Cypress College

Gladiator
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Joseph Campbell postulated that narratives follow a distinctive pattern known as a hero’s

journey. In a hero’s journey, the main character follows a series of events on his/her adventure

and essentially, returns a hero in his/her own rite. An example of the hero’s journey can be found

in the movie “Gladiator.” The main character, Maximus Decimus Meridius, follows Joseph

Campbell’s pattern of the hero’s journey structure, which is a man achieving his destiny to defeat

Emperor Commodus in order to restore Rome to her former glory, as well as, his personal quest

to avenge his family.

The hero’s journey structure begins with describing the hero himself. Maximus Decimus

Meridius is a widely- respected, loved and trusted General in the Roman army who commands

over 5000 soldiers for the Roman Empire. He has won several battles for Emperor Marcus

Aurelius,’ who he considers a friend and father figure. He wins victories for Rome believing that

the Republic is the voice of the people. Besides being a general, Maximus is married and has a

young son who lives on the farm in the countryside of Trujillo (Spain) who he hasn’t seen in

years due to the continuing war, but hopes to reunite with them when the war is over.

It is at the battlefield in Germania that a change to the status quo occurs and the call to

adventure is initiated in the next hero’s journey structure. Emperor Marcus Aurelius wants

Maximus be the next emperor. He states, “I want you to become the protector of Rome after I

die. I will empower you, to one end alone, to give power back to the people of Rome and end the

corruption that has crippled it. ” Maximus refuses the offer. This is the refusal of the call when

Maximus rejects the position of becoming the next Emperor.

His refusal to be the Emperor starts him onto a new journey. When Marcus Aurelius

refuses his son, Commodus, to be the next Emperor for he does not have the “wisdom, justice,

fortitude, and temperance” to rule Rome, Commodus kills him in order to be next Emperor.
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Commodus also orders the murders of Maximus and his family after Maximus refuses his

allegiance to him. Maximus survives the attack and is picked up by a caravan of slave traders and

sold into slavery. This is the end of his ordinary world and the beginning of the next journey

structure: the hero’s journey into the dark world.

The hero’s journey into the dark world occurs due to a sequence of events: being picked

up by the slave traders, sold into slavery and then trained to be a gladiator. As a gladiator,

Maximus must fight to the death to survive; however, he does not care if dies since his goal is to

be with his family. During this time, Commodus is turning Rome into a dictatorship; something

Emperor Marcus Aurelius feared would be realized if the wrong man became Emperor.

While on his journey, Maximus is given advice by several mentors and aids. Proximo, an

ex-gladiator, who gained his freedom due to his skills and popularity, instructs Maximus on how

to win Rome’s crowd in order to seek vengeance. Jupa and Hagen, fellow gladiators, protect and

provide emotional support during his time as a slave turned gladiator. Commodus’s sister,

Lucilla, arranges secret meetings between Senator Graccus and Maximus to help him escape and

get to his army that is waiting for him outside Rome. Ciceros, his loyal servant, organizes

Maximus’s army to overthrow Commodus. It is during this stage that Maximus is transformed

from a slave to a skilled gladiator, bent on seeking revenge.

During this phase of the journey, his adversaries are revealed. Soldiers sent by

Commodus to assassinate Maximus fail, but succeed in killing his family. Falco and Gaius, two

of Rome’s politicians, are against the republic rule and want a dictator based rule. Most

importantly, Commodus, who is now the Emperor of Rome, wants to kill the “Spaniard” because

he is a threat to his rule and has won the popularity of his people and thus cannot be killed.
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While at the coliseum, Maximus, who is undefeated, reveals himself to Commodus. He

informs Commodus by stating, “My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius. 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.” This is the hero’s goal and the purpose of his journey: revenge and in

order to complete this he must kill Commodus. Commodus arranges a sword fight in order to kill

Maximus. He staps him in the back and the wound is covered by his men. In this battle,

Maximus defeats Commodus killing him and returning Rome to the Republic. Thus, Maximus

has achieved his destiny by defeating Commodus to restore Rome to her former glory, as well as

his personal quest to avenge his family.

Although, Maximus dies in the end, his personal goal to return to his family and return

Rome to the people is fulfilled. This journey transformed Maximus in several ways. In the

beginning of the movie, Maximus is a General, with an army of soldiers who are faithful to the

Emperor and Rome. During his journey, he becomes a slave. As a slave he sees the injustices and

depravity of human civilization. As a gladiator, he witnesses people’s thirst for blood where

killing is celebrated. Upon killing Commodus, Maximus becomes the new Emperor and fulfills

Emperor Marcus Aurelius last wish. He addresses the crowd by stating,” There was once a

dream that was Rome, it shall be realized. These are the wishes of Marcus Aurelius. “

The movie “Gladiator,” fulfills the narrative pattern as described by Joseph Campbell in

his hero’s journey. The Hero, Maximus, is a “man who was a general forced to be a slave then

turned into a gladiator.” It is through the character Maximus turned “Spaniard” and his actions

that we can visualize the hero’s journey in the movie.

Works Cited

Campbell, Joseph, and Bill D. Moyers. The Power of Myth. New York, Doubleday, 1988.

Gladiator. Dir. Ridley Scot. Prefs. Russell Crow, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed,
Djimon Housou, and Richard Harris. Dreamworks. 2000. VHS.

Powell, Barry B. Classical Myth. Translated by Herbert M. Howe, Boston, MA, Pearson, 2015.