66 Gladiator's Mythical&Spiritual Significance - a podcast by Br Lawrence MGL

How does virtue carry a man through hellish injustice? Not only is Gladiator a profound spiritual allegory, Maximus' hero's journey illuminates the path we all must take as Christians.

Excerpt from episode: "What makes Gladiator mythical is that the Maximus returning from exile wasn’t the same Maximus as the one pre-fall but one infinitely greater, and that it was precisely through his suffering and death, that his true greatness was accomplished. Think about it: in the beginning when all was going well for Maximus, he served Rome well, was loved by his solders and helped extend Rome’s borders into Germania. But by the end of the movie, the returning Maximus doesn’t just serve Rome, he recreates Rome, by winning the hearts of the Romans and ensuring the end of its dictator, paving the way for the republic to be established. The dream of Marcus Arellius couldn’t be actualised when Maximus was simply being a mighty general, but when he was a lowly gladiator, it was accomplished."

Soundtrack: tracks used this episode from the Gladiator OST (Hans Zimmer): Now we are Free, Elysium, The Barbarian Horde, Victory theme, Earth theme 

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