Notice! This article contains spoilers for Gladiator 2!Maximus Decimus Meridius rubs earth in his hands and smells it before every battle in Gladiator – and the ritual is extremely important for understanding his character. Ridley Scott Gladiator stars Russell Crowe as Maximus, a betrayed Roman general who faces the long road to revenge by becoming a gladiator of great renown. From the battlefields of Germania to the Roman Coliseum, Maximus begins each battle in Gladiator with an unusual pre-game ritual. He spends a few moments of silence before the fight begins, crouching down to scoop up a handful of dirt. He will then massage the soil into his palms and generally smell it.
It is one of several aspects of Maximus outside of the many great Gladiator quotes that have become synonymous with the character – and the handful of pre-game dirt also returned in the 2024 sequel Gladiator 2. Although it is not revealed in the film itself, there is an explanation for the dirt ritual in Gladiator. While many viewers have theorized that Maximus grabs a handful of straight weapons to test the waters before moving, or possibly to give him better control of his weapon, the real reason has a much more thematic significance.
Maximus picks up the gladiator’s dirt to remind himself not to give up
Dirt ritual allows former general and farmer to remember his roots
Maximum’ Gladiator The dirt ritual may, at first glance, seem similar to modern athletes rubbing chalk—covering their hands with the material for better grip. Although dirt certainly power giving Maximus a tighter grip on his fist, that wouldn’t explain why the general stuck his nose there. Instead, Máximo’s ritual is intended to remind the character why he fights.
When he’s not burning down Germania or assassinating emperors, Maximus is actually a farmer. In the introductory scenes between Maximus and Richard Harris’s Marcus Aurelius, Russell Crowe’s hero declares his deep desire to return home, describing family members and crops in vivid detail. In the same sequence, Maximus mockingly tells Quintus “dirt cleans much easier than blood.” Rubbing and smelling the earth before each fight connects Maximus to his home and family.
Why picking up dirt before every fight is so important to Maximus
Being reminded of what Commodus took from him fuels his anger in the arena
The filth ritual pushes Maximus through each deadly conflict because it triggers memories of the most peaceful time in his life and the happiness that Commodus took from him. With the dirt on his hands and the smell of earth in his nostrils, Maximus can’t help but remember his humble farm in Trujillo, and the wife and son who lived there.
When Maximus is still a centurion in GladiatorIn the opening act, these memories of Trujillo motivate him because the sooner Germania is conquered, the sooner he can return home. After his betrayal and enslavement, the feeling and smell of dirt becomes a reminder of everything that was stolen from Maximus by Commodus, inciting a deep desire for revenge.
Although Maximus Decimus Meridius has an unquestionable affinity for killing, he is not a bloodthirsty brute.. He is often seen demonstrating empathy for his enemies (responding “he would be you?“when Quintus states that the Germans should have known when they were conquered). It is also clear that Maximus values ​​his bond with Marcus Aurelius far more than any blind loyalty to the Roman Empire.
Maximum doesn’t want fight, but is forced by circumstances. As he reconnects home across the land, he is compelled to survive yet another battle, then another, then another, until he finally returns to the soil – and, more importantly, the people – that he calls home. It’s a subtle but incredibly effective motif that gives a great tacit insight into Maximus as a character and serves to underline why Ridley Scott’s style Gladiator is so widely respected two decades after its release.
How Gladiator 2 changes the meaning of Maximus’ dirty smell
The 2024 sequel redefines the pre-fight ritual
Gladiator 2 arrived in 2024, 20 years after the release of Ridley Scott’s epic historical action film in 2000. The sequel to Gladiator takes place 16 years after the original, with a plot focused on Maximus’ son, Lucius (played by Paul Mescal). In Gladiator 2, Lucius is captured by the Roman army and, like his father, enslaved to fight as a gladiator in the Colosseum. Witnessing his struggle, Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) realizes that Lucius is the long-lost son she gave birth to after her brief affair with Maximus – a truth she discovers due to Lucius using Maximus’ tactics and fighting style in the arena, including his signature dirt-sniffing ritual.
Lucius grabbing a handful of dirt before each fight is one of several references to the original Gladiator, and although Russell Crowe is not in the sequel due to Maximus’ death, his character’s presence is felt throughout. However, the inclusion of the dirt ritual in the Gladiator 2 also changes its meaning and meaning, especially if Ridley Scott decides to expand Gladiator further and turn it into a trilogy in the future.
In Gladiator 2, Lucius doesn’t pick up dirt to awaken memories of a former life as a farmer. He was not present in Trujillo with Maximus. Lucius grew up in Numidia after Lucilla sent him away from Rome as a child, which she did because she knew he was the true heir to the Roman Empire and as such was almost guaranteed to be a target for assassins. For Lúcio, the dirt ritual is an act of respect and homage to his father, Máximo, and Máximo’s legacy and legend among the Colosseum Gladiators.
At the time of Gladiator 2, Maximus and his quest for revenge against Emperor Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) became a legend among other gladiators as well as the general population of Rome. There’s even a shrine to Russell Crowe Gladiator character under the Colosseum. The filth ritual performed by Lucius is a tribute to his father’s heroic actions. It’s also something that other gladiators might end up emulating. In this way, the Gladiator the sequence changed the meaning of picking up dirt before an arena fight – it is no longer the deeply personal ritual performed by Maximus, but is now a symbolic tribute to the man himself.