(SOUNDBITE OF YVONNE S. MORIARTY ET AL.'S "THE MIGHT OF ROME")
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
What is it like to enter Rome's Colosseum like an emperor? Well, visitors can get an idea later this month when the Commodus Passage opens to the public after a restoration. The underground tunnel once allowed emperors to walk unseen to the imperial box, where they could sit or stand, maybe recline on comfy pillows and watch the spectacles on the gaming fields below. But in the 180-foot tunnel, they might see a preview. The stucco work there was etched with scenes of gladiators, bear fights and acrobats. It also had depictions of moments from myths, like when Bacchus, the god of wine, fell for the Cretan Princess Ariadne.
The passage was named in the 1810s after the Emperor Commodus. Name sound familiar? He was the son of Marcus Aurelius. Still can't place him? Well, he was played by Joaquin Phoenix in the movie "Gladiator." Commodus was a brutal and inept ruler. He executed senators. He imagined himself as Hercules. He dressed as a gladiator and killed lions in the arena. He renamed Rome Colony of Commodus. He's linked to the Colosseum's tunnel because some historical accounts say he survived an assassination attempt there. In reality, his advisers arranged in 192 C.E. for a champion wrestler named Narcissus to strangle him to death in his bath. Maybe Commodus just should've stayed in the tunnel.
(SOUNDBITE OF YVONNE S. MORIARTY ET AL.'S "THE MIGHT OF ROME") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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