Ridley Scott’s 2000 masterpiece Gladiator stands as one of the most important films of the 21st century, and one of the greatest action movies in cinematic history. Replete with exciting battle scenes and gladiatorial contests, the film dazzled audiences and helped revive the “sword and sandal” genre for the post-millennial era. The film was not merely spectacle, however. There were several scenes in the film in which characters philosophized on the meaning of life, giving many viewers their first exposure to the pagan Roman philosophy par excellence: Stoicism. Stoicism seemed out of place in 2000, the year in which an Evangelical Christian, George W. Bush, would take the reins of the White House. Much of America was swept up in the revival of both Evangelical Protestantism and a new form of conservative Catholicism invigorated by the papacy of Pope John Paul II. The alliance of Catholics and Evangelicals (and conservative Jews) together was largely powered by the philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas, whose teaching on natural law and virtue informed this deeply religious neo-conservative movement. This alliance, as well as its philosophical underpinnings, has continued to endure; however, it has had to compete with a host of new philosophies as the culture and political landscape shift.
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