© Historical Picture Archive/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images The lurid stories told about Commodus's unquenchable appetite for sex and violence - that he had 600 concubines consisting of young women and boys, that he slaughtered scores of men and exotic animals in gladiatorial bloodbaths, and that he rubbed his skin and hair with the blood of his victims - should be taken with a grain of salt, says Barry Strauss, a classicist and military historian at Cornell University, and author of ' Ten Caesars: Roman Emperors from Augustus to Constantine.' In the movie, the villainous emperor, played with slimy panache by Joaquin Phoenix, is based on a real-life Roman emperor named Commodus (161-192 C.E.) who one ancient historian called 'a greater curse to the Romans than any pestilence or any crime.' If the name Commodus sounds familiar, it's probably from the Oscar-winning 2000 film 'Gladiator' starring Russell Crowe. This painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme (titled 'Pollice Verso') depicting an armored gladiator in the ring convinced Ridley Scott to make his epic 'Gladiator,' featuring the emperor Commodus.

Describe the city of rome in gladiator