Talk:Maximus Decimus Meridius
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[edit] Deleted biography
What is the source for all this information? Whence the names of his parents, his wife, his son, his father-in-law? I've seen the movie several times and don't remember it going into nearly so much detail; was there a book, or a graphic novel, or fan fiction, or what? —Charles P. (Mirv) 06:13, 29 Mar 2005 (UTC)
Since no answer was forthcoming, I've removed most of the following biography. If a reliable source can be provided, it can go back in, but right now it's no better than original fan fiction. —Charles P. (Mirv) 01:32, 27 Apr 2005 (UTC)
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He was born in the province of Baetica in Hispania in 152 AD. He was the son of Meridius, the governor of the province, and of Lucretia, the daughter of the Roman Senator Bodaus.
He was sent to school at the age of eight to Hispalis, and studied under the tutelage of Fulvus, the Stoic philospher. He joined the army at 17 as a standard-bearer.
He fought in campaigns against the Celts in Britannia and against the Parthians in Cappadocia. Honored for his bravery under the fire of battle, he moved up through the ranks as optio, centurion, and then as primus pilus of the First Cohort under General Lucius Veras.
Marcus Aurelius, a friend of Maximus's father and father-in-law, appointed him legatus of the Emperor's Legion in 176 AD. He was the youngest general so appointed in Roman history.
He led the army against the Veture in Gaul and the Marcomanni in Germania. He was away for four years until the final victory against the barbarians near the river Danube.
Earlier, in 171 AD, while visiting the villa of Sergius Manus, a wealthy landowner in the Spanish province of Gemina, he fell in love with Sergius's daughter Cecilia.
Maximus and Cecilia married, and had a son named Decimus after his grandfather. They settled on a working farm in the hills of Fulginia, several day's ride from Rome. The farm sat on a hillside, and giant poplars lined its entry road.
Though he was able to spend little time with his family, he loved them deeply. Letters that he wrote to his son and wife survived him, and were carefully preserved by his followers after his death.
After Marcus Aurelius's death in the camp at Vindobona, Maximus was arrested by the guards of the new emperor Commodus (rumored to have smothered his own father). Suspecting Commodus, the general had refused to give allegiance to the new emperor. As he was about to be executed, Maximus overwhelmed his guards and escaped.
In retaliation for this, Commodus had the general's family and retainers brutally murdered.
Maximus returned home after much travail and found his loved ones burned and crucified. He fainted from sorrow and his wounds, and was captured by marauding thieves while asleep.
He was sold to the old gladiator Proximo, and trained at his school, taking the name of "The Spaniard".
Vowing revenge against Commodus, he fought in many battles in stadia all over the Roman world - his fame gaining all the while - finally coming to the Colosseum in Rome in 187 AD.
He died in the Colosseum in 192 AD at age 40, after defeating and killing Commodus in a battle in the arena. (He had been secretly stabbed by Commodus beforehand while still tied as a prisoner.) The Roman mob cheered his victory and hailed him as a hero.
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[edit] 'Correct' Name?
Now, I understand that Maximus Decimus Meridius is a highly irregular Roman name to say the least, but I'm not expert enough to sort out the two 'corrections' in the Name section. It first says that the 'correct way' to address him would be 'either as "Decimus Meridius" or as "Maximus Meridius"'. Then it says 'The name should have been Decimus Meridius Maximus'.
Are these two corrections (a) alternatives (i.e. if his name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, he should be called one of those names, but that's a silly name anyway and Decimus Meridius Maximus is more historically plausible), or (b) are they complementary (i.e. Decimus Meridius Maximus is the more historically plausible, and that name would be shortened to the other forms)?
From what I do know (and using '(Gaius) Julius Caesar' as a model), I'm guessing it's the former: (Maximus) Decimus Meridius, or Decimus Meridius Maximus (which I think would be more appropriate to shorten to Maximus). But that's mostly guesswork. The section really needs some clarification on why these 'corrections' are correct and whether one or both should apply. -- Perey 14:31, 3 September 2006 (UTC)
- I'm pretty sure it's intended as (a). But having said that, all these rules about Roman naming conventions that people (like the passage's original author) are so stuck on are really only applicable to the Middle and Late Republic. By the end of the second century AD, all the conventions had undergone a radical change and been greatly liberalised (the pretty much total dropping of praenomina, for example). Maximus Decimus Meridius would have been a pretty reasonable name for the period, especially as it could quite reasonably have been just his cognomina—especially if the Aelius reference mentioned below is true (haven't seen the movie in five years so I can't verify it).
- At any rate, I would say the section probably needs to be deleted as original research.Binabik80 20:24, 6 December 2006 (UTC)
[edit] "Aelius" name
I'm not an expert in ancient names or nothing like that, but I do know that there is a scene (the first match after the "My name is Maximus..." one) where Cassius introduce him as "Aelius Maximus". Being "Aelius" an proper name, I don't think that this would be anything other than a name (i.e. no one would introduce-me as "John Smith" if John wasn't my name); and we can read these exact words in the subtitles. So, being that correct or not in terms of historical Roman naming, I added the name, because I think it's part of the character full name, even if it's not as often mentioned as the rest (i.e. "Angus MacGyver" is the full name of that character, even if that has been referenced only a few times). So, unless anyone can prove that i'm wrong, I would ask not to remove my edit, since I provided an explanation on it.
Jack O'Neill 08:44, 4 November 2006 (UTC)
