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Was Marcus Aurelius Murdered?
Considering the claim that Commodus had the Stoic emperor killed
In the first act of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator (2000), Marcus Aurelius, the Roman emperor famous for being a Stoic philosopher, is portrayed by the actor Richard Harris. In the movie, Marcus is shown being smothered to death by his son, Commodus, played by Joaquin Phoenix. But is that really what happened?
In reality, Commodus was appointed co-emperor three years before Marcus Aurelius died…
Gladiator, of course, is a work of fiction, only loosely based on the historical evidence. For example, in the movie, Commodus is Caesar, and only becomes emperor as a result of his father’s death. In reality, Commodus was appointed co-emperor three years before Marcus Aurelius died, and they ruled side-by-side during this time.
Most modern historians believe that Marcus died from some contagious disease, perhaps the Antonine Plague, a devastating pandemic named after his imperial dynasty, the Antonines. This broke out in 166 CE and claimed many lives, probably including several people close to Marcus. Some modern scholars believe it may have been a form of the smallpox virus, although it’s difficult to know for certain.
The Historia Romana
Gladiator’s idea that Commodus may have murdered his father does find a little bit of support in one of the Roman histories, known as the Historia Romana. Its author, Cassius Dio, a historian who served as a senator under Commodus, actually suggests that Marcus may have been murdered, albeit not by his son’s hand.
[Marcus Aurelius] passed away on the seventeenth of March, not as a result of the disease from which he still suffered, but by the act of his physicians, as I have been plainly told, who wished to do Commodus a favour. — Cassius Dio
Dio appears to mean that Marcus’ physicians hastened his death, perhaps by giving him opium or another drug, hoping that Commodus would thank them for this. If Marcus seemed already to be dying, his physicians may have viewed this as an act of euthanasia rather than murder — although Dio implies that it was not done at Marcus’ behest. Moreover, it’s unclear how hastening his father’s death would benefit…
