MovieChat Forums > Gladiator (2000) Discussion > Historical Accuracy of the Roman Legion

Historical Accuracy of the Roman Legion

posted 10 years ago by mycellardoor24
23 replies | jump to latest

Hey guys, so I'm very interested in learning more about Rome and it's ways. Especially the Roman Legion. What I've learned so far seems to go in direct contrast with what happened to Maximus's wife and son. The killing I can accept, but (if it was true) what Commodus says about her being raped repeatedly...that seems out of character with what I've read.

The men who led the attack on his wife and son, for the order to be given so quickly, it had to come from Quintus and be carried out by his men (or even Maximus's men) - if this is the case, I cannot see them raping the wife like that or killing the boy in such a cruel way. The men are portrayed as loving their General. The other alternative is that the group that carried out the attack were Commodus's own soldiers which makes more sense, but I still cannot justify this act of savagery.

What I've learned so far is that the Roman Legion wanted to be as separate from Barbarians as possible and prided themselves on being civilised, even when killing. The whole time they were on the road they made a big deal out of setting up a very civilised camp, not just sleeping anywhere. They would only eat wheat and frumentum also, they would eat it every single day, without fail - they were actually punished by NOT being allowed to eat the same boring stuff over and over. This again was to be as separate from the Barbarians who drunk ale and ate meat every night.

I can't see them raping her and this is assuming that they did and Commodus wasn't just being especially nasty and lying.

Now I'm not being naïve and hopefully not annoying. I'd just love to hear more about this from someone who really knows about it.

Also, for those who do know their stuff about Rome, how accurate was this film with regards to the military aspects? What was accurate and what wasn't?

Thanks in advance, this is such fascinating stuff.

___"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. Except for trolls."____

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[–] annlevtex 10 years ago

The film is not very historically accurate. Your research on the Roman Legion might correctly indicate that they would not have killed with such brutality or raped a woman; but that would not have stopped Scott from presenting it that way. Also, Commodus was just amoral.

Scott said when he tried to invasion how the initial battle against the Germans might have appeared, he thought of the First Gulf War: so the flaming arrows mimicked the arc of the all the missiles being fired against the night sky.

I also wouldn't put it past Commodus to lie about the rape. But even without the rape, the crucifixions were terrible.

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[–] mycellardoor24 10 years ago

Thanks!

___"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. Except for trolls."____

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[–] barish25 10 years ago

Well, the military aspect. It wasn't really accurate in the film. Historically, the romans would fight side by side, in formations if you will, unlike in the movie where each roman would just pick a fight against a Germanic warrior. The barbarians compared to romans individually were stronger and more superior. It's the tactics that gave victories to the romans, not the strength of their soldiers. Hope this helps.

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[–] mycellardoor24 10 years ago

Thank you!

___"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. Except for trolls."____

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[–] jh66 10 years ago

Rape is about [twisted] powerr, not sex. It's always been used by men, usually soldiers, as a Political tool to dominate/humiliate.

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[–] mycellardoor24 10 years ago

True, thanks!

___"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. Except for trolls."____

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[–] jh66 10 years ago

A good example was that disgraced Roman senator's daughters were ritually deflowered/raped before public execution, under some emperors.

Usually, Roman soldiers were 'unleashed' on besieged towns and were allowed to do what they wanted.

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[–] mycellardoor24 10 years ago

Wow, that's fascinating. Never knew that, thanks.

___"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. Except for trolls."____

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[–] Shade2 10 years ago

The order was given by Quintus, but he gave it to the Praetorian guards rather than the regular soldiers (who were under Maximus' command).

Also I thought that when Commodus said that his wife was repeatedly raped he was provoking Maximus in to a rash action more than it being the truth.

As far as how accurate the legions are in this, the battle at the beginning is rather a mess compared to how it would have been. The artillery was ok, but when the legions moved in, they would have thrown their pila (spears), then charged at the enemy in formation. As someone else has pointed out, the legions fought in formation and therefore rendered the barbarian practice of one on one fighting redundant. A great example of this to look at would be the battle of Watling Street. Approximately 10,000 Legionaries fought around 200,000 british tribe and managed to defeat them using a wedge formation.

"Well she turned me in to a newt!... I got better."

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[–] mycellardoor24 10 years ago

Wow, thanks!

___"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. Except for trolls."____

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[–] finstrivens 10 years ago

If I recall correctly Boudica daughters were raped by the legionaries when her husband died.

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[–] Greedo_was_the_first_to_shoot 9 years ago

Yep, and that was one of the chief reasons for her rebellion.

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[–] catey-49 10 years ago

I may be a bit late with this, but I had to comment. From everything I've read, rape was as much a part of the roman soldier's life as his weapons and comrades. And not just roman soldiers....all armies in all wars across history have used rape as a weapon. It was also part of a ranker soldier's reward for victory, along with whatever share of plunder he was allowed. Humans are humans no matter who they fight for.

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[–] StanleyKubrick2001 9 years ago

Well lets get one thing clear, yes the roman legion did not act like this, BUT under order of their emperor they would and could kill anyone in the roman empire. And Commodus did give the order, so it's very plausable that this would have happened in reality if such an emperor did exicst.

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[–] irishtom29 9 years ago

By the time of the Marcomannic War shown in the movie many Germans, especially the Marcomanni, would've been armed similarly to the Romans, understood Roman tactics and fought in disciplined formations themselves, and quite a few would have previously served in the Roman army as auxiliaries.

And unlike the scruffy German king shown, a German king would've been the most splendid figure on the battlefield; clothed in fine wool or linen, even silk, and wearing elaborately silvered or gilded armor. Barbarian kings liked to look sharp. They were Barbarians, not savages, and were quite aware of the civilized world and it's benefits. Many had Roman educations.

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[–] 9 years ago

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[–] !!!deleted!!! (8778465) 9 years ago

The scenes of everyone fighting one on one are so ludacrious. It would have been infinitely more entertaining to see the clash of actual formations and watching the techniques and strategies used to keep the formations together, such as the cycling of troops from the front of the formation to the back and viceversa whilst in the chaos of battle. The Roman legions acted as well-oiled machines, mixing the brute strength/power of this; https://21cmarcopolo.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/han2.jpg with the optional freedom of breaking into smaller groupings on the fly.

Each formation was also capable of breaking off into smaller formations of cohorts (during time of empire, maniples under republic) on the fly if an opportunity presented itself where a smaller grouping and/or group of infantry was advantageous. However, breaking completely and fighting one-on-one was typically suicide.

Many many of the battles Rome lost was due to the legions not being able to get in and/or stay in formation, or when the formation broke.

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[–] April221968 9 years ago

Quite inaccurate the pitch battle at the start. If you see Rome HBO's opening, that is how a legion deployed, strict formation and discipline.

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[–] me-1523 9 years ago

Commodus wasn't there. He didn't know what happened.

He was just saying stuff to piss off Maximus.

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