Research Reporter: What is Propaganda?

Many kids in the U.S. turn 16 eager to get their driver’s license. But about the time Commodus turned 16, he became co-ruler of the Roman Empire with his father Marcus Aurelius. Still couldn’t drive though.

When his dad died, the stretch of Roman rulers, known as the Five Good Emperors, ended. And there’s a reason why they don’t call it the six good emperors. Frankly, Commodus was pretty bad at his job.

Things started out okay. Commodus made peace with the Germanic tribes Rome had been warring with since his father’s reign. But then the young emperor became a little irrational. You know, fighting lions in the arena, renaming Rome after himself, believing he was a god. So, when he started to tax the rich in order to lavish the people with expensive gifts, well, no wonder his advisers employed a champion wrestler to strangle him at age 31.

But at least Commodus had a cool bust. This life-size marble sculpture in the round weighs 205 pounds. Look at those curls. They’re so intricate. Some marble, due to its moisture content, is softer and easier to chisel than others. Who knows? Maybe that helped the sculptor style that curly hair.

Many marble busts were made of Commodus and distributed around the Empire during his reign. They were a form of propaganda designed to make Commodus look good, and look good he does. But he was so disliked that many busts were destroyed. Maybe the marketing message fell flat. Why is art sometimes used as propaganda?