Commodus was the only emperor in the history of the Roman Empire who was a gladiator. He fought to the death in the arena many times. Although he did not miss, he was later strangled to death while changing clothes. In the room.
The Romans did not use stirrups
Horses were very valuable at that time and could not be used for dragging. They were replaced by donkeys, mules and oxen.
The streets of Rome in the film are paved with sand, but historically the streets of Rome were paved with stones.
In the film, the emperor uses his thumb to indicate the life and death of the gladiators. Up is life and down is death. However, the real gesture is completely different. When the emperor wants to let the gladiator live, he will Cover the thumb with the other four fingers, leaving it exposed when wishing the gladiator dead.
The history and legend behind "Gladiator"
1.
Russell once said of an ancient Roman figure: "He is a tragic man; Of the series of desires that had to be resisted, the one that he found most attractive was the desire to retire to a quiet country life, but the opportunity never came." p>
If I tell you that this person once appeared in the old American movie "Gladiator", you must think that he is the Roman general in it, who is also the later slave hero Maximus. Indeed, this movie What attracts me most is the scene of Maximus dreaming of returning to his hometown, the vast wheat fields and his hands slowly brushing the wheat ears, and the scene of his chestnut-eyed child leading the colt and running. At the beginning of the film, after the Roman army defeated the German barbarians, in a father-son conversation with the old emperor, he fondly recalled the "quiet rural life."
In fact, Russell was not describing Maximus, but the old emperor himself, whose prototype was Marcus Aurelius.
2.
About 400 years before this, Zeno, a Greek from Cyprus, was sailing in the Aegean Sea. He was unfortunately shipwrecked. Although he survived, he carried all his property. Nothing remained. When he was depressed, he suddenly discovered that if he could control his inner world, then the loss of property would not prevent him from pursuing spiritual happiness. If such a thing happened in China, he would definitely keep silent to prevent others from making up idioms like "hiding one's ears and stealing one's bell" to ridicule him. But in fact, after Zeno returned to land, he spread the word about this encounter and the thoughts it caused. Later, he founded the greatest philosophical school in ancient Rome in Athens through meditation similar to the ancient Indians practicing yoga. Stoicism. It can be seen from the above that Stoicism emphasizes the happiness of the soul and the importance of indifference and self-cultivation. It even talks about the harmony of the universe.
The reason why we need to review the origin of Stoicism is because the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius was an outstanding successor to Stoicism and he was also a great thinker in the history of Western philosophy. , was revered as the "King of Philosophy" by later generations. Among his two identities as philosopher and emperor, the former brought greater influence and thinking to future generations.
From 96 AD to 180 AD, Rome was ruled by five wise emperors, known as the "Five Wise Kings" in the world. They were Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, and Antoninus. About and Marcus Aurelius. Under their rule, Rome's territory expanded to an unprecedented extent, from the Euphrates River in the east to the Atlantic Ocean in the west, from North Africa in the south to Great Britain in the north. Tens of millions of citizens swore allegiance to the emperor and accepted his favor, and countless rare birds and beasts were sent to In the Colosseum of Rome, slaves were forced to fight with them to entertain Roman citizens and nobles, to show the power of the empire, and to deter distant barbarians and those with evil intentions around the emperor.
Marco Aurelius reigned for 20 years. For more than half of the time, he was unable to stay in the city of Rome. He could only travel among the provinces of the empire to quell the riots and wars caused by the plague. Invasion of barbarians, including the Parthians from the east and the Germans north of the Danube. The great thing about Marcus Aurelius is that during his more than ten years of military career, he wrote the "Meditations" that has been passed down through the ages while running on horseback. It is based on the dialogue between Marcus Aurelius and himself. The method explores topics such as human virtue, spiritual dilemma and pursuit. Even today, nearly 2,000 years later, these conversations remain wise, full of allegorical simplicity and unwavering wisdom.
Different from the narrative in the movie "Gladiator", in real history, Marcus Aurelius was not killed by his son. In 180 AD, Marcus suffered from long-term fatigue and mental and physical exhaustion. , died of illness in what is now Vienna. During his reign, he did encounter a conspiracy to usurp the throne. Cassius, the general stationed in Syria, wanted to kill the emperor and inherit his supreme power, but the matter was quickly exposed. In dealing with this matter, the Philosopher King again Once, he showed his tolerance and kindness. In order to prevent the incident from expanding and affecting more sergeants and nobles, he ordered the evidence of Cassius's rebellion to be burned. He did not even punish Cassius, who quickly Killed by his own subordinates. This whole incident perfectly illustrates Marcus Aurelius's thoughts on life: Everything has its own reasonable destination, so don't impose your own power to affect them.
After 1500, China's Qing emperors began to think about the same proposition. They wrote the word "inaction" on a plaque in the palace hall to reveal the highest level of wisdom in governing the country.
Marco Aurelius’ vision did not stop at the Roman Empire. He encouraged merchants to trade freely in distant countries. "Book of the Later Han" records that in 166 AD the Roman Emperor Anton sent envoys to China, and Anton was Marcus Aurelius himself.
From this point of view, Marcus Aurelius is almost a perfect person. But being too kind and trusting others left him with some embarrassing stories. Marcus Aurelius' wife Faustina was not generally beautiful, nor was she generally lustful. She had affairs with many people, and through Marcus Aurelius's love and care for her, they held important positions in the empire. . This was almost universally known throughout Rome, but the emperor himself lived in his own fantasy, writing in Volume 1 of Meditations: I have a very docile, affectionate, and simple wife. This is the greatest irony and the saddest thing about Marcus Aurelius' sincerity. What is even more unbearable is that the emperor used his influence to get the Senate to order statues of his wife to be erected in various temples, so that she could receive treatment from the gods. The extremely infatuated emperor also stipulated that every newlywed in Rome must When you get married, you have to go to the temple dedicated to Faustina to learn from her loyalty and simplicity?
Another depressing thing that Marcus Aurelius did was to The heir to the throne was given to his son Commodus. In "Gladiator", Marcus Aurelius wanted Maximus to be the consul and the protector of Roman citizens. At the end of his conversation with Maximus, he said: Please give me a father-son hug. . This sentence actually has a very deep meaning. For more than a hundred years before this, in the tradition of Rome, the generation of heirs was for the old emperor to select a capable person, adopt him as his adopted son, train him, and when he comes of age, make him a consul, Marco. Reliu himself was the adopted son of Antoninus Pius (even Hadrian had been Marco's adoptive father). In the movie, Marcus Aurelius said this, simply saying that he would follow the fine tradition of Rome and pass the throne to Maximus. However, in historical facts, Marcus Aurelius broke with tradition and allowed his son Commodus to participate in political affairs since he was 14 or 5 years old. He was actually well aware of Commodus's incompetence, but he dreamed that the sages in the Senate could guide Commodus and make him an upright man who cherished honor. Just as Marcus Aurelius expected, after his death, Commodus ascended the throne and became the first "born emperor" in Rome in the past 100 years. Marcus Aurelius never imagined that Commodus would become a tyrant as famous as Nero, Caligula, and Domitian, and the Roman Empire would go from prosperity to decline.
In the movie, before his death, Marcus Aurelius witnessed the Germans being beaten to a pulp by the Roman army. In historical facts, 300 years after the death of Marcus Aurelius, the Germans invaded the city of Rome and massacred them. , destroyed the Western Roman Empire.
3.
The little emperor in "Gladiator" is a sinister and jealous person. The distance between him and nobility and integrity is exactly the distance between the earth and the blue sky. distance. In the movie, he also maintains an ambiguous relationship with his sister Lucia.
Compared with his god-like father, Commodus’s cowardice and vulgarity are surprising. Gibbon, the author of “The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,” commented on him: “(Commodus) From a very young age, he showed an aversion to anything rational or elegant." This character determined that he could not become a noble king. During the first three years of his taking the throne, he was relatively restrained and respected the opinions of the Senate. Unlike the movie, Commodus and Lucia's relationship was not actually that close. One night, on his way back to the palace, he encountered an assassin who charged at him with his sword while shouting, "This is the decision of the Senate." After being subdued by the Praetorian Guards, the assassin admitted that he had been sent by the emperor's sister Lucia to assassinate the emperor. The reason was that the emperor's wife had too much power and Lucia was jealous. Lucia was killed shortly after her exile. As a suspicious and insecure person, Commodus no longer trusted the Senate and began to kill people in the Senate under various names, including the two brothers Maximus and Condianus of the Quintilian family. . When Marcus Aurelius was alive, Maximus and Condianus had already won the trust of the old emperor with their talents and character, and were entrusted with managing the political affairs of Greece and controlling the military power at the same time. In Commodus's conspiracy, Maximus and Condianus were the most regrettable victims. They won a great victory in a battle against Germany, but were later executed by Commodus.
This is the only place where Maximus, the protagonist of "Gladiator", appears in historical materials. In "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire", there are only about 300 words about him.
One thing is true in "Gladiator", Commodus really liked gladiatorial combat. He liked to fight naked slaves in armor, whose weapons were a large net and a three-edged fork. Historical records record that he participated in more than 700 gladiatorial fights in his not too long life ( BT). Another of his special skills was archery, and those killed by the arrows were wild beasts collected from various provinces of the empire. If he represents Rome in the Olympic Games, he can at least win two gold medals for Rome in free fighting and moving target archery.
Commodus did not die in a gladiator. He was fed poison by his mistress and strangled to death by a professional wrestler. He reigned for a full 12 years, not just 1 or 2 years as mentioned in "Gladiator" .
4.
“Meaningless exhibitions, performances on the stage, flocks of sheep, herds of beasts, training with swords and guns, a bone thrown at a puppy, a little thrown into the fish pond. The bread in the house, the laboring and carrying of the ants, the running of the frightened mice, the string-operated puppets, and so on. It is your duty to be in the midst of these things, and to show a good humor rather than pride. ”
This passage from Marcus Aurelius’s “Meditations” warns every idealist to have any idea of ??staying away from worldly life. It is irresponsible to treat all mediocrity. Often, our attitude is one of "humor" rather than "pride." Another well-known saying of Marcus Aurelius is:
Life is just an opinion.