Commodus as Hercules
(Musei Capitolini, Roma)
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1.12: The Plague
[c.189]  About this time, plague struck all
Italy. The suffering was especially severe in Rome, since the city,
which received people from all over the world, was overcrowded. The
city suffered great loss of both men and animals.
 Then, on the advice of his physicians, Commodus left Rome for Laurentum.
This region enjoyed the shade from extensive laurel groves (whence the
area derives its name); it was cooler there and seemed to be a safe
haven. The emperor is said to have counteracted the pollution in the
air by the fragrant scent of the laurels and the refreshing shade of
the trees. At the direction of their doctors, those who remained in
Rome filled their nostrils
and ears with fragrant oils and used perfume and incense constantly,
for some said that the sweet odor, entering first, filled up the
sensory passages and kept out the poison in the air; or, if any poison
should enter, it would be neutralized by the stronger odors. The
plague, however, continued to rage unchecked for a long time, and many
men died, as well as domestic animals of all kinds.
 Famine gripped the
city at the same time. Responsible for it was a Phrygian named
Cleander, one of the slaves offered for sale by the public auctioneer
for the benefit of the state. As a slave in the imperial household,
Cleander grew up with Commodus and eventually was raised to a position
of honor and authority: the command of the bodyguard, the stewardship
of the imperial bedroom, and the control of the imperial armies were
all entrusted to him. Because of his wealth and wantonness, Cleander
coveted the empire.
 He bought up most of
the grain supply and put it in storage; he hoped in this way to get
control of the people and the army by making a generous distribution of
grain at the first sign of a food shortage, anticipating that he would
win the support of the people when they were suffering from a scarcity
of food. He also built a huge gymnasium and public bath and turned them
over to the people. In this way he tried to curry favor with the mob.
 The Romans, however,
hated the man and blamed him for all their difficulties; they
especially despised him for his greed. At first they attacked him
bitterly when they thronged the theaters; later, however, they went in
a body to Commodus, who was passing the time on his estate near the
city, and there, raising a fearful din, they demanded Cleander for
execution.
 During this tumult on
the grounds of his suburban estate, Commodus was loitering in the
pleasant, secluded inner rooms, for Cleander had kept him in ignorance
of what was happening. Suddenly, unlooked for by the assembled mob, the
imperial cavalry appeared fully armed and, at the order of the prefect,
butchered those in their path.
 The
people were unable to withstand the assault, for they were unarmed men
on foot fighting against armed men on horseback. And so they fell, not
only because they were attacked by the cavalry and trampled by the
horses, but also because they were overwhelmed by the sheer weight
of their own numbers, and many died in the pile-ups.
 The
horsemen pursued the fugitives right to the gates of Rome and
slaughtered them without mercy as they attempted to force their way
into the city. When those who had remained in Rome heard what had
happened, they blocked the doors of their houses and went up on the
roofs to throw down stones and roof tiles on the cavalry, who now
suffered what they had inflicted, for no one opposed them in formal
battle; most of the people were hurling missiles at them from safe
positions. Finally, unable to endure the onslaught any longer, the
wounded horsemen turned and fled, leaving many dead
behind.
 In the
steady hail of missiles, their horses stumbled and fell on the round
stones, throwing their riders. After many had been killed on both
sides, the infantry in the city, who despised the cavalry, came to the
aid of the mob.
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