Popular Culture
After the release of the movie Gladiator sales of the Meditations rose sharply, and as Claudius Maximus is identified only by the name "Maximus" in the very first book of the Meditations, this apparently led some to believe there might have been a connection between the Maximus of the Meditations and the Maximus Decimus Meridius of Gladiator. No documentation appears to back this up however. Rather, the original name of the movie's main character was Narcissus, identifying him with the gladiator who is believed to have ended Emperor Commodus' life. Later versions of the character incorporated other classical historical influences however there seems to be no connection between Claudius Maximus of the Meditations and the Maximus of Gladiator.
Read more about this topic: Claudius Maximus
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