Currently, I am beginning brainstorming on a novel about a son sold into slavery, eventually being handed into the arms of Emperor 'PLACEHOLDER'. He trains for a long time with character/plot development, ect., and the minor climax of the story is his first bout. One he is expected to lose, but wins barely. He rises to Champion over time and eventually is to be executed by the greasy haired, pale skinned, vile emperor, for "crimes against the state." I need a good name for the hated but powerful ruler, and I was thinking a combination of previous Roman emperor names and official emperor titles, such as "Severus Augustus" (Severus being Lucius Septimius Severus, and Augustus being the glorified title of Emperor in Rome). Also, but less important for now, is a name for the gladiator. I want something either Roman/Greek/Latin, and something that equates to something poor, or dirty, or useless, or weak, or ect. If you can help me figure some stuff out, that'd be great! Please PM me if you need help on your own books with names/characters/ect.! -Ryan
For your Gladiator’s name… I don’t care what he was called before I bought him. He’s just practise for my other Gladiator Giants. Say hello to my slave Gladius Cibum… Originally it was… gladio ante præsepe plenum steterit N.
I'd be inclined to use a real emperor if your book is set in ancient Rome .. its not like they are going to sue you for libel. A lot of the roman emperors would fit your description... Nero springs to mind as does Comodus and Vitellus (although the later didn't last that long - he was one of the year of the four emperors, from which Vespasian triumphed) Making up an emperor name is asking for bad reviews
Yeah, you'd be better off using one of the actual, historical emperors. There are so many fascinating lunatics to choose from. Gaius Caesar Germanicus, commonly known as Caligula, was supposedly bald (but extremely hairy elsewhere) and pale, certainly has a reputation for vileness, and was given to criminalizing the strangest things. . . For instance, mentioning a goat in his presence was punishable by death.
You could always name the gladiator after the weapon he's using? So if his weapon is a gladius, call him Gladius, and maybe add a further dehumanization like "Secundus" or something like it. Or name him after the class of gladiator he's supposed to fight as or something else. As for emperors you'd need someone who was into the gladitorial games, I would suppose, or was known for reckless cruelty. The problem with many of the mad emperors is that they in many cases don't seem to have targeted average people but primarily the senatorial class, and in Nero's case the Christian minority. And if we're going with "crime against the state" then paranoia would seem to be correct. The "problem" with a greasy haired pale skinned emperor is that it kind of limits you a great deal. So perhaps pick a less well known emperor for your villain? The way I also see is that if you take a well known emperor then his behavior, looks and actions must follow historical fact. A less well documented emperor may allow you to add things of your own for your story so that he fits what you're looking for better?
commodus was heavily into gladiatorial games... on one occasion when he didn't have enough prisoners for the gladiators to slaughter he selected a section of the crowd at random and had them put into the arena ... the only problem with him is it invites comparison with the russel crowe film , gladiator
Gladiator is a good example of taking a real Roman emperor and fictionalizing what really happened. The emperor dies in the movie for example, but under very different circumstances from how the real emperor died. And the main character of that movie is an amalgamation of various real-life figures.
Yes, and your plot line is very very similar to that of Gladiator. I would make some major changes. Roman Emperors are very well-known to a lot of people, and there is a complete list of them on Wiki from Octavian Augustus the first one, to Romulus Augustulus the last, spanning almost 500 years. So I wouldn't invent one. Pick one, and fictionalize your story around him, but keep his personality consistent with the actual history.
