♪ ♪
[applauding]
[crowd cheering]
[crowd] Narcissus! Narcissus!
Narcissus! Narcissus!
Narcissus! Narcissus! Narcissus!
[Commodus] People of Rome!
For any gladiator who
steps onto the battleground,
there is no greater
achievement than the Rodarus.
This wooden sword...
is given only to gladiators whose
abilities transcend the battleground.
Whose victories defy description.
Those who have proven themselves
superior to all others...
in the eyes of the people,
their Emperor, and the Gods.
Narcissus is such a gladiator.
Undefeated on the battleground.
Both feared and revered
by his opponents.
He has more than earned this sword.
And with it,
his freedom.
[cheering]
[narrator] Commodus has honored
the man who trained him in the arena,
marking the opening of the
greatest celebration of games
since the dedication of the Coliseum.
[crowd] Commodus! Commodus!
[yells]
[theme music playing]
[applauding]
♪ ♪
[narrator] years after
claiming the throne,
Commodus is prepared to
put his life on the line,
to restore glory to his city,
and win the respect of his people.
[Jerry Toner] I think if
we'd attended the games,
we would be amazed at
the glamour of the event.
We would be overwhelmed
by the noise of the crowd.
We'd have been stunned by the gladiators
and their shiny armor.
And we'd have been horrorstruck
at the ferocity of the fighting itself
that goes on in the arena.
[narrator] Spanning days,
the Emperor's games feature hundreds
of exotic animals for live hunting,
prisoners and slaves for executions,
with lavish gifts and prizes
for those in attendance.
With a full coliseum, the games
will be unlike any celebration
in the history of Rome.
[guard] Emperor Commodus!
[cheering]
Senators...
welcome to the games.
Please, honor your host.
[narrator] For a crowd of
more than , people...
[senator] May the Gods be with you.
[narrator] ... Commodus has announced
that for the first time...
[senator] May the Gods be with you.
[narrator] ... the Emperor
will fight as a gladiator.
[senator] May the Gods be with you.
Senator.
[senator] May the Gods be with you.
Precious jewels and fine
robes won't save him now.
[senator] May the Gods be with you.
[senator] May the Gods be with you.
[Commodus] Senator Dio.
May the Gods protect you, Commodus.
People of Rome!
Let the games begin!
[cheering]
♪ ♪
[narrator] But while the
Roman people hail their ruler,
members of the Senate fear
the Emperor's bold move
would be his last.
For Commodus, fighting as a gladiator
will solidify his popularity
and secure his legacy as Emperor.
But becoming a gladiator
is just the first step
in a much bigger plan,
one that will make him a legend.
In Roman society,
Hercules is celebrated for
slaying a mythical lion
and wearing the animal's
hide for protection.
For his games,
Commodus is certain if he
can embody the Roman god,
he too will be invincible...
and be forever honored
by the Roman people.
[Jerry Toner] The Emperor Commodus
portrays himself as the god Hercules,
a great fighter and a great hunter.
What he's trying to do
when he appears in the
games dressed as Hercules,
is underline to people that
when he fights as a gladiator,
he is as skilled a fighter
as the god Hercules was.
♪ ♪
[crowd cheering]
[announcer] All hail Commodus,
Emperor of Rome!
[yells]
[grunting]
[cheering]
[grunting]
[cheers]
[yells]
[yells]
[yells]
[swords clanging]
[screaming]
[applauding]
[screams]
[anguished screaming]
[yelling]
[narrator] For the first time,
an emperor has claimed victory
as a gladiator in the Roman Coliseum.
And in front of thousands,
Commodus wins the recognition
and validation he's always wanted.
[crowd] Commodus! Commodus!
Commodus! Commodus!
[narrator] After his
triumph in the arena,
Commodus believes he's proven himself
the supreme ruler of the Roman people.
And with a new vision for the Empire,
he orders a meeting of the Senate.
Senators...
I called you here tonight to
share some important news with you.
That I am...
in fact...
alive.
When I first declared my intention
to step on to the battleground
and prove my worth as a gladiator,
many of you thought, "He must be mad."
While most of you assumed...
"He'll surely be k*lled."
But as all of you witnessed today,
and the blood on my sword confirms,
it is my opponent who
no longer walks among us.
And now,
I stand here before you,
not only victor in the Coliseum,
but right here in this building.
Because when , voices unite as one,
everyone can hear it.
Even a body as old, and
outdated, as the Senate.
The people's voice is strong.
Oh, and it is true.
Theirs is the voice that guides me,
not those of bickering, backstabbing,
self-serving parasites.
Men whose day was done
when Caesar took the throne.
Clinging to power that
d*ed with the Republic,
and praying for...
or plotting...
my death.
But the only thing that's dead...
is the lie that Rome needs you.
So on the first day of the new year,
I proclaim there will be a new Rome.
A Rome cast in my image.
- [senator] This is outrageous!
- I am the Emperor!
If you doubt me,
then you weren't listening.
The people's voice was clear.
They have made their choice...
and it is...
Commodus.
Commodus.
- Commodus.
- [all shouting]
Commodus! Commodus!
[all shouting]
Commodus!
Commodus! Commodus! Commodus!
Great day to be alive, Senator.
♪ ♪
[murmuring]
[Jerry Toner] Commodus seems to
have acted increasingly dictatorially.
He seems to ignore those around him,
and he himself becomes more
and more a megalomaniac.
Was he alone in this? Had
no other Emperors done that?
Well, sadly, no.
Other Emperors, whether
it was Caligula or Nero,
had similar character traits.
[shouting]
[narrator] By rejecting the
authority of the Senate,
Commodus has established
total control of the Empire,
and begins to transform
the city in his image.
With imperial orders,
the Emperor commissions
massive golden statues
and renames the months of
the year after himself.
And in a show of ultimate authority,
nearly , years after
the founding of Rome,
Commodus gives the city a new name:
Colonia Commodiana.
[Prof. Aaron Irvin] Being Emperor wasn't
just simply about fulfilling duties,
it wasn't just simply about going
to work on a day-to-day basis.
An emperor was who you were
at the absolute root of your person.
And everyone and
everything in Roman society
is aimed at expressing
how great the Emperor is.
Of course, that's going to affect you.
It'd be impossible that
that wouldn't, in some way,
begin to affect the way
that you saw yourself.
[cheering]
[narrator] As the games continue,
the Emperor's show of strength
begins to escalate.
[yelling]
[cheering]
[yelling]
[Prof. Clifford Ando] Commodus wanted
to appear as a gladiator. He was...
taken by the notion of
his own strength and power.
And he may actually have believed
that he was displaying...
superhuman, extra-human power and skill.
[screaming]
[cheering]
[crowd] Commodus! Commodus! Commodus!
Hard to watch.
[narrator] But while the Roman
people cheer for their Emperor,
what they don't realize, is that
before stepping into the arena,
Commodus has made certain
that his victories are guaranteed.
[blood spilling]
[Toner] When Commodus
appears as a gladiator,
he makes sure that he's not
going to come to any harm.
He made sure that his opponents
fought with dulled blades.
And after a few exchanges of blows,
the other gladiator
quickly fell to the floor
understanding what was best for him.
[yelling]
♪ ♪
I will endure to be b*rned,
to be bound, to be beaten,
to be k*lled by the sword.
♪ ♪
[crowd chanting outside] [door opening]
No more worry in your eyes.
Now that this is done.
[crowd outside] Commodus! Commodus!
Listen to them.
[man] They're still calling your name.
If I could give them
more days, I would.
And you wouldn't have to worry,
because I cannot be defeated.
[Narcissus] So it would seem.
Narcissus.
Sorry, Emperor, I didn't
mean to startle you.
You of all people should know better
than to sneak up on a gladiator,
especially one with the blood
of his vanquished opponent
still fresh on his blade.
It was a good battle.
Attilius fought valiantly.
Indeed he did.
They all did.
It seems you trained
me too well, my friend.
[Narcissus] Did I train you to do this?
You have something to say, Narcissus,
you should say it.
I just watched you k*ll...
my brothers.
Men who stepped onto the
b*ttlefield and fought with honor.
And they d*ed with it.
Holding dulled blades.
Is that not a good enough
reason to spare their lives?
[Commodus] I gave the
people what they want.
They want to see defenseless
men slaughtered...
Slaves!
They were slaves.
Slaves I gave the honor
of dying by my sword.
The honor to sacrifice themselves
for the glory of my Empire.
The honor to achieve immortality.
So it's only because I
stand before you a freedman
that you are not bringing
your sword down upon me?
With only my dulled
blade to protect myself?
My friend?
[Commodus] Pick it up.
- I said pick it up.
- I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Emperor.
- Get it out of my sight.
- I'm sorry.
Commodus...
Silence!
[crying]
Don't you look at me that way.
Get out.
Now!
All of you! Out, now!
Out!
♪ ♪
[narrator] Commodus knows
that if his deceit is revealed,
he'll lose the trust of the people
and the recognition he
believes he's earned.
♪ ♪
So he marks anyone who knows of his plan
for banishment or execution
in an official royal document
known as a proscription list.
Paranoia was not entirely
uncharacteristic of the Roman Emperors,
and Commodus lived in his
own little world of paranoia.
He supposed everybody was plotting
against him and they were.
[Dio] All of them.
I did as the Emperor ordered.
And now that it has been revealed, he
cannot risk that the people find out.
What can we do?
You were wise to come here first.
But you cannot stay here.
You must return to the palace.
No.
You must return to the palace.
Tell him...
that you don't care what he did,
that you love him no matter what,
and that's why you've come back.
To prove your love.
- Poison?
- [Dio] For his wine.
- There has to be another way.
- This is your only hope.
Or would you rather wait here
for the Praetorian Guards?
[Marcia sobbing]
[Everitt] The people closest
to him that ran his life...
lost confidence in their
own physical security,
and thought the only solution is
going to be to get rid of Commodus.
Because what else could
they do in order to avoid
being put to death themselves?
[narrator] For centuries,
poison has been used as a lethal
w*apon in the ancient world.
As toxic elements found in common plants
and venom from insects and snakes...
can be easily disguised,
effectively k*lling the
victim without a trace.
[Jeffrey Stevens]
Throughout Roman history,
poison does seem to be a more...
insidious form of assassination plot.
You know, it's not that
you're being, you know,
k*lled in this martial way, or
threatened in this martial way...
it's that perhaps the people that are
most intimately involved in your life,
can you really trust them?
[Marcia] Commodus.
[Commodus] What are you doing here?
Get out.
You get out!
[heavy breathing]
[Commodus groaning]
[Commodus groaning]
[weak groaning]
Commodus.
I need some water.
[Commodus groaning]
[grunting] [groaning]
[groaning]
Marcia.
What happened?
- What happened?
- He's throwing it up.
I found this.
Well, then... we must go to Dio.
You go.
Of course. A proscription list.
It includes her name, mine, Narcissus...
And me.
It's almost the entire Senate.
As madness gives way to vengeance.
Come with me.
- Senator, what am I...
- Listen to me very closely.
You must take this sword to Narcissus.
We have no time to lose.
[Commodus] Marcia...
I spare your life...
and you sentence me to death.
The only way out...
is through me.
The only way you live...
is to k*ll me...
[sword thudding]
with your dulled blade.
♪ ♪
[yells]
[grunting]
I...
I gave you your freedom.
I earned my freedom!
You...
You had everything just handed to you.
I have...
You have nothing! Nothing!
You have no compassion,
you have no courage.
And you have no honor.
[groaning] [coughing]
[grunts]
♪ ♪
[narrator] The assassination of
Commodus marks the end of an era,
and the dawn of widespread
turmoil throughout the Empire.
For the next year, Rome
is consumed by civil w*r
and those who plotted against
the Emperor are soon punished.
Responsible for the Emperor's death,
Narcissus, a celebrated gladiator
and the man who trained
Commodus to fight in the arena
is ex*cuted.
And within a year, Marcia,
one of the most powerful
women in the Empire,
and the one person
Commodus truly trusted,
is sentenced to death by
the new reigning Emperor.
But Cassius Dio survives.
The ambitious Senator, who once
fought to protect Commodus,
will go on to write one of
the only surviving accounts
of this time in the Roman Empire.
♪ ♪
In the years of his reign,
Commodus brought peace to Rome.
But he will come to be known...
as the man responsible...
for an unprecedented age of chaos,
betrayal,
and the beginning of the fall...
of the greatest empire...
... ever known.
[theme music playing]