“The Gladiator Emperor Who Fought Naked | True Roman Madness of Commodus”

Emperor Commodus, the maniacal son of the legendary Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, wasn't content with ruling the vast empire of Rome from its luxurious palaces. No, he wanted to be an entertainer, an athlete who thrilled the crowds with his superhuman strength and fighting skills. And so he traded the purple robes of royalty for the leather jerkin of a gladiator and fought in the very center of the Colosseum. But he wasn't motivated by honor or glory. He only cared about the adulation and applause of the crowd. And he was willing to So how much did it cost Rome to have their mighty emperor fight as a gladiator? Well, stay tuned and find out as we reveal the shocking truth behind how much gold it took to make the most unusual gladiator in history step into the arena once again. Born to the purple, Commodus was the eldest son of the deified Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Although Aurelius had a reputation for being one of the most just and wise rulers in ancient Rome, his son was anything but virtuous. From a young age, Commodus had a taste for the finer things in life. Beautiful women, delicious food, expensive clothes, and most of all, the adoration of the masses. While still a boy, he would watch gladiatorial combats from the imperial box seats with his father and dream of the day when he could step into the arena and become the main attraction. Unfortunately for the other combatants, Commodus was destined to get his wish as soon as Marcus Aurelius died in 188. Commodus became the sole ruler of the Roman Empire at the age of 18. The spoiled teenager wasted no time in getting down to business, which meant securing his position as the favorite of the Roman people. And what better way to do that than to give the populace exactly what they wanted more bread and circuses. However, instead of just increasing the frequency of the free grain in the gladiator games, Commodus decided to take things to the next level by appearing in the games himself. With his father dead in Rome now, his two plunder, Commodus threw himself into training with the single-minded determination that had always made him the star pupil whenever he attended school. Determined to succeed, the young emperor went on an insane exercise regimen, lifting weights and eating copious amounts of meat in order to bulk up to become a truly fearsome gladiator. After all, if he was going to appear in the games, he wanted to be big, bad, and the most impressive fighter in the arena. It also helped that Commodus genuinely believed that he was the reincarnation of the Greek hero Hercules, a demigod whose immense strength allowed him to slay beasts and defeat his enemies. In fact, the young emperor even dressed as Hercules for his appearances in the Colosseum, wearing lion skins and carrying a golden bow. As far as Commodus was concerned, he was literally the son of a god, and a descendant of the most heroic warriors in Greece. Now all he needed was to prove it in the arena. Soon enough, Commodus had transformed himself from a skinny unassuming teenager into a muscular young man with a wrestler's physique. Then came the day when he proudly entered the Colosseum for the first time, and revealed himself to the cheering crowds as the newest and most spectacular gladiator. Cheers erupted throughout the stands as the emperor appeared in all his glory. Resplendent in the furs of wild beasts and brandishing his golden bow and arrows, for the first time in the history of the Roman Empire, their emperor was a contestant in the gladiator games. Commodus began his career in the games by fighting against pairs of condemned criminals. Men who had been sentenced to death by the courts and given the choice of being devoured by lions, or fighting the emperor in the arena. Needless to say, there was never any doubt as to which option the condemned men chose. However, as impressed as the crowds were at seeing their emperor best, they condemned with ease. They soon demanded more from their beloved Commodus. Like any performer, the emperor obliged. Soon he was taking on more dangerous opponents such as Gauls, hairy mercenaries, and heavily armored fighters, who stood no chance against the emperor's incredible strength and fighting skills. But Commodus didn't stop there. Eventually he was charging Rome itself to fight against him in the arena. The emperor was making the state pay a Some historians suggest that Commodus may have demanded as much as 300,000 Sestases per combat, the equivalent of around 20 million US dollars in today's money. But while these sums are staggering, they may actually be low estimate. Other historians believe that the real number could be closer to 600,000 Sestases, or more than 37 million US dollars in today's money. Regardless of the exact amount, what's important to understand is that Commodus wasn't satisfied with simply appearing in the games. He wanted to be paid for it, and he was willing to drain the imperial treasury in order to satisfy his inflated ego. To make matters worse, Commodus's ego was so gigantic that he insisted on having all his fights staged. Not only did he demand that the combatants he faced in the arena be specially trained and armed to ensure that he could defeat them without too much effort, but he also insisted on having slaves dressed up as his enemies brought into the arena to make it look like he was fighting real foreigners or dangerous animals. In fact, according to historian Cassius, Dio Commodus even had archers positioned near the entrance to the arena so that they could shoot down any birds that flew over the crowds, just so that he could boast about having slain another beast in the games. In reality, Commodus was no different than a spoiled child who demanded the world be turned upside down just to suit his whims. And yet the Roman people adored him for it. They loved nothing more than to see their emperor shed the burdens of royalty and enjoy himself as a commoner, especially when that enjoyment involved the deaths of many people. Sadly for Rome, Commodus was more than happy to oblige. In fact, the emperor was so obsessed with putting on a good show in the arena that he even scheduled several shows in a single day. On one occasion Cassius Dio tells us that Commodus hosted seven separate shows in the Colosseum, a feat that must have left the spectators exhausted. The same couldn't be said of the emperor though. He delighted in throwing gold from a tower, watching the plebs fight over the riches, and when he wasn't busy showering the poor with coins, he was hosting feasts, inviting eight men of only one type, bald, short, or fat. While this sounds like a cruel joke, Commodus was deadly serious. He kept eight bald, short, or fat men around the palace at all times, inviting them to sumptuous feasts where he forced them to eat until they were sick. Other times he invited eight dwarfs and eight pairs of gay male lovers to compete in athletic contests, rewarding them with cash prizes. As time went on, Commodus became more and more depraved, holding orgies, prostituting women, and generally living the life of a debauched noble. Still, none of this kept him from entering the arena. Right up until his death, the spoiled emperor continued to train like a professional gladiator, always looking for new ways to improve his fighting skills and impress the Roman crowds. And yet no matter how hard he trained, Commodus never managed to master the art of self-preservation. In 192 AD, after a particularly vicious bout of training, the emperor went to relax in the palace. There, according to Cassius Dio, he was approached by one of his sparring partners, a man named Narcissus, who had been hired to play the role of Commodus' greatest enemy in the upcoming games. However, instead of acting like his fellow conspirators and attacking Commodus in the arena, Narcissus chose to strangle the emperor in the bathhouse, ending his reign of terror once and for all. Although the plotters had ensured that Commodus wouldn't put up a fight, the emperor's mother, the formidable Julia Mesa, took revenge on them. One by one, she had each of the conspirators executed, including Narcissus, and then she took the throne for herself, ushering in a new era of darkness for the Roman Empire. Now you need to watch Why Rome Fell, or have a look at the real Roman gladiators, how they fought, how they died.