Commodus, disdaining the more philosophic inclinations of his father, is extremely proud of his physical prowess.

Generally acknowledged to be extremely handsome, he orders many statues to be made showing him dressed as Hercules with a lion's hide and a club.

Thinking of himself as the reincarnation of Hercules, he frequently emulates the legendary hero's feats by appearing in the arena to fight a variety of wild animals.

Left-handed, and very proud of the fact, Commodus is, according to Cassius Dio and the writers of the Augustan History, a skilled archer, who can shoot the heads off ostriches in full gallop, and kill a panther as it attacks a victim in the arena.

Commodus also has a passion for gladiatorial combat, which he takes so far as to take to the arena himself, dressed as a gladiator.

The Romans find Commodus' naked gladiatorial combats to be scandalous and disgraceful.

It is rumored that he is actually the son, not of Marcus Aurelius, but of a gladiator whom his mother Faustina had taken as a lover at the coastal resort of Caieta.

In the arena, Commodus always wins since his opponents always submit to the emperor.

Thus, these public fights do not end in death.

Privately, it is his custom to slay his practice opponents.

For each appearance in the arena, he charges the city of Rome a million sesterces, straining the Roman economy.

Commodus raises the ire of many military officials in Rome for his Hercules persona in the arena.

Often, wounded soldiers and amputees are placed in the arena for Commodus to slay with a sword.

Commodus' eccentric behavior does not stop there.

Citizens of Rome missing their feet through accident or illness are taken to the arena, where they are tethered together for Commodus to club to death while pretending they are giants.

These acts may have contributed to his assassination.

Commodus is also known for fighting exotic animals in the arena, often to the horror of the Roman people.

According to Gibbon, Commodus once killed one hundred lions in a single day.

Later, he decapitated a running ostrich with a specially designed dart and afterwards carried the bleeding head of the dead bird and his sword over to the section where the Senators sat and gesticulated as though they were next.

On another occasion, Commodus killed three elephants on the floor of the arena by himself.

Finally, Commodus killed a giraffe, which his contemporaries consider a strange and helpless beast.