Talk:Commodus

This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the Commodus article.
This is not a forum for general discussion of the article's subject.

Put new text under old text. Click here to start a new topic.
New to Wikipedia? Welcome! Learn to edit; get help.

Article policies

Find sources: Google (books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs) · FENS · JSTOR · TWL

Archives: 1: 12 months

Biography: Military / Royalty and Nobility B‑class

	Biography portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Biography, a collaborative effort to create, develop and organize Wikipedia's articles about people. All interested editors are invited to join the project and contribute to the discussion. For instructions on how to use this banner, please refer to the documentation.BiographyWikipedia:WikiProject BiographyTemplate:WikiProject Biographybiography
B	This article has been given a rating which conflicts with the project-independent quality rating in the banner shell. Please resolve this conflict if possible.
	This article is supported by the military biography work group (assessed as Low-importance).
	This article is supported by WikiProject Royalty and Nobility (assessed as Low-importance).

Classical Greece and Rome High‑importance

	This article is within the scope of WikiProject Classical Greece and Rome, a group of contributors interested in Wikipedia's articles on classics. If you would like to join the WikiProject or learn how to contribute, please see our project page. If you need assistance from a classicist, please see our talk page.Classical Greece and RomeWikipedia:WikiProject Classical Greece and RomeTemplate:WikiProject Classical Greece and RomeClassical Greece and Rome
High	This article has been rated as High-importance on the project's importance scale.

History Mid‑importance

	History portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject History, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of the subject of History on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.HistoryWikipedia:WikiProject HistoryTemplate:WikiProject Historyhistory
Mid	This article has been rated as Mid-importance on the project's importance scale.

Military history: Biography / Roman & Byzantine / Classical

This article is within the scope of the Military history WikiProject. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the project and see a list of open tasks. To use this banner, please see the full instructions.Military historyWikipedia:WikiProject Military historyTemplate:WikiProject Military historymilitary history

This article has been checked against the following criteria for B-class status:
Referencing and citation: criterion not met Coverage and accuracy: criterion met Structure: criterion met Grammar and style: criterion met Supporting materials: criterion met

Associated task forces:
/
	Military biography task force
	Roman and Byzantine military history task force
	Classical warfare task force (c. 700 BC – c. 500 AD)

Roman and Byzantine emperors Top‑importance

	This article is within the scope of the Roman and Byzantine Emperors WikiProject, a collaborative effort to improve Wikipedia's coverage of the Roman and Byzantine emperors. If you would like to participate, you can visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.Roman and Byzantine emperorsWikipedia:WikiProject Roman and Byzantine emperorsTemplate:WikiProject Roman and Byzantine emperorsRoman and Byzantine emperors
Top	This article has been rated as Top-importance on the importance scale.

Calendar

What's the correct order of the months of Commodus's calendar? All the sources seem to agree that the months are Lucius, Aelius, Aurelius, Commodus, Augustus, Herculeus, Romanus, Exsuperatorius, Amazonius, Invictus, Felix, Pius, but searching on the net I've gotten a few different accounts of what the correct order is, which months correspond to January–December. Everyking 20:53, 1 Jan 2005 (UTC)

The film gladiator

(There is no historical evidence suggesting Marcus Aurelius was murdered, much less by his own son.) I think that should be taken out. It is making reference to the fact that he was murdered in "Gladiator" the movie but it was not his own son that killed him. Can anyone tell me why it is there?

pretty sure its just to make the movie better but even so there is at least a story of assassination even though it wasn't by his own son. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.198.171.146 (talk) 12:00, 30 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Commodus the gladiator

This section is self-contradictory. First it says the battles did not end in death then it says he slaughtered a bunch of wounded soldiers and amputees who were rounded up and given to him for the purpose. So did the battles end in death or not? ♟♙ (talk) 19:16, 27 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/73*.html

Pages 107 and 113 (noted in small print on the right) cover these topics. Seems he would kill in private but during public displays a wooden sword was used against “fellow gladiators”. The crippled and handicapped apparently weren’t worthy of such respect as it does mention their public killings. I can’t find anything referencing him wounding/scarring the gladiators, merely the mention of kissing them after the exhibition...

“ As for wild beasts, however, he slew many both in private and in public. Moreover, he used to contend as a gladiator; in doing this at home he managed to kill a man now and then, and in making close passes with others, as if trying to clip off a bit of their hair, he sliced off the noses of some, the ears of others, and sundry features of still others; but in public he refrained from using steel and shedding human blood.”

“ And this story was believed, too, because he had once got together all the men in the city who had lost their feet as the result of disease or some accident, and then, after fastening about their knees some likenesses of serpents' bodies, and giving them sponges to throw instead of stones, had killed them with blows of a club, pretending that they were giants.” Ramahamalincoln (talk) 11:34, 1 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Assassination after list of names discovered?

‏The link provides the source material to the quoted text below as well as references but I leave it to someone who is more well versed in this to verify that it's accurate as I can't find much other mention of this and don't have access to the reference material ...

“For the new year, writes Dio, Commodus planned to kill the consuls-elect and then, dressed as a gladiator, present himself to the people of Rome as consul in their place. When, says Herodian, on New Year's Eve AD 192, the night before he was to appear as a secutor, Marcia, the emperor's favorite concubine, discovered her own name and those of Eclectus, the chamberlain, and Laetus, the praetorian prefect, on the proscription list, they plotted to save themselves and had Commodus strangled in his bath.”

https://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/severans/severans.html Ramahamalincoln (talk) 10:46, 1 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

link rot

The #12 note linking to something at Tulane University doesn't work. 404 error. Please find a new source. 100.15.127.199 (talk) 21:02, 13 November 2021 (UTC)[reply]

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion

The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion:

4b01c8a20690de1d-600x338.jpg

Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 03:07, 30 September 2022 (UTC)[reply]

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for speedy deletion

The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for speedy deletion:

4b01c8a20690de1d-600x338.jpg

You can see the reason for deletion at the file description page linked above. —Community Tech bot (talk) 03:51, 30 September 2022 (UTC)[reply]

"opponents always submitted to the emperor"

This claim that Commodus never killed men before an arena audience has been in the article since September 2005,[1] with embellishments added over time. It is cited to Cassius Dio 73.10.3 but CD says nothing like this and in fact says the opposite: he often slew in public large numbers of men and beasts! I can accept that it would be vain to fight against the emperor, but I don't see where CD addresses that point, or suggests that Commodus hesitated to kill, or any darn word about opponents proudly displaying their scars. Does anyone want to back this passage up before I remove it? 67.180.143.89 (talk) 00:55, 23 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Devaluation of the denarius

Under "Sole reign" is stated "He reduced the weight of the denarius from 105 per Roman pound to 96 per Roman pound (3.85 grams to 3.35 grams)." This can't possibly be right: from 105 per Roman pound to 96 per Roman pound represents an increase in weight of a denarius, not a decrease. But the error is more complicated than just a switch between 96 and 105. If that were the answer, we would have 96*3.85 = 105*3.35. But in fact 96*3.85 = 369.6, and 105*3.35 = 351.74, a discrepancy not explainable as a mere rounding difference. So I don't know what correction to suggest. See also the "Denarius" article, which says "in 180 Commodus reduced its weight by one-eighth to 108 [not 105] to the pound." 66.218.44.129 (talk) 23:57, 9 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]