[Commodus,] emperor of [the] Romans; [it was he] who, driven by some fortune, advanced to such a point of madness and insanity as to reject his own name and to call himself Heracles and the son of Zeus.[1] He bid that the months take their names from himself in this manner: Amazonius, Commodus, Augustus, Heracleus, Romaeus, Hyperairon, Aniketos, Eusebes, Eutyches, Lucius, Aelius, Aurelius.[2] Shedding the clothing of the Romans, he put on a lion skin and took up a club. In this manner, he fought one-on-one with beasts and men in public — displaying, in truth, fine skill with the javelin and amazing everyone. But when he turned to much murderousness, he mercilessly gathered into the theatre all the wretched and mutilated men and fitted their knees with some wondrous serpent-like things and killed them with his club as the giants.[3] And, sleeping among the gladiatorial contests[4] and from there going to meet at the assemblies before the gathered senate, he was harshly criticized so that even Marcia, his most honored concubine, charged him and renounced what he had done. And many others too begged him to do nothing unworthy of an emperor.