Of Course ‘Gladiator II’s Virgil Poem Has a Much Deeper Meaning — Let's Get Into It (2024)

“The gates of hell are open night and day; smooth the descent, and easy is the way. But to return and view the cheerful skies, in this the task and mighty labor lies.” With these words, Lucius Verus (Paul Mescal) makes for one of the best scenes in Ridley Scott's Gladiator II. He recites the verses to Emperor Geta (Joseph Quinn) after defeating one of Senator Thraex's (Tim McInnerny) gladiators at a party and stuns everyone present. Macrinus (Denzel Washington) immediately recognizes the verses as belonging to the ancient Roman poet Virgil, but why do these words leave everyone shocked?

The Verses Lucius Recites Are Part of Virgil’s ‘Aeneid’

It seems strange for a gladiator to know poetry, but it's important to remember that in that scene, people knew Lucius as "Hanno," a captive from the Numidian campaign, hence the Geta's surprise. Poetry may not have been something widespread among the lower classes of Roman society, but Virgil's verses had been around for over a century and were very popular: they are part of the Aeneid, one of Rome's greatest artistic works.

The Aeneid was written by Virgil in an attempt to give Rome a founding myth tied to classical Greek mythology by continuing the story told by Homer in the Iliad and the Odyssey. The Aeneid tells the journey of Aeneas, a Trojan who leads a group of survivors of the fall of Troy to Italy and, eventually, establishes Rome — in 2004's Troy, Paris even (Orlando Bloom) charges him (Frankie Fitzgerald) with this task.

The specific verses uttered by Lucius are specifically from Book 6 of the Aeneid, when Aeneas goes to the underworld to receive a vision of Rome’s future from his father. Their meaning is still debated, as Aeneas hears them as a warning that descending into Hell is easy, but getting out alive is dangerous and difficult.

Virgil’s Verses Get a New Meaning in ‘Gladiator II’

It's not clear how long Gladiator II is set after the original movie, but it seems that the twin Emperors' rose to power in the vacuum of Commodus' (Joaquin Phoenix) death. This sequence of terrible monarchs led Rome to the verge of collapse, creating a feeling of unrest among Roman citizens. Before them, however, Rome was led by Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) in the originalGladiator, who was a capable leader and had the respect of the people — Macrinus even mentions to Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) that he read the Emperor's Meditations, a series of personal reflections on life and politics that remains relevant to this day. Marcus Aurelius had his "dream of Rome" as a nation that protected and provided for all its citizens, but this vision was dismantled by Commodus and, later, by the twin Emperors.

Virgil's verses, in this sense, are a metaphor for Rome's quick and easy decline into being a political mess thanks to the hunger for power of those who followed Marcus Aurelius. The "mighty labor" lies in reestablishing Rome to its former glory, as it's always more difficult to rebuild than it is to destroy.

The Verses Also Work as a Veiled Threat From Lucius to the Emperors

Geta seems not only surprised but also somewhat offended when Lucius recites Virgil's verses to him. In that scene, it's clear that Lucius intent wasn't merely reciting poetry, but actually landing a jab at the twin Emperors, and Geta is the perfect target. He is the smartest and most politically able between him and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger), so he can sense a threat when it manifests itself.

Lucius reciting Virgil's verse is the unveiling of such a threat. A gladiator who knows poetry is strange, but Lucius isn't really Hanno from Numidia, but Marcus Aurelius' grandson and heir, who fled Rome in the wake of Commodus' death for protection. Now, his return to Rome is the opportunity to put it back on its glorious path. So him reciting these verses to Geta is the ultimate threat that they themselves will fall and Rome will rise again. Poetry is powerful stuff.

Gladiator II

R

Lucius Verus, the son of Maximus's beloved Lucilla, returns to Rome after years in the wilderness. Captured by Roman forces led by General Marcus Acacius, he is thrust into the gladiatorial arena. As he battles for survival, he encounters Macrinus, a former slave-turned-merchant, and faces the corrupt twin emperors Caracalla and Geta.

Release Date

November 22, 2024

Director

Ridley Scott

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

Main Genre

Adventure

Runtime

148 minutes

Gladiator II is currently playing in theateres across the U.S.

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