Commodus devoted most of his life to ease and to horses and to combats of wild beasts and of men. 3 In fact, besides all that he did in private, he often slew in public large numbers of men and beasts as well. For example, all alone with his own hands, he dispatched five hippopotami together with two elephants on two successive days; and he also killed rhinoceroses and a camelopard. This is what I have to say with reference to his career as a whole.
18 On the first day he killed a hundred bears all by himself, shooting down at them from the railing of the balustrade; for the whole amphitheatre had been divided up by means of two intersecting cross-walls which supported the gallery that ran its entire length, the purpose being that the beasts, divided into four herds, might more easily be speared at short range from any point. 2 In the midst of the struggle he became weary, and taking from a woman p109 some chilled sweet wine in a cup shaped like a club, he drank it at one gulp. At this both the populace and we senators all immediately shouted out the words so familiar at drinking-bouts, "Long life to you!"
On the other days he descended to the arena from his place above and cut down all the domestic animals that approached him and some also that were led up to him or were brought before him in nets. He also killed a tiger, a hippopotamus, and an elephant. 2 Having performed these exploits, he would retire, but later, after luncheon, would fight as a gladiator.
Όλα αυτά σύμφωνα με τον Δίωνα τον Κάσσιο που δηλώνει αυτόπτης μάρτυρας. Τι γαμάτος τύπος!That spectacle, of the general character I have described, lasted fourteen days. When the emperor p113 was fighting, we senators together with the knights always attended. Only Claudius Pompeianus the elder never appeared, but sent his sons, while remaining away himself; for he preferred even to be killed for this rather than to behold the emperor, the son of Marcus, conducting himself in such a fashion. 2 For among other things that we did, we would shout out whatever we were commanded, and especially these words continually: "Thou art lord and thou art first, of all men most fortunate. Victor thou art, and victor thou shalt be; from everlasting, Amazonian, thou art victor." But of the populace in general, many did not enter the amphitheatre at all, and others departed after merely glancing inside, partly from shame at what was going on, partly also from fear, inasmuch as a report spread abroad that he would want to shoot a few of the spectators in imitation of Hercules and the Stymphalian birds. 3 And this story was believed, too, because he had once got together all the men in the city who had lost their feet as the result of disease or some accident, and then, after fastening about their knees some likenesses of serpents' bodies, and giving them sponges to throw instead of stones, had killed them with blows of a club, pretending that they were giants.
21 This fear was shared by all, by us senators as well as by the rest. And here is another thing that he did to us senators which gave us every reason to look for our death. Having killed an ostrich and cut off his head, he came up to where we were sitting, holding the head in his left hand and in p115 his right hand raising aloft his bloody sword; 2 and though he spoke not a word, yet he wagged his head with a grin, indicating that he would treat us in the same way. And many would indeed have perished by the sword on the spot, for laughing at him (for it was laughter rather than indignation that overcame us), if I had not chewed some laurel leaves, which I got from my garland, myself, and persuaded the others who were sitting near me to do the same, so that in the steady movement of our armies we might conceal the fact that we were laughing.
I would have lived in peace. But my enemies brought me war.
