Well, JUST wanted to be a gladiator is selling our bombastic madman a bit short, since he considered himself the reincarnation of Hercules and tried to rename Rome and all its institutions (and ALL the months of the year) after himself, but yes, he was the one who was well-known for fighting in the arena (in rigged matches, of course) and surrounding himself with gladiators, athletes, and charioteers.
If he actually fought lions solo, I’ll give that to him. They don’t particularly respect rank. That’s not really a relevant skill for an Emperor, though, either in the ideal or in the practical mob boss sense.
Commodus was the guy that really just wanted to be a gladiator, right?
Well, JUST wanted to be a gladiator is selling our bombastic madman a bit short, since he considered himself the reincarnation of Hercules and tried to rename Rome and all its institutions (and ALL the months of the year) after himself, but yes, he was the one who was well-known for fighting in the arena (in rigged matches, of course) and surrounding himself with gladiators, athletes, and charioteers.
If he actually fought lions solo, I’ll give that to him. They don’t particularly respect rank. That’s not really a relevant skill for an Emperor, though, either in the ideal or in the practical mob boss sense.