Changes

==The Gladiator Contests==

In the film, after Maximus was taken as a slave, but not before he discovered that his wife and son were killed by Commodus, he was shown as being transported and eventually enslaved as a gladiator in a far away, remoyr province in the Roman Empire (somewhere in the Middle East or North Africa). While the circumstances of how Commodus became emperor in the film are probably not true, there is some greater truth in some of the gladiator fights. For instance, gladiator contests did often reconstruct famous battles or scenes using characters from history or legends. Gladiator contests did take place in many places around the empire. Animals, such as tigers, were often used in arenas, where gladiators might fight each other as well as animals. In fact, excavations at the Colosseum showed a variety of exotic animals were present there. This included: bears, lions, hyena, elephant, wild boar, buffalo, tigers, bulls, wolves, and leopards. The clothing of the gladiators depicted, particularly the helmets, were likely not true and were stereotypes taken from later periods.<ref>For more on the gladiator games in the Roman Empire, see: Dunkle, R. (2008). <i>Gladiators: violence and spectacle in ancient Rome.</i>. 1st ed. Harlow, England ; New York: Pearson/Longman.</ref>

In the film, after Maximus was captured trying to revolt against the emperor. He was shown as fighting the emperor as a one on one contest. This would have certainly never happened. First, Commodus died in a coup event in 192 rather than at the hand of Maximus, as shown in the final combat scene in the film. Second, Commodus, as shown in the film, did fight in the arena, although he probably only fought in events where he was assured victory such as against animals or crippled captives. The film does suggest this as Commodus does mortally wound Maximus before their fight, when Maximus was tied and unable to defend himself. Nevertheless, historians indicate he liked to think of himself as Hercules, and even began to dress like him in gladiator contests rather than as the emperor, where he wore bright emperor clothing in the film.<ref>For more on Commodus' gladiator contests, see: Adams 2013: 242</ref>

==Main Characters==