Today in 192 the Emperor Commodus was assassinated, strangled in his bath by a wrestler, bringing the Nerva-Antonine dynasty to an end. Three years later the Senate under Septimius Severus deified this Roman Hercules. 
161-192 AD
The Roman Hercules, died today in 192AD.
Emperor Commodus took part in 735 public battles in the arena, not just against gladiators but against wild animals like lions & even elephants. Hollywood portrayed him as cowardly in 2000 but this is not reality. What was cowardly was how he was assassinated.
Despite what Hollywood says, Marcus Aurelius never tried to disinherit Commodus. In fact he took extraordinary measures to ensure Commodus would succeed him smoothly. Marcus Aurelius wanted his son to be emperor after him. Period.
Commodus was certainly not a villain to the Christian minority. Influenced by his concubine Marcia (before she turned on him) he had good relations with Pope Victor I and granted his request to recall the exiled Christians from Sardinia. ✝️
Far from being a power-mad autocrat, Emperor Commodus was actually content to delegate power for day-to-day affairs to others. This was criticized by the elite class and Commodus was finally motivated to take matters in hand himself, tired of the efforts to undermine him.
Consider the fact that the reign of Commodus was one of peace rather than war and building projects with no major disasters. There were problems, certainly, but there were no major invasions or natural calamities. This means critics have to get creative to complain.
And yes Commodus *was* Marcus Aurelius’ son. The rumor that he was not was just a cope by those who hated Commodus but didn’t want to smear the wildly popular Marcus Aurelius. Commodus was his son and he was the one Marcus Aurelius wanted to succeed him.
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