Roman Civilization: Emperor Commodus's life and death by Dio Cassius & Herodian

[Roman Civilization: Emperor Commodus's life and death by Dio Cassius & Herodian

Introduction

The rule of Emperor Commodus was marked by cruelty and therefore, historians have highlighted the wrongs that he did during his rule. Not much history exists concerning Commodus and his life apart from the two sources i.e. Dio Cassius and Herodian. The quality of these two sources has also been questioned based on the positions each was in at the time they wrote this history. Both the authors have presented different perspectives in a varying writing style written for different audiences.

Discussion

The two historians have presented the accounts of the murder and life of Commodus which are the primary sources to know about the Commodus and his rule. Cassius Dio was a senator under Commodus and therefore, it seems that based on the hatred that senate had for him; his point of view might have some aspects of biasness. Herodian, on the other hand is known to be a Roman civil servant with a style that was aimed to engage and entertain the Greeks in a story telling fashion. Evidences of these different aspects of the two can be witnessed in the accounts that each has presented.

Dio has presented Commodus as a cruel ruler with a great yearning for pleasure and comfortable life. At many instances he presents the manner in which Commodus exhibited cruelty such as when he committed illegal murders and the manner in which he led the downfall of the kingdom. He states after the accession od Commodus "our history now descends from a kingdom of gold to one of iron and rust, as affairs did for the Romans of that day" which is an indicative of the manner in which he took Commodus as ...