Commodus fought as a gladiator in the Colosseum and planned to greet the New Year that way

For fourteen days, residents of Rome watched an extraordinary spectacle — Emperor Commodus personally performed in the Colosseum arena, killing wild animals and fighting as a gladiator. He presented himself as a new incarnation of Hercules. He intended to enter the New Year not in imperial robes, but in a gladiator's outfit — yet he never did.