Myths to the Renaissance - Essay Example

The system was meant to check on excessiveness of a ruler. During this period, the empire was under Caesar Marcus Aurelius Commodus Antoninus Augustus (son to Marcus Aurelius) and his adoptive brother and son in-law Lucius Verus1. He was a stoic philosopher2 who established himself as the more powerful of the two emperors. During his reign, the Roman Empire was full of all sorts of nefarious deeds. Led by the emperor himself, sexual sin was not a secret. In the film, we encounter concubines being depraved in his presence.

He was a womanizer and a homosexual at the same time. The film gives us an understanding of the political system in ancient Rome. This was a political system structured a way that to reflect some sort of modern day democracy. It did not support tyranny. This was the main objective of the joint leadership by two consuls during the time of the ‘Republic’.3 The empire had other notable political entities apart from the monarchy. There was the senate made up of senators, Plebian Tribunate and Comitia Centuriata.

The entities, together with the two consuls constituted the form of political systems, which the Romans referred to as the ‘republic’. In the film, it is evident that the Roman Empire was ruled by militant monarchial leaders. . He had an arena where he displayed his hunting skills. In this arena, euphemism is brought into play. The killing of ostrich by the emperor was meant to pass a message to the senators that the same could befall them if they disobeyed him. People who displayed reformist minds were assassinated by the regime5.

The film depicts the Roman Empire as one full of people with greed for power. There area many instances where characters assassinate rulers to take power. It is claimed that the main character Commodus murdered his father to take power. Barely three months into his rule, there were plans to execute him too. After his death in the arena, the senate met and declared Pertinax the emperor. Some characters in the army could not warm to the idea of being led by a son to a former slave and ended up assassinating him.

Tattooing was an in thing in the mercenary dominated Roman army. The deserters could easily be identified through the tattoos, hence are means of checking against deserters. The tattoos such as the one worn by Maximus in the film Gladiator were a reserve for the lowly regarded in society. In the army, they were meant for mercenaries, lowly ranked and miners during the reign of Emperor Constantine. The film portrays the tattoos as an epitome of paganism, superstition and marginalization in the Roman Empire.

It was not just an ordinary practice but a law that was applied ruthlessly6. The film portrays a society that idolizes violent sports as a form of fun. Whenever the empire was peaceful, gladiators provided an alternative to war heroes for people to idolize. The gladiators were the heartthrob of many Romans girls. During the era in which the movie is based, the gladiators were a thorn