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Commodus, having appointed two prefects, thought he was acting more safely. But after some time had passed, another plot was formed against him. A certain Maternus, a fugitive from the soldiers, having dared many and terrible things in various ways, and having persuaded some from the same deeds, gathered a great band of criminals; and first he plundered the nearby cities; then, daring even greater things, he entered Italy; and having watched for a day on which the emperor publicly celebrated festivals, and everyone changed their appearance as they wished, thinking it a suitable time, and having taken the appearance of a bodyguard, he rushed to kill Commodus. But one of the criminals with him, spurred on by envy, reported it beforehand to the emperor's household; and having seized Maternus, they cut off his neck. And Commodus, having acknowledged certain thanks to his own gods, celebrated both for his safety and his reign. 4. And Commodus, having escaped the plot of Maternus, used a larger guard, and rarely appeared to the people, spending most of his time in the suburbs. For it happened at that time that a pestilential disease also seized Italy, and destroyed many. And a famine also came upon the people at that time from such a cause. A certain Cleander, a Phrygian by race, and raised with Commodus, advanced to such a degree of honor under him, that he was entrusted with the guard of his person, the chamber, and the care of the soldiers; and by wealth and luxury he was persuaded and advanced to a desire for the kingship; and buying up a great deal of grain, he hoarded it, hoping that by putting both the people and the army in want, he could win them over with splendid distributions; and having constructed a very large gymnasium and bath, he enticed them. But the Romans, being hostile towards him, and attributing the causes of the terrible things to him, at first spoke ill of him in the theaters, but finally, coming to Commodus's suburb in a mass, they cried out against him, and demanded Cleander for death. And while the disturbance was happening, he prevented it from being known to Commodus, but he himself sent soldiers against the people, and pursued and cut them down all the way to the city; but when he entered the city, those who remained in it, perceiving the disaster that had occurred, having shut the entrances, threw stones and tiles from the houses at the cavalry. And they suffered what they had done; being wounded therefore and not enduring it, they were turned to flight, and many were also destroyed. 5. And with such a great civil war possessing Rome, no one else wanted to report to Commodus what was being done, for fear of Cleander's power; but the eldest of the emperor's sisters, having loosened her hair, and thrown herself upon the ground, related all that had been done by Cleander, and that they were being driven from the kingdom, unless he were given up to death with all speed. Then also some of those present, taking courage from the words of his sister, greatly disturbed Commodus. And he, being struck with terror and understanding the impending danger, ordered the head of Cleander to be cut off, and sent it out to the people on a long spear. And they immediately ceased from their madness, having however also killed the sons of Cleander. And so Cleander both flourished in a short time, and so withered away. 6. And Commodus, having entered into the city, was received magnificently; but having experienced so many dangers, he behaved distrustfully towards all, both killing without mercy and believing all slanders, and devoting himself to successive and licentious pleasures of the body, to charioteers and actors and the slaughters of beasts; and driven by some fortune, he advanced to such a degree of madness and drunken rage, that he renounced his own name. Look in the On Vice and Virtue. 120 Exc. De virt.: That Commodus, driven by some fortune, advanced to such a degree of madness and drunken rage, that he renounced his own name, both Hercules and son of Zeus

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Κόμοδος δύο τοὺς ἐπάρχους καταστήσας, ἀσφαλέστερον ᾠήθη πράττειν. Χρόνου δέ τινος διαδραμόντος, ἑτέρα τις ἐπιβουλὴ κατ' αὐτοῦ γέγονε. Μά τερνός τις, ἐκ τῶν στρατιωτῶν φυγὰς, πολλὰ καὶ δεινὰ διαφόρως τολμήσας, πείσας τέ τινας ἀπὸ τῶν αὐτῶν ἔργων, χεῖρα πολλὴν κακούργων συναθροίζει· καὶ πρότερον μὲν τὰς πλησίον ἐλῄστευσε πόλεις· εἶτα καὶ μείζονα τολμήσας, εἰς τὴν Ἰταλίαν εἰσέδυ· καὶ ἐπιτηρήσας ἡμέραν, ἐν ᾗ ὁ βασιλεὺς πανδημεὶ ἑορτὰς ἐπιτελεῖ, καὶ πάντες τὰ ἑαυτῶν σχήματα διήλλαττον ὡς ἐβούλοντο, καιρὸν ἐπιτήδειον νομίσας, λαβών τε δορυφόρου σχῆμα ἐπεπήδησε διαχρήσασθαι τῷ Κομόδῳ. Ἀλλ' εἷς τῶν σὺν αὐτῷ κακούργων παροξυνθεὶς ὑπὸ φθόνου, προδιαγγέλλει τοῖς τοῦ βασιλέως οἰκείοις· καὶ συλλαβόντες τὸν Μάτερνον, ἀπέτεμον αὐτοῦ τὸν αὐχένα. Κόμοδος δὲ τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ θεοῖς ὁμολογήσας χαριστηρίους τινὰς, ὑπέρ τε τῆς σωτηρίας καὶ τῆς βασιλείας ἐπανηγύριζεν. 4. Ὁ δὲ Κόμοδος ἐκφυγὼν τὴν Ματέρνου ἐπιβουλὴν, πλείονί τε φρουρᾷ ἐχρήσατο, καὶ σπανίως τοῖς δήμοις ἐφαίνετο, τὰ πλεῖστα ἐν προαστείοις διατρίβων. Συνέβη γὰρ κατ' ἐκεῖνον τὸν χρόνον καὶ λοιμώδη νόσον κατασχεῖν τὴν Ἰταλίαν, καὶ πολλοὺς διαφθείρειν. Ἐπέσχε δὲ καὶ λιμὸς κατ' αὐτὸ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἐκ τοιαύτης αἰτίας. Κλέανδρός τις, τῷ μὲν γένει Φρὺξ, συναυξηθείς τε τῷ Κομόδῳ, εἰς τοσοῦτον ὑπ' αὐτοῦ τιμῆς προῆλθεν, ὡς καὶ τὴν τοῦ σώματος φρουρὰν καὶ τὴν τοῦ θαλάμου καὶ τῶν στρατιωτῶν πρόνοιαν ἐγχειρισθῆναι· ὑπὸ δὲ πλούτου καὶ τρυφῆς ἀνεπείσθη καὶ πρὸς βασιλείας ἐπιθυμίαν προῆλθεν· ὠνούμενος δὲ πλεῖστον σῖτον, ἀπέκλειεν, ἐλπίζων τόν τε δῆμον καὶ τὸ στρατόπεδον ἐν σπάνει καταστήσας, ἐπιδόσεσι λαμπραῖς ἁλόντας ὑπαγαγέσθαι· καὶ γυμνάσιον καὶ λουτρὸν μέγιστον κατασκευάσας, τούτους ἐδελέαζεν. Οἱ δὲ Ῥωμαῖοι ἀπεχθῶς ἔχοντες πρὸς αὐτὸν, καὶ τῶν δεινῶν τὰς αἰτίας εἰς ἐκεῖνον ἀναφέροντες, τὰ μὲν πρῶτα ἐν τοῖς θεάτροις κακῶς ἠγόρευον, τὸ δὲ τελευταῖον καὶ ἐν τῷ προαστείῳ τοῦ Κομόδου πανδημεὶ ἐπελθόντες κατεβόων, καὶ τὸν Κλέανδρον πρὸς θάνατον ᾔτουν. Ταραχῆς δὲ οὔσης, τῷ μὲν Κομόδῳ ἐκώλυσε γνωσθῆναι, αὐτὸς δὲ στρατιώτας ἐπαφῆκε τῷ δήμῳ, καὶ μέχρι τῆς πόλεως διωκόμενον ἔκοπτεν· ὡς δὲ ἐν τῇ πόλει εἰσῆλθεν, οἱ ἐν αὐτῇ μείναντες, αἰσθόμενοι τὸ κατειληφὸς πάθος, ἀποκλείσαντες τὰς εἰσόδους, ἐκ τῶν δωμάτων λίθοις καὶ κεράμοις ἔβαλλον τοὺς ἱππέας. Οἱ δὲ ἔπασχον ἅπερ ἐδράκεισαν· τιτρωσκόμενοι τοίνυν καὶ μὴ φέροντες εἰς φυγὴν ἐτράπησαν, πολλοὶ δὲ καὶ διεφθάρησαν. 5. Ἐμφυλίου τε πολέμου τηλικούτου τὴν Ῥώμην κατέχοντος, ἄλλος μὲν οὐδεὶς ἀγγεῖλαι τῷ Κομόδῳ τὰ πραττόμενα ἐβούλετο, δέει τῆς Κλεάνδρου ἐξουσίας· ἡ δὲ πρεσβυτάτη τῶν ἀδελφῶν τοῦ βασιλέως λυσαμένη τὰς τρίχας, καὶ ῥίψασα ἑαυτὴν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ἅπαντα διηγόρευε τὰ τῷ Κλεάνδρῳ πεπραγμένα, καὶ ὅτι τῆς βασιλείας ἐκβάλλονται, εἰ μὴ τὴν ταχίστην πρὸς θάνατον ἐκδοθείη. Τότε καὶ τῶν παρόντων τινὲς θαρρήσαντες τοῖς τῆς ἀδελφῆς λόγοις τὸν Κόμοδον ἐξετάραξαν. Ἐκπλαγεὶς δὲ ἐκεῖνος τόν τε ἐπικείμενον κίνδυνον καταλαβὼν, τὴν κεφαλὴν ἀποτμηθῆναι κελεύει τοῦ Κλεάνδρου, καὶ ἐπὶ δόρατος μακροῦ ἐκπέμπει τῷ δήμῳ. Ὁ δὲ παραχρῆμα τῆς μανίας ἐπαύσατο, προσανελὼν μέντοι καὶ τοὺς υἱοὺς τοῦ Κλεάνδρου. Καὶ ὁ μὲν Κλέανδρος οὕτω τε ἤνθησεν ἐν ὀλίγῳ, καὶ οὕτω διεμαράνθη. 6. Ὁ δὲ Κόμοδος εἰσελθὼν ἐν τῷ ἄστει μεγαλοφρόνως ὑπεδέχθη· πειραθεὶς δὲ τοσούτων κινδύνων, ἀπίστως προσεφέρετο πᾶσιν ἀφειδῶς τε φονεύων καὶ πάσαις διαβολαῖς πιστεύων, σχολάζων τε ἀλλεπαλλήλοις καὶ ἀκολάστοις τοῦ σώματος ἡδοναῖς, ἡνιόχοις τε καὶ ὑποκριταῖς καὶ θηρίων σφαγαῖς· ὑπὸ δέ τινος τύχης ἐλαυνόμενος, εἰς τοσοῦτον μανίας καὶ παροινίας προὐχώρησεν, ὡς τὴν ἰδίαν προσηγορίαν παραιτήσασθαι. Ζήτει ἐν τῷ Περὶ κακίας καὶ ἀρετῆς. 120 Exc. De virt.: Ὅτι ὁ Κόμοδος ὑπό τινος τύχης ἐλαυνόμενος ἐς τοσοῦτον μανίας καὶ παροινίας προὐχώρησεν, ὡς τὴν ἰδίαν προσηγορίαν παραιτήσασθαι, Ἡρακλέα τε καὶ ∆ιὸς υἱὸν