<v Speaker 1>though of course there are a lot of complex reasons

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<v Speaker 1>that an empire falls, and the subject is still argued today.

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<v Speaker 1>His death was followed by a bloody and Commodus didn't

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<v Speaker 1>do that on purpose. It happened because he was a failure.

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<v Speaker 1>But out of the chaos that was his reign, not

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<v Speaker 1>everything that happened was bad. Some modern researchers posit that

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<v Speaker 1>there was some method to Commodus' breathlessly reported madness. His

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<v Speaker 1>early peace treaty with longtime enemies may have been just

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<v Speaker 1>what was needed by an exhausted empire. Given his privileged upbringing,

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<v Speaker 1>the Senate might have been against him no matter what

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<v Speaker 1>his behavior. Even his divine posturing may have been a

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<v Speaker 1>way to exert control in uncertain times, more than a

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<v Speaker 1>reflection of megalomania. The long civil war ended with the

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<v Speaker 1>establishment of the Severan dynasty, a run of emperors hailing

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<v Speaker 1>from North Africa, Syria, and other corners of the Roman Empire.

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<v Speaker 1>Although the Senate had condemned Commodus' memory following his assassination,

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<v Speaker 1>the first Severan empire, Septimius Severus, claimed a familial relation

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<v Speaker 1>to Marcus Aurelius, and thus restored Commodus' name. And that's how,

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<v Speaker 1>although he deservedly or undeservedly went down in history as

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<v Speaker 1>one of Rome's worst emperors, Commodus was formally made an

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<v Speaker 1>imperial deity. Today's episode is based on the article, The

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<v Speaker 1>True History of Commodus, The Mad Emperor of Ancient Rome,

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<v Speaker 1>on HowStuffWorks.com, written by Dave Ruse. BrainStuff is a production

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<v Speaker 1>of iHeart Podcasts in partnership with HowStuffWorks.com and is produced

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<v Speaker 1>by Tyler Klang. For more shows from iHeart Podcasts, visit

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