‘Cassius Dio, the elite writer, says they stayed away from the games out of sheer disgust at this degrading behaviour of the emperor. But he then gives another reason: that Commodus was insane and fancied acting out a myth of Hercules and the Stymphalian birds – he was planning on getting a bow and arrow and shooting some of the audience, which would be quite a good reason not to go, really, wouldn’t it?’