Rome, Where All Roads End.

I went to Rome and my romance ended there.

The saying “All roads lead to Rome” has been used since the Middle Ages, and refers to the fact that the Roman Empire’s roadways radiated outwards from its capital. There were 29 military highways, the key to Rome's military might. These routes ensured that the Roman military could out-pace and out-maneuver its enemies, but they also aided in the everyday maintenance of the Empire.

“My name is Maximus Decimus Meridias, 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.”

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This is a knockout scene from a great movie, GLADIATOR. The scene is when Russell Crowe’s Maximus reveals himself to Joaquin Phoenix’s Commodus.

The scene starts with Maximus stashing an arrowhead in his hand. Commodus confronts Maximus in the Colosseum. Commodus praises Maximus and asks him his name. Maximus says his name is Gladiator and turns his back on Commodus.

Commodus, offended, addresses Maximus as “slave” and demands he take off his helmet and tell him his name. Maximus removes his helmet and tells Commodus his name. It is arguably one of the high points of the entire movie.

The reason the speech is so powerful is because we as the audience understand everything it represents. Maximus was a respected general. Marcus Aurelius respected him more than his own son. Marcus was the “true” emperor, until Joaquin’s Commodus killed him. Maximus’ wife and son were horribly murdered. The whole movie has been building to this, to the reckoning guaranteed by Commodus’ treachery. We, as the audience, are completely on Maximus’ side, are we not? 

By putting Maximus through hell, the script has generated a need for catharsis. The audience must have the catharsis of some resolution to the injustice created by Commodus. Commodus has Roman soldiers with him, but the crowd wants Maximus to live. Commodus cannot simply kill Maximus or he will lose the crowd.

Commodus allows Maximus to live and retreats out of the arena. The crowd, whom Maximus has killed many people for, has saved his life. He has become the titular gladiator and “defeated’ the emperor in a standoff. The scene is only a few minutes long, but it is packed with clever construction.

The arrowhead, for example, amounts to nothing in the sequence. Maximus does not use it in the scene. But it functions as an unexploded bomb, narratively. It adds suspense. Similarly, Commodus has young Lucius with him, and holds him in front of him at the start of the scene, essentially using him as a human shield. Again, it ultimately does not really mean anything, Lucius moves aside as the confrontation escalates, but it adds suspense.

Both in the micro details of the individual scene’s execution and in where it falls in the overarching narrative, this scene has tremendous power. Commodus’s imperial authority is a sham, and Maximus calling him on it in the most public possible literal arena is deeply emotionally satisfying.

Do you think this a great scene? Let me know in the comments below.

Different paths, all choices, methods, or actions, can take one to the same goal, eventually lead to the same result.

When a relationship falls apart, it is from more than one problem. Just as a relationship can end from cheating, growing apart or going different paths, it is not hard for an empire to end. Even if the bond between them is serious, it can collapse just like Rome. Thus all roads end in Rome. The romance is over! Has it ever happened to you? It happened to me …

“Are you not entertained?”

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Let me throw in a few more pictures to this free teaser. More about this iconic city is revealed in the Rome DELUXE edition. Please check the updated version on Substack in an hour as there is the email length limit.

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