Crixus

**Crixus** is a major character in the first , second and third seasons of ***Spartacus***. He was a Gallic warrior and later Gladiator who in 73 BC, became one of Spartacus' generals during the Third Servile War. He became the leader of his own army which split from Spartacus' and later died in a battle near the Garganus mountains in 72 BC.

## Background

### Third Servile War

Crixus was born a member of the Allobroges, a tribe in Gaul, the son of Eviscus and the brother of Doiros. They fought against the Arverni, and later the Romans. Crixus and Doiros were both taken into slavery after the battle and their father and mother were killed.

After being taken to Italy, Crixus was sold to the lanista Lentulus Batiatus and trained as gladiators in Capua, while his brother was sent to Lucania, eventually becoming a pastors and tending his masters lands. Crixus would become a renowned gladiator in the city of Capua. Crixus became a successful Gladiator, winning many battles and becoming a champion of the city in the arena. When Spartacus was brought to the ludus in 75 BC, Crixus quickly became his ally and friend. In the beginning of 73 BC, he agreed with Spartacus to break out of Batiatus' ludus. Using cooking knives and spits, the fought their way out, killing the guards. However many gladiators died, going from around 200 to 78 in one night.

Now that the rebellion had officially begun, Crixus took command of the gauls, leading them on countless raids as they travelled south towards Mount Vesuvius.

#### Battle of Mount Vesuvius

Crixus was one of the first rebels to climb down vesuvius towards Glaber's camp.

#### Battle of Mount Garganus

Crixus was killed during the battle, and he was most likely beheaded once his body was recovered from the battlefield. His head would serve as a weapon against Spartacus and the morale of his men.

## Appearance

Crixus was a tall, muscular man with skin bearing the toils of past battles. When he first arrived at the Ludus of Batiatus, he had long, blonde hair and a thick beard. As a gladiator, Crixus had shortened hair.

During the start of the rebellion, Crixus no longer trained to the same extent as he once did, and lost some of his previous muscle mass. However, he still remained a formidable warrior.

He regrew his beard and long hair during the rebellion, and regained the original build he had when he was a gladiator. He wore a unique set of makeshift armour that allowed him to stand out as a commander and used a sword and a shield as his weapons.

## Personality

Being raised in Gaul, Crixus had a typical bloodthirsty and violent attitude. However he enjoyed the moments of victory he gained in combat. Away from battle, Crixus was rather boisterous and jovial

He was certainly opposite from Spartacus, wanting to remain and plunder Italy, believing himself a strong and capable leader. Crixus was much more arrogant and impulsive as a leader than Spartacus was and a power-struggle between the two came into play.

## Traits and Skills

* **Combat skill**: Crixus was often bloodthirsty, both as a gladiator and a leader of the rebellion. He was a member of the Allobroges tribe, descended from a long line of warriors. He was inferior to other warriors in his tribe dispite helping them win victory over the Arverni, he would have been seen no more than a common brute. Despite being a typical Gaul in nature, he was a fast learner, growing in fighting prowess as a gladiator and soon began to outclass most of the other gladiators. Crixus relied on brute force and more grounded attacks as opposed to others, such as Spartacus and Gannicus, who rely more on nimble movements that often elevated them above their enemies. Nevertheless he did not lack in athlethecism. Coupled with a fighters instinct, his brute force and his incredibly lack of fear, Crixus was a representation of what a warrior truly was.

* **Bilingual**: Other than his native tongue, Gaulish, Crixus was also fluent in Latin, which he used to communicate with Spartacus and many other rebels. He knew many words and phrases in other languages including Greek, Iberian and Germanic.