You were right, Varinia.
Vengeance alone is not enough.
To become like your enemy is to lose to him.
But what's important isn't our living or our dying
but this new thing we've created, however briefly.
A world without slaves.
And if you die, who will tell that story?
Live so that I will live.
So that we will live on.
So that it won't be wasted or forgotten.
Did you see the look he gave you, Varinia?
I didn't.
And even if I had, I wouldn't care.
What sort of look?
What look, you? What look?
- Ow!
- What look?! - Varinia!
Hyah!
No!
I made a promise once to tell our story.
It began here in a small village in Gaul where I was born a free woman.
Then the Romans came and destroyed my world and made me a slave.
Nothing and no one could stand against the Romans.
But Rome herself was torn by conflict.
Bloody civil wars raged for years
between the plebeians and their rivals, the patricians,
led by senators like Marcus Crassus, the richest man in the world.
As a child, he had seen his father murdered in the Forum.
Crassus had risen from the ashes of his family's defeat
to unlimited wealth and unlimited ambition.
Ambition kept in check only by his rivals, like Antonius Agrippa.
The civil wars were over. Men smiled at one another in public.
But the fighting never stopped.
Agrippa. Fishing for votes?
No, just enjoying our democratic way of life.
A new wine. From Spain.
Delicious. But I like your cupbearer better.
Any news from Spain?
- A great victory by Pompey. - Another?
The man is positively boring in his triumphs.
I shall console myself with the way Crassus must feel.
Pompey's no great warrior.
I heard he's got so fat on the riches of his triumphs he can barely ride his horse.
Disparage Pompey all you like but the man gets the job done.
Victory over vermin-ridden Gaulish peasants is hardly the mark of military distinction.
They say he will be consul.
This grape...
...is not to my satisfaction. More wine.
I think I'm going to borrow your wife, Cornelius.
The wealth of a man like Crassus could be seen in gold or silver
but its true measure was in flesh.
Thousands of slaves.
They lived out their short lives in a world of suffering
at the whim of their masters.
No Roman citizen gave them a second thought.
Over there.
Greetings, citizens.
Today we offer a group of barbarians from Gaul,
courtesy of the great Pompey.
Ahoy, Batiatus. What brings you up from Capua?
The same thing as you, I would imagine.
My stock needs freshening.
Although how a modest man from the country can bid against a senator...
- I might as well go home. - A modest man from the country?
Yours is widely known as the finest gladiatorial school in all Italy.
- You flatter me. - No, not in the least.
Look at this beauty. And a virgin.
A virgin. Given the appetite of our frontier troops, I rather doubt that.
Being a virgin is overrated.
It's just an excuse to inflate the price.
Good teeth.
Wide hips. And an excellent breeder.
Magnificent.
She's easy on the eye, I'll grant you,
but these Gauls have thin blood.
They rarely last the winter. It would be throwing money away.
Why, Batiatus, are you in love?
Don't worry, my friend. I won't bid against you.
Oh, you're too kind, Senator.
- Though I may need a favor someday. - Oh... Of course. Of course.
500 sesterces!
Done!
How can the Senate choose Pompey over you as the next consul?
It would be a close vote.
I bought you a gift.
It's beautiful.
- You are too generous. - Am I?
I suppose I might be.
ln the arms of the richest man in Rome
- and her husband's best friend... - Show me.
... Helena might be forgiven her ignorance of the origin of that bracelet, its true cost.
What is hell?
Hell is that place where the simplest action becomes painful.
- Where it hurts to walk... - Move it!
... to breathe, even to think.
The gold mines of Egypt were such a hell.
Among the Thracian slaves condemned to an early death
there was one who would shake the Roman world.
His name - Spartacus.
Pick it up!
No!
Stop!
So he's a Thracian, yes?
Worse. He's an animal.
Good. That's even better.
This is your lucky day, Thracian.
What kind of a place is this?
Hah! Hah!
Move!
Fresh meat!
Shut your hole! Get back to work.
You stink, animals. Clean yourselves.
This way.
I want all these chopped into thin slices. I would not serve this to a dog!
I could get used to this.
I am Gannicus. This is Spartacus.
David the Jew. He never talks. Some say he can't.
You're Thracians?
- The crowd likes Thracians. - Be quiet, Nordo. Eat.
Didn't get your name, friend.
You are not my friend. I don't want to know your name or your story.
Why not?
Because I might meet you in the arena, and then I will kill you.
Why wait?
You'll get plenty of chances to fight.
Save it for when you have no choice. Eat.
You must be the new Thracians.
I can always tell Thracians. You stink like pigs.
- You must be Crixus. - You've heard of me.
Who hasn't? "Crixus of the big nose." I'm not surprised you could smell us.
Enough!
To your cells! Now!
Well, move, slaves!
You, Spartacus.
Where did you learn to fight?
When a Roman asks you a question, you answer, slave.
Fighting Romans.
Good day to you, Crassus.
Crassus. what a pleasant surprise.
I had no idea you still partook of such common pleasures as our public baths.
I do not disdain the public.
Ah. You love mankind. It's only people you can't stand.
Now, why is it that those who are most in favor of mob rule
stand most to benefit from the public's greed and stupidity?
Why is it that the rich are always so keen on reform
after they've made their fortune and not before?
The republic was a fine form of government when Rome was a backwater city state.
Times have changed. Rome rules the world now.
And one man with a strong vision must rule Rome.
So power... should be wielded by whom?
The educated? The wealthy? The aristocrat? By Crassus?
Or by Pompey?
Well, Plato did say that leadership must be left to the educated.
That leaves Pompey out. Julius Caesar, you mean.
You've heard what they say about him?
"Every woman's man and every man's woman."
But you're right, Pompey overreaches.
If he's not careful, his head will be found hanging in the Forum
just like that of your father and your brother.
Was it something I said?
This... is the Roman short sword,
the gladius, from which you get your names.
22 inches long. Three pounds in weight.
A stabbing weapon for close work.
You kill a man with this and you can smell his sweat,
taste his breath.
But you sons of whores are not worthy of fighting with the gladius yet.
So you will use these wooden swords
while I teach you.
You, slave.
Pick it up.
Come at me.
Again.
Too slow, slave. Pick it up.
Too slow.
Cinna!
So what do you think of our Thracian slaves? Good, huh?
They have spirit but no real talent.
I see. So you think they're just lucky?
And Cinna,
this boy was very expensive.
Don't damage my property.
Enough! Go! Bring her.
Come.
Come here.
Very good.
Better.
Come.
Let me smell your hair.
Oh...
- You know...
...I can be a very good master.
Oh, yes. Now, now... now.
- Now, kiss me. - No!
No! No!
Hold her!
- No! No!
Hey, Spartacus.
- How's your nose? - You got lucky.
- Do I have to break it again?
- So where did you fight Romans? - Thrace.
- You? - Gaul, where I was caught.
Then later in Sicily where slaves rebelled.
- You rebelled? - Two times.
The Romans, they were terrified of us. They still are.
Now they kill a man just for talking about it.
Why did it fail?
Fighting Romans is like fighting a grist mill.
The stone keeps on turning.
No matter how many times you attack it, in the end it grinds you down to dust.
Faster!
Put your backs into it, you sons of whores!
Why do Africans use the spear and net?
It amuses the Romans to turn us into fishermen.
I was a farmer. I never saw a net until I came here.
Nordo, this man is trouble. Leave him be.
Draba, they ever pit the knife against the spear?
The spear always wins.
Enough talking! Back to work.
Well, move, you scum!
Put your body behind the blow!
Good, Draba! Push him back.
Faster!
Harder! Are you men or are you women?
Tomorrow some of you have the honor
of fighting in the arena in Capua.
Nothing matters but that you fight well and with courage.
Do this and even the defeated may receive mercy.
However, if that is not your fate
then the crowd will expect you to meet your death honorably,
in the Roman manner, like this.
Spartacus... kneel.
A defeated gladiator may beg for mercy
by raising his hand thus.
The death blow is delivered in a single thrust to the neck...
here.
That is how a gladiator from the house of Batiatus dies.
What's the matter, Thracian? Lost your appetite? Eat! Drink!
- Tomorrow we die. - I'm not dying tomorrow.
The gods decide when we die.
- I don't believe in the gods. - You don't believe in the gods?
When I look at the heavens I see only stars.
Blasphemer! You could be struck down for that.
No bolt of lightning.
- So what do you believe in? - Us.
Our will. we decide when we die and how.
Eat anyway. You'll need your strength for tonight.
- What happens tonight? - War, little Thracian.
- Sweet war!
Quiet! Sit down!
A little wisdom.
A man is no good in the arena if his parts shrivel up.
- He is a man. - Yeah!
And a man needs a woman.
Quiet, quiet.
For those of you who fight tomorrow,
I graciously lend you these lovelies.
Use them well.
And in the morning, show me what men you are! Cinna!
This is yours.
Idiot! David doesn't fight tomorrow.
Crixus.
You like to play rough, Thracian. Here.
Batiatus asks that she be made more pliant.
See to it.
Come here, woman!
I'm Spartacus.
What are you called?
You look cold. Here.
The stones are cold at night.
You sleep there. I won't bother you.
- Wake up, you sons of whores!
Line up by the doors!
Get a move on down there!
My name is Varinia.
Varinia.
Come on, out.
Today you are expected to bring honor to the house of Batiatus.
Fail to do so and you will curse the day you were born.
- Where are they going? - Capua.
They fight today.
The Thracian, the one they call Spartacus. Is he any good?
Couldn't say. He's different, though.
How?
All the gladiators here are strong men. Brave.
But they are still slaves. They accept it. Not him.
He will not last long.
You were with him last night?
Yes and no.
You, girl! Come here!
You will attend me at the games
but if you give me any trouble,
I promise that our previous encounter will feel like a mother's caress.
Now, go and get yourself cleaned up.
Line up!
I appreciate your contribution to my games, Batiatus.
Few people understand the financial burden I'm expected to shoulder
while on duty in these dreary provinces.
Thank you. And I appreciate the loan of your troops.
Security at an establishment like mine does not come cheaply either.
One hand washes the other.
Of course. More wine!
A perfectly ripened pear.
- Although somewhat bruised. - A problem with discipline.
But we're working on it. Aren't we?
Yes, my Lord.
- On the crosses - who are they? - Arsonists.
They wear the tunica molesta, soaked in pitch.
Change your mind about the gods?
If there are gods in this world, they're not here.
Burn! Burn! Burn! Burn!
- Crixus...
...versus Gaius.
- Gannicus...
...versus Antonius.
- Spartacus...
- Versus Commodus.
This new gladiator, Spartacus. Is he really a Thracian
or are you still passing off Greeks?
He's the real thing, through and through.
- Any good? - Cinna thinks the world of him.
- Don't you, Cinna? - Very well. A thousand on Spartacus.
Let's see some killing!
Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!
Are you hurt?
I thought in the mines I'd seen man at his worst.
I was wrong.
- A slave has no choice. - Not me.
The ones who watched, took their pleasure in blood and death.
Well, move, slaves!
Harder! Faster! Put your back to it!
Can't you lay with me, Spartacus?
- Is it because Cinna ordered it? - Because Cinna ordered it.
And because Thracian men and women are to remain chaste until married.
- Slaves don't marry. - I would marry you.
Marriage requires a holy man. I thought you didn't believe in the gods.
I believe in what I can see, hear and touch.
My tribe believes man was created by the gods.
- That they live in us. - We're flesh and blood, that's all.
That is what an animal is. The Romans say that we are animals.
That we are without souls.
But you are afraid to say that you agree with the Romans.
I believe that I never met anyone like you, Varinia of Gaul...
and that I love you.
Will you marry me?
On what, then, would you make a vow?
On the blood that flows through my veins and the breath I take,
I will be yours until the day I die,
and in my life there'll be no other but you, I swear.
On the blood that flows in my veins and the breath I take,
- I will be yours... - Until the...
Until the day I die.
And in the life beyond.
- How do you know there is a life beyond? - I have faith.
There will be no other man but you.
I swear.
Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!
Spartacus! Spartacus! Spartacus!
Master. we have visitors, Master, from Rome.
Cornelius Lucius and his wife, Helena. And Marcus Crassus.
Marcus Crassus is here, and you left him waiting outside?
Oh! Noble Crassus. You do me a great honor, sir.
I am Lentulus Batiatus. Please, sit.
I and my establishment are here to serve you.
Some... Some wine to wash away the dust,
and some honeyed ice, perhaps?
Yes?
- How may I serve you? - My friends and I would appreciate
a private showing of a pair of Thracians.
Excellent choice. Your Honor is obviously a connoisseur.
- To the death. - To the death?
That's an unusual request for a private showing.
I see that's you're joking. That's very good. That's very amusing.
I am not laughing.
Of course you're not. Well, you've asked for Thracians.
That means that you must want good dagger work.
And I have the best in the world.
But if you want to the death, you won't see nuance,
and you won't see subtlety.
Certainly won't see quality. Madam.
I'm not a butcher, sir, I am an artist.
- Yes. - I want to give you good fighting.
Good fighting. And to the death.
I want to see courage.
I want to see passion.
And above all, I want to see finality.
But to the death will cost you.
- 25,000 denarii. - You could buy an elephant for that.
Done.
And I want no fakery.
No sucking the sand and pretending that they're dying.
If one of them is down, or if both of them are down,
I want one of your trainers to cut their throats.
And they are to understand that.
Now, I shall leave 10,000 on account,
and the rest when we have been satisfied.
Note the Africans.
Theirs is the finest combat and the most skillful but it can be a bore.
It can go on and on.
To see fighting at its best you must see Thracians.
- Don't you agree, slave master? - Yes, but each kind has its own virtues.
Change of plan.
Match me a Thracian against a black.
With all due respect, my Lord, that is no match.
When a Thracian's dagger is in the net, he's finished.
Yes, perhaps. But the Africans are not noted for their strategic thinking.
Hannibal, of course, being the exception.
I want to see how long a mentally superior
but lesser armed man can last.
My Lord, that sort of experimentation makes for bad blood with the men.
Well, for 25,000 denarii I think you can afford to incur a little bad blood.
Begin!
Order!
What is it? what is it?
A private fight.
- Who do you want? - Draba.
Draba!
- And David. - David!
Now, he's a Jew, yes?
Yes, I know you wanted a Thracian...
No, no, no. This is interesting.
Ever seen a Jew fight? Exceptional with the dagger
and reputed to be very bright, as well.
- Who else? - Er...
Spartacus...
and Polymus.
Polymus... Spartacus.
Spartacus?
How do you like them?
All - except that one.
I don't like him.
Forgive me, lady, but that man has been in the ring 12 times.
He's very good, very strong, very quick.
- Who will you match him with? - The African.
- What are you doing? - Praying.
How do you pray?
I can show you.
Will you do something for me?
Something that we do in our tribe?
Put your mouth on mine and breathe your soul into me,
and I'll breathe mine into you.
And then for all time our souls will be one.
One soul in two bodies.
I will come back to you.
If you don't, I will kill you myself.
You have to save your strength for tomorrow.
I am full of strength.
Dagger against net and trident. What kind of match is that?
Time.
Time!
What are they thinking, I wonder?
Gladiators are animals, pure and simple.
If one thinks of them as people, one loses all perspective.
Is it true what they say about the Jews? How they mutilate their boys?
Would you like to see?
Bring me the Jew before he fights.
Bring the Jew here.
The rest of you, to the House of Expectation.
Unclothe.
They do that to their children?
How beastly.
Perhaps that explains their skill with the knife.
- I want the Jew to fight first. - Of course, sir.
- Strike! - Kill him! Kill him!
- Kill him. - Kill him, Jew!
Why doesn't he kill him?
Kill him!
Why didn't he finish him?
Don't expect mercy from me out there, Thracian.
Live, Draba.
That's what life is for.
If the gods love you...
you die in childhood.
That was extraordinary.
If the second pair is as good as the first, then I shall be well pleased.
Strike!
Kill him! Kill him!
Strike now!
Stop him!
Why didn't he kill me?
If he kills me, he lives.
If he turns on the Romans, he dies.
He chooses to die.
Who chooses to die?
Maybe rather than live as a beast,
Draba chose to die as a man.
Father!
It was just a dream.
No.
I slept until now.
Now I wake.
Move, you dogs!
March! I said move!
Move!
Move, you scum!
Is it true that Draba didn't kill any of the Romans?
If a man must throw his life away, he could die better than that.
Will you die any better?
He will die like a dog and so will you. So will we all.
Are you my friend, Crixus?
- Was Draba your friend? - Yes. And my teacher.
- Did he teach you how to die? - He taught me how to live.
I feed you the best food. I give you women.
You live here like kings in idleness on the fat of the land.
And all I expect is your loyalty and obedience.
And what do I get in return?
Treachery.
Cinna, fetch me a black man.
Kill him.
Now there will be no more trouble. The dogs won't even growl.
Move it, move it, you cows!
Move, slaves!
Are we dogs that you snap your whips at us?
- Spartacus! Prepare to die! - Cinna!
What the hell is going on out there?
There's too many!
- You taught me well, Cinna.
Quiet!
Let him speak!
Quiet! Listen to Spartacus!
Like you, I've been alone my whole life.
We could never look into each other's eyes.
Living like animals!
Here is the lesson of Draba.
I will be a man.
My life is my brother's.
Live to fight the Romans!
Smash the gates!
Master! The gladiators! They have revolted!
Don't just stand there like a drooling idiot. Help me!
Field formation!
Go get my litter. we have to get to Capua.
To the garrison. Go!
To victory!
Free men and women, listen to me! We must get ready.
Nordo, can you open the armory?
- If I have to break the door with my teeth. - Spartacus, look.
David, go.
Go. Talk to them.
What do you want me to say?
Invite our brothers to join us.
- Gifts! I bring gifts!
Freedom for you and your children! Come, join us!
Freedom for you! Join us!
Spartacus always said that you would speak some day.
David, Varinia.
- Come. - You'll tell me later.
There's one more thing I need to do.
Maecenus! Maecenus!
Oh, thank you, thank you. You've got to stop them.
- Where is that slave scum headed? - In the hills to the south of here.
There's a lot of valuable property. You must save something!
Too late for that. Double time! March!
Please.
- Come on. Let's go. - Look at them.
They're so arrogant, they've lost their formation.
So?
So if attacked, they'd have to fight, man to man.
And who fights better man to man than gladiators, huh?
Crixus, Nordo...
We have guests.
Should we not greet them?
Retreat!
Apparently there has been an uprising of gladiators in Capua.
The entire garrison has been slain
and the slaves have taken to the hills, where their revolt spreads.
This is what I am talking about. This is why we need strong leadership.
I propose that we send the city cohorts to crush this rebellion immediately.
The entire garrison of Rome?
Are you out of your mind? To fight slaves?
How many of these dangerous creatures are there? who are they led by?
It is a job for an overseer and a pack of dogs.
They massacred the entire Capua garrison.
The garrison at Capua...
Forgive my bluntness, but an effete band of pretend soldiers.
A slave rebellion is never a simple affair. we all remember Sicily.
Twice the slaves attacked.
The second time, they seized the entire island for over a year!
This particular revolt is taking place
a mere 100 miles from where we now sit and squabble.
Are you suggesting that we recall a legion from the frontier?
- Pompey, perhaps? - And wait weeks for him?
Will the slaves wait? I don't think so.
We must deal with this matter promptly before it gets out of hand.
But the entire city cohorts?
Three. Three full cohorts.
Under whose command?
I realize that it is not customary for a man to put his own name forward.
Then please do not break precedent.
I was about to suggest that the cohorts be sent
under the able command of Titus Glabrus.
My Lord, I hardly know what to say.
Thank you for your confidence in me.
If it is the will of the Senate and the people of Rome, then I accept.
If it is indeed the will of the Senate,
then, Titus Glabrus, go with our blessings.
Fall upon this rabble with all the weight and majesty of Roman law.
We will march across the world and turn it over, stone by stone!
Look at them.
They think the war is all won. It hasn't even started.
How are we going to feed them or clothe them,
much less train them to fight the Roman Empire?
By teaching them to share the burden.
Like free men.
Why did you propose Glabrus? He's as thick as he is vain.
- But politically dependable. - Why didn't you put yourself forward?
Agrippa would have blocked me out of spite.
Besides, there's little honor in defeating slaves
and terrible shame if one fails.
If Glabrus succeeds,
well, a minor rebellion is put down and he owes me a favor.
If he fails, the whole city will be panicked.
And the Senate will embrace a more permanent system of leadership.
Fear isn't a bad thing, Caius.
It makes for a more malleable electorate.
Crassus says he wants to be consul
in order to restore the former glory of Rome.
But really he wants to transform the consul into a more permanent position. Emperor.
The day that Crassus becomes consul
is the day the Roman republic dies.
The time has come to make some decisions.
- We must leave? - And go where?
- I want to go home. - Everywhere is the same as here.
Everywhere it is master and slave.
I go where I go. No man tells Crixus what to do anymore.
Come down, Crixus.
This is Crixus the Gaul.
- Maybe the strongest man among us.
But still, he's only one man.
Can you bend this?
Now all of these.
We are like the arrows.
Separately, we're weak.
But together, we're invincible.
And that's why the Romans worked so hard to divide us tribe by tribe.
- We're one tribe, then? - Yes!
- Is that your will? - Yes!
Who will lead us?
Stand up if you want to lead.
Spartacus.
Spartacus! Spartacus! Spartacus!
If that is your wish.
But so one man doesn't become a tyrant, we need laws.
- What are they? - Whatever we take we hold together.
No man owns anything but his own weapon.
- We could be rich with the gold we take. - We'll make the Romans our slaves!
- Yeah! - I will not be a slave owner!
Slavery is an evil.
An evil that turns all men slaves and slave masters into animals.
There will be equality and justice between man and woman.
- We're one tribe, then? - Yes.
- One people? - Yes!
Is that your will?
It is my will.
Then this is what we'll do.
We'll go from plantation to plantation, from house to house,
free the slaves, and fight anyone who tries to stop us.
And we'll make an end to Rome and build a new world
where there'll be no more slaves and no more masters!
- What is going on up there? - Some plantation is burning the stubble.
There's too much smoke for that.
- Then there's a forest fire or something. - Tell them to go faster.
- Helena! - Faster!
Why are you stopping? What is the meaning of this?
Whoever you are, you are blocking the path of a citizen of Rome.
Move out of the way.
Pick up your litters!
- Pick up your litters!
Glabrus wishes us to know that while he has not yet encountered the brigands,
evidence of their atrocities is everywhere.
"we have heard that any slave who does not join their ranks is put to the sword
"and any Roman unfortunate enough to encounter them
"meets a fate worse than death.
"It is with great regret that I report the murders of numerous nobles,
"including Cornelius Lucius and his wife Helena."
Helena and Cornelius Lucius?
- Are you sure? - That is what it says.
"The rebels' leader is Spartacus, a gladiator from Thrace.
"He has led them to Mount Vesuvius.
"It is there that I intend to trap and dispose of them.
"Rest assured, I am mindful that I carry in my hands
"the glory and majesty that is Rome.
"Titus Glabrus."
- So we're to be equals, are we? - Does that trouble you?
Well, I'll do what I can to raise myself but I make no promises.
You'd better. A child needs a father it can look up to.
- A child? we're going to have a child?
The slave army is climbing the north wall of the mountain, my Lord.
A little less liberal use of the term "army".
- Sorry, my Lord. - We'll camp here for tonight.
Why don't we push on, my Lord?
Cut off the slaves before the mountains?
It's cold, I'm tired and I'm hungry. We'll camp here.
I like it. It's light but it's strong.
Spartacus, we need to talk.
This is a war council. What's a woman doing here?
She has every right.
Do women lead you? Is that why Jews live under the Romans?
What's the excuse of the Gauls?
David has news for us.
Three cohorts of Roman soldiers are on the road below us.
We're trapped. They're so confident, they haven't built a stockade.
1500 men.
I knew it. I knew this would happen, Thracian, but you insisted.
"The people are tired. They need rest."
Well, the dead rest forever.
You must have known they would follow us. How do we get off this mountain?
What's your plan?
- I don't have one. - You don't have a plan?
From the moment I stood up in the training yard, I've only thought of the next move.
- You must have an idea. - Why must I?
I'm no different from any of you. Isn't that the point? That we're all equal?
- Yes, but... - So one of you figure it out!
He'll be fine.
- They chose you as their leader. - I didn't ask for that.
But you didn't decline it either.
And why should you? You're the only possible choice.
- But now the time to lead has come. - When I was alone,
all I had to lose was my own life.
Now I have the lives of hundreds.
Your life.
Our child's.
- I have faith that you'll find the answer. - Where?
- Within the soul you say I have? - Yes.
You may not have chosen this moment, Spartacus.
But it seems that this moment has chosen you.
My Lord, have you given the troops permission to camp
without building fortifications?
The men are tired and I am tired.
When a Roman army bivouacs it is customary to build a fort.
It's just a handful of rotten slaves facing the same conditions we are.
With women and children and a tenth of our equipment.
A little while ago some of you were asking me if I had a plan.
And the plan is this. we will attack first.
David, hold your men outside the camp until you hear my cry,
and then charge in like the dogs of hell.
If these don't hold, I'll kill you myself.
If these don't hold, you won't have to kill me. We'll all be dead.
Come on.
You can tell us now.
You are safe here.
I was asleep.
I woke up to screaming.
The sound of screaming.
I was screaming.
Their men were everywhere, like ravenous beasts.
And their women followed, feeding like harpies on the wounded.
The killing went on and on.
Our men began to throw down their weapons and plead for their lives
but there was no mercy.
- How is it that you were spared? - I don't know why they chose me, my Lord.
All I know is, I was brought before their leader.
My name is Spartacus. I have a message for your Senate.
Tell them that we, the slaves, say the Roman way is corrupt and dead.
We want nothing from you. Leave us alone.
But if you come after us again, we will destroy you all.
By all that Rome holds sacred,
I will see her honor restored.
I will not rest...
until this Spartacus...
hangs, crucified, at the gates of Rome.