Was Maximus Decimus Meridius real? These five historical figures inspired Gladiator’s hero
In Gladiator, director Ridley Scott created a swords-and-sandals epic that was half-history and half-fiction, and that includes his titular hero. Yet, as Jonny Wilkes, explores, there were plenty of real figures from Roman history to draw from when bringing Maximus Decimus Meridius to life
Ridley Scott’s Gladiator makes certain you know exactly who Maximus Decimus Meridius is: “Commander of the armies of the north, general of the Felix Legions. Loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife, and I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.”
This speech, delivered in an award-winning turn by Russell Crowe in the 2000 historical epic Gladiator, has gone down in cinema history. But how much of it is real history?
Maximus himself is a fictional creation. Delve into Roman history and you will not find, as Commodus puts it: “The general who became a slave. The slave who became a gladiator. The gladiator who defied an emperor.”
Instead, what you will find are numerous possible inspirations for the composite character, whose shadow still looms large in Gladiator II. Among them are generals who served under Marcus Aurelius, a wrestler, and perhaps the most famous gladiator of them all.
Who was the real Maximus Decimus Meridius?
The real Maximus Decimus Meridius of Gladiator isn’t a single historical figure, but amalgamation of several sources of inspiration:
- Marcus Nonius Macrinus | Advisor to Marcus Aurelius
- Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus | Lucilla’s husband, who was offered the imperial throne
- Spartacus | Gladiator and rebel who defied Rome
- Cincinnatus | Statesman and model of service to Rome
- Narcissus | The man who assassinated emperor Commodus
Marcus Nonius Macrinus fought the Germanic tribes and became a key advisor to Marcus Aurelius, but unlike Maximus he enjoyed a peaceful retirement and died a wealthy man. In 2008, his well-preserved tomb was discovered north of Rome, complete with lavish marble columns and inscriptions.
Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus, the second husband of Lucilla, was close to the imperial family and would even be offered the throne on a number of occasions. He refused, which tallies with Maximus’s behaviour too. He was also the father of Lucius Aurelius Commodus Pompeianus, one of the candidates for the ‘real’ Lucius of Gladiator II.
It is easy to see shades of Maximus in other Roman figures, notably Spartacus, the original “slave who became a gladiator” to defy the Roman state. During the Roman republic, Spartacus led a mass slave rebellion, called the Third Servile War (73-71 BC), and achieved some remarkable successes, with his army swelling to over 70,000.
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Cincinnatus is another name often cited as a possible inspiration for Maximus. The statesman became a celebrated heroic figure in the republic in the fifth century BC, hailed as the model of virtue and service to Rome. Supposedly, he longed for life as a farmer, but was called to lead at a time of military crisis. That sounds a lot like the weary Maximus being called upon to take command of the empire by a dying Marcus Aurelius.
Finally, Gladiator ends – spoiler alert – with Maximus having his vengeance by killing Commodus, so there is one last inspiration for his character. Commodus did actually fight as a gladiator, but he did not die in the arena. Instead, his personal gladiator trainer, the wrestler Narcissus was recruited to strangle him in his bathtub. In fact, the original name of Russell Crowe's character was Narcissus.
How the fake Maximus fits into Gladiator’s real history
Gladiator is set in ancient Rome in AD 180, the year that the real Marcus Aurelius died and was succeeded as emperor by his son Commodus.
It opens with Maximus, a revered general and confidante of Aurelius, leading the Roman army to one last victory over the Germanic tribes, as he dreams of a retirement with his wife and son.
But when the ageing emperor (played by Richard Harris) is murdered by Commodus (a chilling performance by Joaquin Phoenix), with his own dream of a republican rebirth of Rome unfulfilled, Maximus becomes a doomed man.
Escaping execution, only to find his family has been butchered, he is sold into slavery and becomes a gladiator in the Colosseum.
When it comes to accuracy, the two emperors are not the only names in Gladiator based on real historical figures. Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) was indeed the sister of Commodus and, as in the movie, plotted against him.
In Gladiator, Maximus joins his own revolt headed by senators and Lucilla, although he fails to emulate Spartacus as it is snuffed out before it even begins. Yet, intriguingly, Commodus did face a real plot early in his reign and it did involve senators and his sister.
In AD 182, Lucilla conspired with a group of senators to have the emperor assassinated as he entered an amphitheatre. It failed miserably, and the two senators were executed while Commodus had his sister exiled and later killed.
Gladiator II is in cinemas now. Discover more of the real history behind Gladiator II, read up on the new Commodus, co-emperors Caracalla and Geta, and find out how Denzel Washington's Macrinus fits into the picture. For a spoiler-free preview, check out our Gladiator II historian reaction:
For more content like this, check out the best historical movies of all time as chosen by historians and ranked by you, history TV and film to stream tonight, and our picks of the new history TV and radio released in the UK this week
Authors
Jonny Wilkes is a former staff writer for BBC History Revealed, and he continues to write for both the magazine and HistoryExtra. He has BA in History from the University of York.
