Comments on: Lessons in Manliness from Gladiator

By: Harry

Harry — Sat, 25 May 2013 02:51:49 +0000

I love Gladiator. The very fact thea he loved his family and prized them above even being rome’s Ultimate ruler i.e. Emperor is so beyond anything that my own father would ever do. This is the very reason i loved Maximus and what makes Crowe top 1 on my favourite actors list.
Recently, i read an online mag by Susan entitled Gladiator stories with two parts a prequel to Gladiator- Maximus’ Story and a Sequel to the movie Glaucus’ Story. I appreciate her point of view. She states that maximus’ greatest desire is to work on the farm, be with his wife and have many children as possible and to watch them grow up. Ohh! Wish i could be like him! I hold him, even though fictitious, in a very high esteem.

By: Eric

Eric — Thu, 27 May 2010 15:45:40 +0000

Great movie. By far one of my favorites.

By: Rafael Contreras

Rafael Contreras — Thu, 13 May 2010 11:57:22 +0000

After seeing Gladiator I read a couple of books and it was not unusual for Spaniards to fight for Rome.Maximus means maximum?

By: John

John — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 06:15:39 +0000

Why are there women writing and co-writing articles on The Art of Manliness?

Why are women on this site?

Go away. There are plenty of other sites for you to hang out on.

Yet another site/magazine/club/etc. for “men” yet run by women.

By: Crustalmighty

Crustalmighty — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 17:48:57 +0000

I’m not diggin’ the spirituality thing…

By: Morelli

Morelli — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 15:58:11 +0000

RFP,
Trajan and Hadrian, two of the best Emperors Rome ever had were born in “Hispania”, this is the Roman-Latin equivalent term for our modern word given to the land mass comprising the peninsula of south-western Europe now know as Spain and Portugal. It was “incorporated” into the Roman Empire completely by the end for the 1st century B.C. by force and by mutual consent in most regions. Just because it was a so called “colony” does not make the character or the Emperors any less Spanish or Roman as your perfect analogy with “General Tex” clearly advises. Is he an American? Yes. Is he a Texan? Yes again. Was “Gladiator” the character portrayed by Russell Crowe a Roman? Why, yes. Was he also a Spaniard as the land where he was born was named “Hispania” by the Romans themselves? Of course he was. The premise that drove and dominated in the Roman Empire was that if you paid your taxes and followed the rules you became a Roman citizen no matter where you had been born, which had many advantages. Among them to be considered an equal to any one else in the Empire, with its rights and obligations to go along. That meant mandatory conscription and the right to hold property etc. He fought for Rome because Rome had afforded him rights he would have otherwise had to fight for on a daily basis, thus bringing order to an otherwise unruly land that he was so much a part of. He was more than likely the descendant of a Celt who had married an Iberian, notice his wife’s olive skin tone, who had become a Roman citizen through military service, but being born in “Hispania” made him “The Spaniard”, and it seems that he took pride in this title as he boasted of the horses of Spain being “some of the best” when asked by Lucius. Oh and by the way, I am of Roman descent myself as the name would imply, so I am not speaking out of term. I still have distant relatives in “The Eternal City” to this day.
Ciao

By: RFP

RFP — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 04:58:12 +0000

Regarding the question of Maximus being a Spaniard or a Roman: It’s rather like one of our modern day US Generals having the nickname “Tex” because he is from Texas and some fool getting the impression that this means his ancestry is Mexican. No, Maximus wouldn’t have been a descendant of Iberian Celts, the more likely story is that he drew his family line from Roman colonists. It was a very common practice of the Romans to consolidate the hold on conquered territories by settling legionary veterans and other colonists from Italy in newly formed towns. The Governor of the province would certainly have been an Italian native at this point in Rome’s history so Buchan’s explanation doesn’t work either. The really troubling line for any true student of Roman history is the absurd bit about Maximus’ never having been to Rome! Sort of like saying the commander of one of our modern US armies has never been to the Pentagon. Unbelievable, even if everyone calls him Tex.

By: SGT William Ferguson

SGT William Ferguson — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 21:00:15 +0000

Great article. This remains my favorite movie because of its moral and spiritual message as well as “ass kickery.” While I liked the fighting and battle scenes, Maximus’ refusal to give up and his resolve to continue to fight for a higher cause still stirs me every time I watch it. Of course movie critics sneered at the message but that’s their loss; when have they ever been right about a movie?

“300″ is a close second but the ending of “Gladiator” where Maximus finally reunites with his family and his buddy optimistically says he will see him again (…”but not yet, not yet.”) made all the difference. This reinforces the hope that I and my fellow warriors have that no matter how we may fall in this world, we will see things turn out right on the other side.

By: Bela

Bela — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:18:54 +0000

In regards to his devotion to Rome, there is a line that stands out to me.

Maximus: Five thousand of my men are out there in the freezing mud. Three thousand of them are bloodied and cleaved. Two thousand will never leave this place. I will not believe that they fought and died for nothing.
Marcus Aurelius: And what would you believe?
Maximus: They fought for you and for Rome.
Marcus Aurelius: And what is Rome, Maximus?
Maximus: I’ve seen much of the rest of the world. It is brutal and cruel and dark, Rome is the light.
Marcus Aurelius: Yet you have never been there.

Having never been to the capital, yet he speaks of his country as though it were everything.

By: Frank Perri

Frank Perri — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 11:15:30 +0000

>>he did not revel in bloodshed. He only fought when he needed to

As personified by that great line, when Quintas mocks Maximus finishing his service and returning home to farm,

“Dirt washes off easier then blood, Quintas.”

Great line, it puts everything in perspective.