In the movie, many things portrayed are the same as what really happened in Roman history.
Some things though, are a little different in the actual history of Rome than in the movie. Scenes
were changed in the movie too, to make the plot more interesting. I connected what I could
between the movie and the actual history of Rome.
Maximus was the general of Rome and a really good general at that. He lead Rome to many
victories. He was so great and loyal that in the movie, Marcus Aurelius actually asked him to
succeed him in the throne. When Commodus heard this from his father, he killed him and
sentenced Maximus to death. When Maximus escaped, he was picked up by a group of men and
sold as a slave to become a gladiator. As a gladiator, he fought many different types of gladiators.
Quicker ones had nets with tridents and slower ones had curved swords with shields. There were
some gladiators that even had chariots. In the actual history of Rome, there really were different
types of gladiators. The gladiators with the net and trident were called the retarius. The gladiator
with the curved sword and shield were called the samnite. I'm not too sure if there were gladiators
that used chariots as their weapons but it sounds likely since it is thought that the colosseum was
filled up and used for boat wars. Using chariots would be easy for them and entertaining for the
crowd. There's a scene in the movie where it's a one on one battle between Maximus and a
champion gladiator. Maximus is barely armed and protected. All he has is a sword and shield I
believe. The other man has two swords, a mask for protection, and heavy armor. This shows how
each type of gladiator was to fight a different kind of gladiator so the match would be even and
fair.
In the movie, Commodus is very sneaky and vengeful. He uses murder in his politics also. He
killed his father, tried to kill Maximus and even wanted to get rid of the senate in order for him to
become a "true emperor." He thinks the senate is unneeded and believes himself to be more of a
people's person then the actual senators. In history, there was much murder in the government
also. The Gracchis were murdered as well as Caesar. Commodus tries to assassinate and kill
Maximus since Maximus is supposed to be the successor to the throne after Marcus Aurelius. In
Roman History, the Romans never developed a formal policy of succession. Although many
emperors named their successors, the Roman army often refused to accept the new emperors and
assassinated them. This is what Commodus tried to do with Maximus in order for himself to
become emperor and rule.
Gracchus wants the citizens of Rome to be happy in the movie and makes sure the emperor hears

the problems and needs of the people when he councils with him. He even suggests possible
solutions to the problems. He seems to be a people's person very much and knows how some of
the senators can be crooked. In Roman history, there were actually two Gracchis who were
actually both murdered because they were disliked by crooked senators who used violence to get
ahead. The real Gracchis wanted to help the citizens out also. They even used public funds to
purchase grain to be sold to the poor at low prices so they can afford it. They also improved the
political status of the equites (business and land owning people.)
Lucillia, sister of Commodus, has a son named Lucius. I did some research to find out that her son
was named after his father who died in 169 A.D. His name was Lucius Veras. In the movie, she is
portrayed as a widow, but, in real history, she remarries to Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus
Quintianus of Antioch. In the movie, she joins the plot for the good of the Roman people but she
really participated in this plot because she lusted after power. She also supports her brother in the
movie but was actually involved in a plot with her cousin to assassinate Commodus and raise her
husband up as emperor. The plan was figured out and she was banished to the island of Capri. In
the movie, it shows her as out- living her brother but she is actually executed at the island because
he changed his mind.
As you can see, many things throughout the movie were the same as to what happened in the
history of Rome. A few minor details were changed but nothing too noticeable. The only major
difference I could see was in Lucillia and how she was portrayed. Her role had to be changed or
else the whole movie would have been different and probably more boring. Definitely when you
put the two, movie and history, side-by-side, you see how good of a job they really did sticking to
the facts and at the same time, making the movie wicked-awesome with its totally cool action.