Gladiator 2 is the direct sequel to Ridley Scott’s Best Picture-winning historical epic, set two decades after the conclusion of the original and following Maximus’ now-grown son Lucius as he sets out on a quest for revenge. While the story is mostly fictional with several subplots created solely for the purpose of this film, it is based on real events and inspired by real-life figures that truly existed during the reign of the Roman Empire. Gladiator 2’s story blends fact and fiction, including when it comes to Emperor Caracalla’s behavior.
The story of Gladiator 2 takes place during the shared reign of Emperors Geta and Caracalla, two brothers who ruled side by side many years after the first film’s Emperor Commodus, and his predecessor Marcus Aurelius. Gladiator 2 is filled with real-life figures who lived during this period of history, but the film doesn’t always go into that much detail regarding their own stories beyond the reach of Lucius’ perspective. Geta and Caracalla were two of the most interesting Emperors in Roman history, but their role in Gladiator 2 is mostly confined to Lucius’ own narrative of revenge.
Did The Real-Life Emperor Caracalla Have A Known Illness Or Disease?
The Historical Figure Is Known To Have Been Severely Ill
Throughout Gladiator 2, it’s suggested that Emperor Caracalla was suffering from a serious disease that somehow impeded his ability to rule alongside his brother. This is supposedly the reason that he’s so unpredictable and irresponsible, much to Geta’s annoyance. And while Gladiator 2 has been slammed for its repeated historical inaccuracies, Caracalla’s illness is seemingly one aspect that Ridley Scott got right. The real-life figure was known to be suffering from a debilitating illness, though historians are unsure exactly what kind of sickness it was.
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It’s well known among historians that Emperor Caracalla was a devoutly religious man, as most Roman Emperors were, and it’s suspected that he spent the latter part of his life traveling to various sanctuaries across the world in search of a cure to his illness. He’s known to have visited both Gaul (in modern-day Europe) and Pergamon (in modern-day Turkiye), but none of his travels were successful. The history of Geta and Caracalla is well-documented, but this aspect of Caracalla’s life remains a mystery.
Did Caracalla Have Syphilis?
Syphilis Seems To Be The Most Widely Accepted Theory
One of the leading theories in the case of Caracalla’s illness is that he was suffering from syphilis, which is suspected to be among the biggest killers in Roman times. This seems to be the angle that Ridley Scott assumes in the film, as Geta frequently mentions that his brother’s illness started in his loins and has worked its way to his mind, which is a simplified explanation of what untreated syphilis is capable of. Interestingly, the question of whether Caracalla had syphilis is one of Gladiator 2’s biggest mysteries.
Historians are still unsure whether syphilis was present in Ancient Rome or not, as the first outbreak of the virus wasn’t recorded until the 15th Century, at least a thousand years after the rule of Geta and Caracalla. Still, it’s possible that some version of the disease was around in the Roman Empire given their lax sexual conduct and the rising prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases, among which syphilis would have had one of the highest mortality rates.
Could Caracalla Have Lead Poisoning?
Many Roman Emperors Likely Suffered From Lead Poisoning
Another suggestion about Caracalla’s fate in Gladiator 2 is that he was suffering from lead poisoning, which was hugely common in the Roman Empire given the lead infrastructure that carried water through Rome. It wasn’t until hundreds of years after the rule of Geta and Caracalla that scientific research on the impacts of lead-infected water was carried out, meaning that most people would have been unaware that their lead pipes could be of any danger to them. Lead poisoning would also have made the Roman Emperors extremely volatile and unpredictable, asRidley Scott explains (via THR):
People forget that all the wealthy, high-end senatorial Roman aristocracy would live on water which was piped through lead pipes and lead tanks. People don’t think about that. Your choice is water or wine. When you drink water, it’s though a lead system that by then could be 200 years old. No wonder they’re f–king crazy. They’re all going halfway to Alzheimer’s.
From this quote, it seems likely that lead poisoning is the reason for Geta’s and Caracalla’s madness in Gladiator 2, but it’s probably something more serious that was affecting the latter at the same time. His illness was much more severe than Geta’s, and there’s no reason that he’d be any more strongly affected by the lead than his brother. Syphilis seems like a plausible option, but the unfortunate truth is that historians will likely never be able to put a definite name to the ailment that affected Emperor Caracalla.
Sources: THR
Gladiator 2 is the follow-up to Ridley Scott’s award-winning film Gladiator from 2000. Scott returns to direct the sequel, with Paul Mescal staring as Lucius, alongside Denzel Washington and Joseph Quinn as the villain Emperor Geta. Gladiator 2 had been stuck in development hell for years before a script written by David Scarpa finally moved forward.
- Release Date
- November 22, 2024
- Studio(s)
- Paramount Pictures , Universal Pictures , Scott Free Productions , Red Wagon Entertainment
- Distributor(s)
- Paramount Pictures
- Writers
- David Scarpa , Peter Craig , David Franzoni
- Cast
- Paul Mescal , Pedro Pascal , Denzel Washington , Connie Nielsen , Joseph Quinn , Fred Hechinger , Derek Jacobi , May Calamawy , Peter Mensah , Matt Lucas , Alexander Karim , Tim McInnerny , Lee Charles , Chidi Ajufo , Alfie Tempest , Riana Duce , Chi Lewis Parry , Paul Candelent , Hadrian Howard , Alexander Simkin , Mikhail Basmadjian , Matthew Charlery-Smith , Maxime Durand , Lior Raz
- Character(s)
- Lucius Verus , Marcus Acacius , Macrinus , Lucilla , Emperor Caracalla , Emperor Geta , Gracchus
- Runtime
- 148 minutes
- Main Genre
- Adventure