Emperor Commodus Pt. 1: The Gladiator

Today we’re bringing you a special two-part episode from another Spotify Original from Parcast. If you enjoy it, check out Unexplained Mysteries on Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts! He was the most talked-about man in Russia at the turn of the 20th century. Grigori Ras ...  Show more

Today we’re bringing you a special two-part episode from another Spotify Original from Parcast. If you enjoy it, check out Unexplained Mysteries on Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts! He was the most talked-about man in Russia at the turn of the 20th century. Grigori Ras ...  Show more

Known as one of Rome's worst emperors, Commodus is famed for both his infamy and bravado. Ascending the throne as a teenager, he dressed up as Hercules, fought as a gladiator in the Colosseum, and renamed Rome after himself. But who was the real Commodus? And was he really as ...

Born Varius Avitus Bassianus, the emperor now known as Elagabalus scandalized ancient Rome with his constant displays of extravagance, his numerous sexual escapades -- and his insistence that all people worship the sun god Elagabal (represented by a mysterious black stone he brou ...  Show more

Commodus went off the deep end around 190 AD and was finally killed by his inner circle in 192.

 

In 37 CE, Caligula became the third emperor of Rome, ushering in a brief era of prosperity before pilfering the treasury and embarking on a quest to conquer Britannia. Before too long, his sadistic — and sometimes darkly comedic — rulings inspired a fatal conspiracy. Learn more a ...  Show more