A young emperor in white and purple spreads his arms from his box above a roaring arena. — Original artwork

Am I not merciful?

Commodus

Painterly raised armored glove beside a broken bronze laurel wreath on brown stone. — Original artwork

A General who became a slave, a slave who became a Gladiator, a Gladiator who defied an empire.

Commudus

A stack of clay figurines topped by a plain small clay figure wearing a paper crown. — Original artwork

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 it has crippled. Would you accept this great honor that I have offered?

Emperor

A clay water jug and a wooden bowl of red-orange stew on a mat, with a distant painted teal river and ochre sky. — Original artwork

It's somewhere out there; my country, my home. My wife is preparing food. My daughter is carrying water from the river. Will I ever see them again? I think no.

Juba

Today I saw a slave become more powerful then the Emperor of Rome.

Lucilla

A Roman commander on horseback raises his arm before a line of legionaries as flaming arrows arc over a snowy forest at dawn. — Original artwork

At my signal, unleash hell.

Maximus

A weathered round shield rests against folded cloth with a white feather along its rim in warm dawn light. — Original artwork

I knew a man who once said, 'Death smiles at us all. All a man can do is smile back.'

Maximus

An iron key lies on a dark rocky bank beside a narrow stream disappearing into purple mist. — Original artwork

In this life or the next, I will have my vengeance.

Maximus

Painterly frost-covered short sword resting diagonally on dark slate. — Original artwork

It's the frost, it sometimes makes the blade stick.

Maximus

A gladiator removes his helmet before a young emperor in white and gold on the sunlit sand of the Colosseum. — Original artwork

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.

Maximus