In Ridley Scott’s Gladiator, Oscar-winner Joaquin Phoenix plays the mad emperor Commodus, however, beyond leading the empire, the real Commodus fought as a gladiator himself. Augustus Caesar once said of Rome, “I found Rome built of bricks; I leave her clothed in marble.” These underlying themes of honor, strength, and transformation are common in the Roman perspective. Yet, under Commodus's leadership, the Roman Empire fell further into political and economic turmoil, beckoning a new age. Gladiator leans into this era of descent, even though the real Commodus was quite different from Phoenix's depiction in the movie.

Commodus’s father, Marcus Aurelius, appointed Commodus as co-emperor at the age of only 16. Historians disagree on whether the real future emperor Commodus truly killed his father, but all seem to agree that after he succeeded him, things began to fall apart in the empire. After an assassination attempt by his sister Lucilla,...