Spartacus: Blood and Sand

**Written by:** | Aaron Helbing
Todd Helbing
Miranda Kwok
Steven S. DeKnight
Brent Fletcher
Tracy Bellomo
Andrew Chambliss
 **Main Cast:** | Andy Whitfield
Liam McIntyre
Lucy Lawless
Manu Bennett
Daniel Feuerriegel
Katrina Law
Peter Mensah
Todd Lasance
Viva Bianca
Dustin Clare
Lesley-Ann Brandt
Jai Courtney
Craig Parker

Betrayed by the Romans, forced into slavery, reborn as a Gladiator. The classic tale of the Republic's most infamous rebel comes alive in the graphic and visceral new series Spartacus: Blood and Sand. Torn from his homeland and the woman he loves, Spartacus is condemned to the brutal world of the arena where blood and death are primetime entertainment. But not all battles are fought upon the sands. Treachery, corruption, and the allure of sensual pleasures will constantly test Spartacus. To survive, he must become more than a man, more than a gladiator. He must become a legend.

## Summary

The story begins with an unnamed Thracian's involvement in a campaign against the Getae (In what today is Romania) under the command of the legatus, Claudius Glaber. In 72–71 BC, Roman general Marcus Terentius, proconsul of the Roman province of Macedonia, marched against the Getae, allies of Rome's enemy, Mithridates VI of Pontus. The Getae frequently raid the Thracians' lands to the south, so the Thracians are persuaded by Glaber to enlist in the Romans' service as auxiliaries. Glaber, persuaded by his wife Ilithyia to seek greater glory, decides to break off the Getae campaign in order to confront the forces of Mithridates in Asia Minor. The Thracian preferring to protect his homeland as promised, feels betrayed and leads a mutiny against Glaber, but returns to find his village in flames. The Thracian finds his wife Sura, but they are captured by a vengeful Glaber the next day; the Thracian is condemned to die in the gladiator arena, while Sura is condemned to slavery.

The Thracian is shipped to Capua in Italy, a center of gladiator training. Against all odds he slays the four gladiators appointed to execute him in the arena and becomes an instant sensation with the crowd. Senator Albinius commutes the punishment from death to slavery. The prisoner's true name unknown, Lentulus Batiatus, the owner of a ludus in Capua, suggests the name "Spartacus" because he fought like the ferocious Thracian king of that name. Noting well the Thracian's fierce raw talent and popularity with the masses, Batiatus purchases him for training within the walls of his ludus under the tutelage of the *Doctore* (or instructor) Oenomaus, a former gladiator and fellow slave. He is befriended by Varro, a Roman who sold himself into slavery to pay his debts and support his family. He is harassed by more senior gladiators, notably Crixus, an undefeated Gaul, and Barca, a Carthaginian. Spartacus soon learns that Sura was sold to a Syrian slave trader. Batiatus, who has been unable to control Spartacus during his first days of training, returns a makeshift garter of hers, and promises to find Sura and reunite them in exchange for his cooperation in the arena.

## Characters

**Main Characters**

* Spartacus – a Thracian warrior who is condemned to slavery as a gladiator.
* Crixus – a Gaul, he is Batiatus' top gladiator. Naevia's lover.
* Lucretia – Batiatus' wife, and soon suffered at the hands of her former lover Crixus.
* Ilithyia – Daughter of a Senator, & Glaber's wife, and forced to stay at Capua by Spartacus' rebellion.
* Gaius Claudius Glaber – Ilithyia's husband and a praetor. Responsible for Spartacus' enslavement.
* Agron -a new German gladiator recruit who helps Spartacus plot his uprising.
* Mira – a slave girl sent to seduce Spartacus and become his lover, under threat of death.
* Doctore – an African slave who serves as trainer of Batiatus' gladiators.
* Julius Caesar – a young but seasoned soldier from a rich family who is enlisted to stop the rebel camp.

* Gannicus – a Celtic gladiator who is the champion of the Batiatus' ludus.
* Varro – a Roman citizen who sold himself to the ludus to support his family.
* Naevia – Lucretia's loyal body slave. She becomes Crixus' lover.
* Ashur – Former gladiator from Syria whose leg was crippled in the arena by Crixus.

**Recurring Characters**

* Barca – nicknamed the "Beast of Carthage", he is one of Batiatus' most successful gladiators.
* Pietros – Barca's younger gay lover and partner.
* Sura – Spartacus' wife.
* Aurelia – Varro's wife.
* Melitta – Lucretia's body slave and the wife of Oenomaus.

## Spartacus Episode Guide

Kill Them All
Revelations
Old Wounds
Party Favors
Whore
Mark of the Brotherhood
Great and Unfortunate Things
Delicate Things
Shadow Games
The Thing in the Pit
Legends
Sacramentum Gladiatorum
The Red Serpent
The Bitter End
Reckoning
Beneath the Mask
Paterfamilias
Missio
Past Transgressions

Wrath of the Gods
Monsters
Balance
Sacramentum
Chosen Path
Libertus
Empty Hands
The Greater Good
A Place in This World
Fugitivus
Victory
The Dead and the Dying
Separate Paths
Mors Indecepta
Spoils of War
Blood Brothers
Decimation
Men of Honor
Wolves at the Gate
Enemies of Rome

## Cast

* Andy Whitfield as Spartacus
* Liam McIntyre as Spartacus
* Manu Bennett as Crixus
* Lucy Lawless as Lucretia
* Daniel Feuerriegel as Agron
* Katrina Law as Mira
* Jai Courtney as Varro
* Todd Lasance as Julius Caesar
* Viva Bianca as Ilithyia
* Dustin Clare as Gannicus
* Lesley-Ann Brandt as Naevia
* Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Naevia
* Craig Parker as Gaius Claudius Glaber
* Nick E. Tarabay as Ashur
* Antonio Te Maioha as Barca
* Eka Darville as Pietros
* Erin Cummings as Sura
* Brooke Williams as Aurelia
* Marisa Ramirez as Melitta

## Notes

* Craig Parker, Lucy Lawless and Manu Bennett all appear on Xena: Warrior Princess and *Spartacus: Blood and Sand*.
* Two books were released, relating to the show.
	+ Spartacus: Swords & Ashes by J.M. Clements - January 3, 2012
	+ Spartacus: Morituri by Mark Morris