Eagles and errors

Roman legionnaire with an eagle standard, as imagined by Midjourney.

NOTE: Plenty of spoilers ahead! Do not read if you are planning to watch the movie and care about plot details.

I approached Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II with considerable apprehension, fearing the extent to which Scott would disregard historical accuracy in favor of crafting a blockbuster fantasy. Following the release of Scott’s 2023 movie, Napoleon, historian Dan Snow highlighted numerous inaccuracies, including the fact that N...