What was Commodus personality?

Personality. Commodus is cruel, ruthless, and power-hungry; his only real ambition is to be worshipped by all of Rome as a god among men. His own father, Marcus Aurelius, sees that he “is not a moral man” and thus largely ignores him, and is determined that he never becomes Emperor.

Is Commodus a bad person?

Commodus was a terrible ruler by virtually any standard. His fictionalized depiction as a mad emperor in the film Gladiator actually plays down some of his less believable excesses while giving him a nobler death.

What kind of ruler was Commodus?

Roman emperor
Commodus (/ˈkɒmədəs/; 31 August 161 – 31 December 192) was a Roman emperor serving jointly with his father Marcus Aurelius from 176 until his father’s death in 180, and solely until 192.

Did Commodus actually sleep with his sister?

In 182 or 183, after two or three years of Commodus’ reign, his sister Lucilla hatched a plan to murder her brother. Since Commodus was sleeping with Quadratus’ wife and Quadratus was sleeping with Lucilla, we can imagine that Quadratus had rather complex feelings about the whole situation.

Who was the worst Roman emperor?

The 5 Worst Roman Emperors

• Caligula: 37 – 41 AD. Selected as emperor by his great uncle Tiberius, Caligula may have ordered his benefactor’s suffocation.
• Nero: 54 – 68 AD. Nero mourning the mother he had killed.
• Commodus: 180 – 192 AD.
• Caracalla: 198 – 217 AD.
• Maximinus Thrax: 235 to 238 AD.

Was Commodus a good gladiator?

Commodus fought against professional gladiators as well as wild beasts. As Herodian wrote, “In his gladiatorial combats, he defeated his opponents with ease, and he did no more than wound them, since they all submitted to him, but only because they knew he was the emperor, not because he was truly a gladiator.”

What terrible things did Commodus do?

Commodus lavished gold upon the people and the army and kept them distracted. To pay for his generosity, he taxed the rich heavily and, as a result, grew to be hated by them as a betrayer of his own senatorial class. In the second year of his reign, his sister, Lucilla, led a conspiracy to execute him.

What is Commodus best known for?

This lesson will look at the life and reign of the Roman emperor, Commodus. Best known for his obsession with the gladiatorial games, he was one of the many emperors of Rome who ruled for a very brief time before being assassinated.

What was Commodus best known for?

Did Lucilla and Commodus have a relationship?

She was the wife of her father’s co-ruler and adoptive brother Lucius Verus and an elder sister to later Emperor Commodus. Commodus ordered Lucilla’s execution after a failed assassination and coup attempt when she was about 33 years old.

Who was the best Caesar?

Augustus Caesar
Why? This man forged an Empire. Despite springing from relatively modest origins, Augustus Caesar’s legacy was the foundation of an imperial system that dominated Europe for over four centuries.