Bread and Circuses ( episode ) Kirk , Spock , and McCoy are captured on a planet that resembles a Roman Empire with 20th century technology . They are set to die at the hands of gladiators for the sake of public spectacle . Summary . Teaser . Near the planet 892 - IV , the discovers the wreckage of the , a merchant ship missing for the last six years , whose commanding officer is R . M . Merik , a old friend of Captain Kirk from the Academy . When the " Enterprise " enters orbit to look for survivors , it intercepts a 20th century - style television broadcast in which a Roman gladiator defeats and kills a " barbarian . " The casualty is named William B . Harrison , whom Spock identifies as the " Beagle " s flight officer . Kirk assembles a landing party to the surface of the planet to investigate . Act One . Kirk , Spock and McCoy beam down , outside the city where the broadcast originated , mindful of their duty under the Prime Directive not to interfere with the society ' s natural development . Almost immediately after their materialization , they are captured by the " Children of the Son " – runaway slaves who are hiding in caves to avoid recapture . Flavius Maximus , a former gladiator , regards the officers as Roman s who should be killed to avoid disclosing the hiding places ; but the rebels ' leader , Septimus , abhors violence , and Kirk ' s use of his communicator convinces him they are not with the authorities but are from an " offshore ship . " Septimus says the Children of the Son teach peace and brotherhood but are persecuted for their beliefs . In a cave , the crew look at magazines that show astonishing parallels with Earth ' s ancient Rome , though with 20th century technology . However , when Kirk mentions the loss of Captain Merik six years earlier , they conclude that he is now Merikus , the First Citizen . Kirk explains to the Children of the Son that such interference would violate an " important law , " for which he needs to be removed for punishment . Septimus orders Flavius to lead them into the city . However , the group is quickly spotted and captured by the police . Act Two . The captives are taken into the city . Kirk uses their captors ' fear of reprisal to angle for a meeting with " Merikus . " He is indeed Merik , and he takes them to Proconsul Claudius Marcus , who knows all about their off - world origins . Merik explains that , after the shipwreck of the " Beagle " , he was forced to beam down all 47 of his crew . They were given two options : " adapt " to their new world or fight in televised gladiatorial competitions for the entertainment of its inhabitants . Kirk sees that Merik has violated his oath and ordered his own crew to their deaths . Claudius hands Kirk his communicator and tells him to do the same . Kirk initially plans for he , Spock , and McCoy to be beamed up , but Claudius ' guards enter with machine guns pointed right at Kirk . Abandoning the attempt , Kirk gives Scott the code Condition Green : a signal that the landing party is in trouble , but forbidding a rescue attempt . Claudius elicits from Merik that Kirk has a starship commission that Merik sought but could not qualify for . The livid Claudius dispatches Spock and McCoy to " the games " to die . Act Three . On the " Enterprise " , Scott notes in his log that Kirk ordered him to carry out Condition Green , which prohibits him from taking any action to save the troubled landing party . Scott orders that Ensign Chekov locate power sources down on the planet and how much their beams will take to overload them . Scott announces that , although he is forced to not take any action on the planet below , there is nothing stopping him from frightening the planet ' s inhabitants about what a starship ' s power capabilities truly are . On the planet , Kirk is forced to watch as Spock and McCoy are condemned to fight Flavius and another gladiator named in the arena . Spock holds his own against his opponent , but McCoy is severely outmatched , only surviving because Flavius is reluctant to kill him . Claudius again tries to pressure Kirk into ordering his crew down but Kirk calmly refuses . Flavius is threatened and whipped to encourage him to attack , whereupon he gives McCoy some tips to make it " look real . " Spock overpowers both opponents and incapacitates one with a Vulcan nerve pinch . This violates the rules , and the lives of Spock and McCoy are put in the hands of Merik and Claudius . They spare the two to maximize their influence on Kirk . Act Four . Kirk enters Claudius ' quarters , and a blonde woman emerges , pouring wine . She tells Kirk that her name is Drusilla and she is the proconsul ' s slave . Tonight , though , she is Kirk ' s " slave " . Kirk yells out to Claudius that this will not work on him and he still refuses to cooperate . Drusilla assures Kirk that they are indeed alone together . McCoy and Spock seek a way out of their cell – and McCoy seeks a way past Spock ' s determination to control his emotions , remarking that the Vulcan isn ' t afraid of dying – he is more afraid of living , for fear in that one day , his Human half might " " peek out " " , as McCoy puts it . For a moment , Spock appears to admit it but then turns to McCoy and simply says " " Really , doctor ? " " . McCoy then tells him " " I know , I ' m worried about Jim too . " " Kirk is eating the food given to him by Drusilla . He finds the food good , and Drusilla informs Kirk that she is here to please him . Kirk tells her that he has been to many worlds with strange customs ; perhaps what he is experiencing is torture on her planet . Drusilla does not understand , as she does not wish to see Kirk tortured and gives him a kiss . She asks Kirk to tell her when he feels the first sign of pain , and they continue to kiss . Much later , Kirk wakes up alone and Merik tells him that the crew of the " Enterprise " will eventually come down to the planet ' s surface , but Kirk still refuses to cooperate . The " Enterprise " intercepts broadcasts announcing Kirk ' s execution in the arena . Scott , though forbidden to mount a rescue because of the Prime Directive , devises a way to disrupt the execution and warn the city through the power demonstrated by the " Enterprise " . Claudius tells Kirk that his night with Drusilla was a favor to a condemned man rather than an attempt at interrogation , in the process dealing an insult to Merik . Kirk is taken to the arena for his execution , one that Marcus promises will be swift . On the way , Merik has a change of heart ; he is too late to save Kirk , but tells him he will try to save the other two . The execution , however , is interrupted by Flavius , and by a power black - out induced by beams activated by Chekov from the " Enterprise " . Flavius is killed by the guards ' machine guns during Kirk ' s execution , but the captain escapes and runs to free Spock and McCoy from their cell . The Romans intercept Kirk ' s rescue attempt from both sides , and thus draw sword s rather than firearms to avoid crossfire . During the fighting , Merik signals to the " Enterprise " with a stolen communicator but is stabbed by Marcus . Merik still manages to toss the communicator to the feet of Kirk , Spock , and McCoy . Locking onto the signal , Scotty beams them back aboard , just as the Roman guards open fire . On the bridge , Spock muses about the remarkable parallels between Earth of the Roman Empire and Planet 892 - IV – except that Rome had no sun - worshippers . But Lieutenant Uhura , who has been monitoring the planet ' s broadcasts , reveals that they are not worshipping the sun but the " Son of God . " Planet 892 - IV had both a Caesar and a Christ , and its evolution will proceed , implying that Rome will fall , in due time . Memorable quotes . " " Once , just once , I ' d like to be able to land someplace and say , ' Behold , I am the Archangel Gabriel ! ' " " " " I fail to see the humor in that situation , Doctor . " " " " Naturally . You could hardly claim to be an angel with those pointed ears , Mister Spock . But say you landed someplace with a pitchfork . . . " " " " What do you call those ? " " " " I call them ears . " " " " Are you trying to be funny ? " " " " Never . " " " " May the blessings of the Son be upon you . " " " " Medical men are trained in logic , Mr . Spock . " " " " Really , Doctor ? I had no idea they were trained . Watching you , I assumed it was trial and error . " " " " Are they enemies , Captain ? " " " " I ' m not sure they ' re sure . " " " " I know you , Flavius . You ' re as peaceful as a bull . " " " " My world , Proconsul , is my vessel , my oath , my crew . " " " " You bring this network ' s ratings down , Flavius , and we ' ll do a special on you ! " " " " We believe men should fight their own battles . Only the weak will die . " " " " The games have always strengthened us . Death becomes a familiar pattern . We don ' t fear it as you do . " " " " Fight , you pointed - ear freak ! " " " " You tell him , buster ! Of all the completely . . . ridiculous . . . illogical questions . . . I ever heard in my life ! " " " " I ' m trying to thank you ! You pointed - eared hobgoblin ! " " " " Do you know why you ' re not afraid to die , Spock ? You ' re more afraid of living . Each day you stay alive is just one more day you might slip and let your Human half peek out . " " " " You ' re a Roman , Kirk , or you should have been . " " " " You may not understand because you ' re centuries beyond anything as crude as television . " " " " They threw me a few curves . " " " " I pity you , Captain Merik . But at least watch and see how men die . " " " " Caesar and Christ . They had them both . And the word is spreading only now . " " Links and references . References . 3rd century ; 19th century ; 20th century ; 2262 ; 2263 ; 892 - IV ; 892 - IV native ; amplitude modulation ; angel ; antimatter nacelle ; archangel ; arena games ( aka gladiatorial games ) ; atmosphere ; atomic power ; barbarian ; ; ; broil ; bull ; bullet - ridden ; butcher ; ; ; cage ; carbon monoxide ; carbon steel ; cave dweller ; checks and balances ; chief engineer ; Children of the Son ; ; City Arena ; City Prison ; class 4 stardrive vessel ; class M ; coat of arms ; color ; commendation ; communicator ; Condition Green ; corpse ; debris ; density ; despotism ; diameter ; dissident ; ear ; Earth ; emperor ; Empire TV ; English language ; engineering officer ; equator ; era ; execution ; First Citizen ; fish ; flight officer ; folk dance ; foul ; French language ; frequency modulation ; ; " " ; garum ; gladiator ; gladius ; heat ; heaven ; historian ; hobgoblin ; Hodgkin ' s Law of Parallel Planetary Development ; hydrocarbon ; internal combustion engine ; iridium ; joke ; ; Jupiter 8 ; landing party ; load factor ; logic ; Lord of the Games ; ; Mars Toothpaste ; Merchant Service ; Merikus ; meteor ; Milky Way Galaxy ; " Name the Winner " ; ; Neptune Bath Salts ; network ; news broadcast ; nitrogen ; old age ; orbital bombardment ; ore ; oxygen ; pain ; parsec ; pension ; petty thief ; philosophy ; pitchfork ; Praetorian Guard ; Prime Directive ; proconsul ; province ; psychosimulator test ; radio ; rags ; ratings ; recon party ; rescue party ; road system ; roast kid ; Roman ; ; Rome ; senator ; ship ' s surgeon ; slave ; smog ; ; Space Academy ; spaceship ; sparrow ; special ; sports ; standard orbit ; star ; star sector ; Starfleet regulations ; starship ; strongman ; sun worship ; survey vessel ; sword ; System 892 ; television ; test ; torture ; transmission beam ; treason ; tricorder ; video ; Vulcan ; Vulcan neck pinch ; wine ; World War I ; World War II ; World War III