In the last century before the birth of the new faith called Christianity...
which was destined to overthrow the pagan tyranny of Rome and bring about a new society...
the Roman Republic stood at the very centre of the civilised world.
"Of all things fairest," sang the poet...
"first among cities and home of the gods is golden Rome. "
Yet, even at the zenith of her pride and power...
the Republic lay fatally stricken with a disease called... human slavery.
The age of the dictator was at hand...
waiting in the shadows for the event to bring it forth.
In that same century...
in the conquered Greek province of Thrace...
an illiterate slave woman added to her master's wealth...
by giving birth to a son whom she named Spartacus.
A proud, rebellious son...
who was sold to living death in the mines of Libya...
before his thirteenth birthday.
There, under whip and chain and sun...
he lived out his youth and his young manhood...
dreaming the death of slavery 2,000 years before it finally would die.
Back to work!
Get up, Spartacus, you Thracian dog!
Come on, get up! Aaah!
My ankle, my ankle!
My ankle!
Guard, guard.
Spartacus again? Well, this time he dies.
Back to work, all of you.
- Welcome, Lentulus Batiatus. - Welcome, indeed, my dear captain.
Oh, eleven miles through this disastrous heat...
and the cost of hiring an escort... ruinous.
Even so, I warrant you have nothing fit to sell me.
I've wasted my time and my money.
- Tell me the truth. - We have a few you might be interested in.
These? Carrion!
The buzzards are late.
This one's not bad. He's a Gaul.
I don't like Gauls. Hairy.
Can he come down unassisted?
[Captain] Come down, you!
Come down!
- Be good enough to show me the... teeth. - Open your mouth!
Thank you.
Yes... as the teeth go, so go the bones.
This mouth is really impermissible.
- The fellow's made of chalk. - We have many others!
The sun's over there. I have to pay these people.
- Who's that? - This one's a Thracian.
- I'm making an example of him. - How?
Starve him to death. It's the only thing impresses slaves.
What a pity.
He reacts. Good muscle tone.
Can I see his teeth?
Open your mouth, Spartacus!
You smell like a rhinoceros.
Captain, you asked him to open his mouth.
- He doesn't obey you? - His teeth are the best thing about him.
- He hamstrung a guard with them not more than an hour ago. - Marvellous!
I wish I'd been here. I'll take him.
Let's look at some of the others.
Come along!
In spite of sickness and death...
we will profit 11,000 sesterces!
Including your commission, of course.
Oh, no, sir. Without my commission.
Marcellus, there they are.
They're a dirty-looking lot, but the best I could find.
No one else could have made so fine a choice.
[Whistle]
[Batiatus] Slaves...
you have arrived at the gladiatorial school of Lentulus Batiatus.
You'll be trained by experts to fight in pairs to the death.
You won't fight to the death here.
That will be after you've been sold...
and then for ladies and gentlemen of quality...
for those who appreciate a fine kill.
A gladiator's like a stallion:
He must be pampered.
You'll be oiled, bathed...
shaved, massaged, taught to use your heads.
A good body with a dull brain...
is as cheap as life itself!
You'll be given your ceremonial caudas.
Marcellus, please. There.
Be proud of them.
On special occasions, those who please me...
will even be given the companionship of a young lady.
Approximately half our graduates...
live for five, ten, ten years.
Some even attain freedom...
and become trainers themselves. Marcellus.
I congratulate you.
And may fortune smile on most of you.
[Whistle]
Marcellus, watch the second from the right.
He's a Thracian. They were going to kill him for hamstringing a guard.
- We'll break him of that. - Don't overdue it. He has quality.
Aaah!
Next.
Aaah!
Next.
[Groan]
I like you.
I want you to be my friend.
I want to be your friend.
All I ask is that you get along with me.
What's your name, slave?
Spartacus.
I feel you don't like me.
Give him your sword.
Take it!
I have a feeling you want to kill me.
This is the only chance you'll ever get.
Kill me!
Don't be afraid, slave.
You have that sword.
I only have this piece of wood!
Are you going to disobey me?
[Chuckle]
Take his sword.
You're not as stupid as I thought.
You might even be intelligent.
That's dangerous for slaves. You just remember...
from now on everything you do I'll be watching.
You did the right thing. Every once in a while...
Marcellus likes to kill a man as an example.
I think he's picked you. Better watch him.
- How long have you been here? - Six months.
I wish he'd pick me.
I want one chance at that pig before they carry me out!
Quiet! No talking down there.
Dionysius, you'll get us in trouble...
just like in the mines.
What's your name?
You don't want to know my name.
I don't want to know your name!
Just a friendly question.
Gladiators don't make friends.
If we're ever matched in the arena together...
I'll have to kill you.
Helena...
with Galino.
Patricia...
Crixus.
Priscilla...
David.
Claudia...
Pharox.
Varinia...
- Dionysius. - No, no. Spartacus.
Spartacus.
Felicia...
I've never had a woman.
[Batiatus] You have one now, Spartacus. You must take her.
- Go away. - What will she think of you?
Indeed, what will I think of you?
- Go away. - Come, come. Be generous.
We must learn to share our pleasures.
I'm not an animal!
You're not trying to escape, by any chance?
Direct your courage to the girl, Spartacus.
I'm not an animal!
- I'm not an animal. - Neither am I.
What's your name?
Varinia.
You'll have to take her out of here, Marcellus.
You may not be an animal...
but this sorry show gives me little hope...
that you'll ever be a man.
[Marcellus] First rule... you get an instant kill on the red.
Here... here.
Always remember, go for the red first.
If you don't, your opponent will.
In the blue, you get a cripple.
Here...
here... here... and here.
Second rule...
go for the cripple before the slow kill.
Here's a slow kill on the yellow.
Here... here... and here.
Remember...
a slow kill may have enough left to kill you before he dies.
With a cripple, you know you've got him...
if you keep your distance and wear him down.
The rest is all right for a public spectacle in Rome...
but here at Capua we expect more than simple butchery...
and we get it.
Spartacus, why are you looking at that girl?
Varinia! Stand still.
Since all he can do is look at girls...
all right, slave, go ahead and look.
I said, look!
No. No, this one goes to the Spaniard.
Have a good night's rest, Spartacus.
[Marcellus] In there.
[Laughter]
[Door Closes, Locks]
Woman!
I've warned you about this kind of thing.
All right, bring them in.
No talking! Move along.
[Whispering] Did they hurt you?
No.
That's a kill.
One... two...
three... four... five.
One... two...
three... four.
We have visitors, tremendous visitors!
Two simply enormous Roman lords on the hill.
How easily impressed you are, Ramon.
Just 'cause they're Romans, I guess they're enormous.
Tell them to wait for me when they arrive.
- Master, you don't understand! - How enormous do these Roman lords get?
One of them is Marcus Licinius Crassus.
What? Wait a minute.
Crassus here? My red toga with the acorns.
Chairs in the atrium. Second-best wine.
No, the best, but small goblets.
Gracchus! You know how Crassus loathes him.
- Take him away. - I can't lift it.
Use your imagination! Cover him.
Tell Marcellus to get the men ready.
Crassus has expensive taste. He'll want a show.
Forgive me, Gracchus.
Marcus Licinius Crassus...
Most Noble Radiance...
first general of the Republic...
father and defender of Rome, honour my house.
Bless it with your presence.
Wine! Sweetmeats!
Can't you see that Their Honours are exhausted?
Have the goodness to sit.
Is anything wrong, Your Nobility?
No.
Welcome to the Lady Claudia Maria...
former wife of Lucius Caius Marius...
whose recent execution touched us all deeply.
Honour to the Lady Helena...
daughter of the late Septimus Optimus Glabrus...
whose fame shall live on forever...
in the person of his son, your brother.
Marcus Publius Glabrus...
hero of the Eastern Wars.
How very much he knows.
Allow me to bring you up-to-date.
We're here to celebrate the marriage of my brother to the Lady Claudia.
A mating of eagles! Your Sanctity!
Fan His Magnitude. He sweats.
My young friends desire a private showing of two pairs.
Two pairs. Oh, yes.
- I have something that would please them. - Two pairs to the death.
To the death, Your Ladyship?
Surely you don't think we came all the way to Capua...
for gymnastics?
But I beg Your Honours.
We train the finest gladiators in all Italy.
We can give you a display of swordsmanship which is better than you can see in Rome.
When they're sold, their new masters may do with them as they wish.
But here, no, we never fight them to the death.
Crassus.
Today is an exception.
But the ill feeling it would spread through the whole school.
Then the cost. Oh, the cost!
Name your price.
25,000 sesterces.
Arrange it.
Are you serious, sir?
Arrange it immediately.
Of course, we shall want to choose them ourselves.
- You do have a certain... variety? - Inexhaustible.
Spartacus, there's going to be a fight to the death.
- To the death? - How do you know?
I heard Marcellus tell one of his guards.
- Who fights? - I don't know.
To the death.
What if they matched you and me?
They won't.
What if they did?
Would you fight?
I'd have to. So would you.
Would you try to kill me?
Yes, I'd kill.
I'd try to stay...
I'd try to stay alive and so would you.
[Marcellus] All gladiators up to the training area.
Some visitors want to admire you.
Form a line in front of me.
Would Your Excellencies care to make your selection now?
Claudia.
Oh, they're magnificent.
For you, Lady Helena...
may I suggest... Praxus?
A veritable tiger.
I don't like him.
- I prefer that one. - Which one?
- No, no. - David?
Oh, Crixus, yes. Ah, Marcellus...
Crixus for the short sword.
Ah!
Have you ever seen such a pair of shoulders? Dionysius!
I admit he's small, but he's very compact...
and extremely strong. In fact, he looks...
He looks smaller here than he does in the arena.
Optical.
- Give me that one. - Oh, Galino.
Yes, yes. Galino. You have a shrewd eye.
Your Pulchritude, if I many permit myself the...
Galino.
Practically every man in this school...
is an expert with a Thracian sword...
but the trident is something very rare these days.
May I suggest...
the Ethiopian.
There are very few Ethiopians in the country.
Ethiopians are recognized as masters of the trident.
I'll take him.
Draba? Oh, no. For you I want the best.
- I do think the Ethiopian... - I want the most beautiful.
I'll take the big black one.
Draba.
Only one man in the entire school...
stands a chance with the Thracian knife against the trident.
There.
- Over there, Lady Helena. - He's impertinent!
I'll take him.
[Batiatus] And he's a coward to boot.
Have him flogged!
Over there, Lady Helena. The beast of Libya.
I prefer the coward.
Spartacus.
If both men are down and refuse to fight...
your trainer will slit their throats. We want no tricks.
Tricks, madam? At the school of Batiatus?
You heard the instruction, Marcellus? Remember it.
I feel sorry for the poor things in this heat.
Don't put them in those suffocating tunics.
Let them wear just enough for modesty.
Whatever they wear, Lady, they'll bless your name.
[Marcellus] Back, the rest of you!
Our choosing has bored you?
No, most exciting. I tingle.
Do let's get out of the sun.
May I conduct Your Magnificences to the gallery?
[Crassus] Ah-ha! An eavesdropper.
- Oh, the gods! - [Laughter]
How far from Rome must I go to avoid that cunning face?
Don't talk about Gracchus. He's so hateful.
For Gracchus, hatred of the patrician class is a profession...
and not such a bad one, either.
How else can one become master of the mob and first senator of Rome?
Crassus, it's so boring.
I believe that girl smells of perfume.
Whatever it is, it smells most delectable.
You can't keep slaves from stealing unless you chain them.
When a slave's as pretty as she is, she doesn't have to steal.
An arrangement is made.
If her ankles are good...
you can be sure an arrangement was made!
- Oh, master! - A catastrophe!
I've been anointed!
Why, you trollop! You did that on purpose.
It was an accident. Come here, girl.
Don't be frightened.
- What country are you from? - Britannia.
How long have you been a slave?
Since I was thirteen.
You have a certain... education.
My first master had me tutored for his children.
I like her. She has spirit.
I'll buy her.
Buy her, Your Magnificence?
I have spent quite a lot of money on her.
I've no doubt of it. 2,000 sesterces.
She'll be waiting at your litter.
No, I don't want her feet spoiled by walking.
Send her to Rome with your steward the next time he has to go there.
He leaves tomorrow, and the girl with him.
More wine, and thank your gods!
You provoke me, Crassus.
- I shan't be nice to you any more! - Why distress me so much?
You're horribly rich...
yet you're the only one of my brother's friends...
who hasn't given him a wedding present.
Ah!
I was saving it for a more suitable moment.
Here. Give it to him, child.
What is it?
As from this moment, your husband is commander of the garrison of Rome.
Wonderful!
[Clapping] Ahh!
I don't know how I shall ever be able to repay you.
Time will solve that mystery.
- The garrison of Rome. - Yes.
The only power in Rome strong enough to checkmate Gracchus and his senate.
You are clever!
Open up.
Through that door.
[Giggling]
You will have to watch him, Claudia.
Father almost disinherited him because of slave girls.
[Claudia] The marriage contract absolutely forbids a harem.
[Glabrus] What about your litter bearers?
Every one of them is under twenty...
and taller than they should be.
[Crassus] She sets rather a high standard for you.
[Batiatus] Your pleasure, Your Highness.
[Crassus] To you, my dear...
shall go the honour of starting this poetic drama.
[Marcellus] Open up!
First pair! Crixus and Galino!
[Marcellus] Those who are about to die salute you.
[Whistle]
[Swords Clashing]
[Thud]
Aaah!
[Applause]
Crixus.
Next pair!
Those who are about to die salute you.
[Whistle]
[Claudia] Your Thracian's doing well.
How were you able to get my appointment without Gracchus knowing?
I fought fire with oil. I purchased the senate behind his back.
I still think the trident's going to win.
[Claudia] Why doesn't he kill him?
[Helena] Kill him.
[Claudia] What's the matter now?
- Kill him! - Kill him!
- Kill him, you imbecile! Kill him! - Kill... oh!
He'll hang there till he rots.
[Marcellus] Take a last look, Spartacus.
She's going to Rome. She's been sold.
She's been sold?
No talking in the kitchen, slave.
Aaah!
[Whistle]
There's trouble in the mess hall.
- They killed Marcellus and maybe the other two. - Call out the guard!
- [Whistle] - Move, move!
On second thoughts, I'll deliver the girl personally.
Ride to Capua. Call out the garrison. I don't trust this lot.
- I hold you responsible. - Yes, sir.
Ho!
[Shouting]
Aaah!
Around Capua, they ravished the countryside...
forcing other slaves to join them.
Looting, robbing, burning everything...
while they make their camp in the escarpments of Vesuvius.
Each day swells their numbers.
The situation lies in the hands...
of this august body.
Where's the mighty Crassus?
- Out of the city. - At least you're here.
No need to fear for Rome as long as Glabrus is with us.
Let me add... over 100 estates have been burned...
among them, gentlemen, my own...
burned to the ground and three million sesterces lost.
I propose the immediate recall of Pompey and his legions from Spain.
I could raise 500 men and bring the lot of them in.
Don't make a fool of yourself.
Why... call back the legions...
when the garrison of Rome has nothing to do...
- but to defend us from sausage makers? - [Laughter]
Let's send Glabrus against these scoundrels! Give 'em a taste of Roman steel.
[Applause]
I protest. I most strongly protest.
There are more slaves in Rome than Romans.
With the garrison absent, what's to prevent them from rising too?
I did not say the whole garrison.
Six cohorts will more than do the job.
The rest can stay in Rome to save you from your... housemaids.
[Laughter]
Will you accept such a charge, Glabrus?
I accept the charge of the senate...
if the senate truly charges me.
The garrison of Rome stands ready.
Slave hunting's a dirty business.
It takes a brave commander to consent to it.
I propose we turn the city out tomorrow...
in tribute to Glabrus as he marches through.
And...
for temporary command of the garrison during his absence...
I propose Caius Julius Caesar.
[Applause]
You don't look very happy over the new job.
It's not a serious disturbance. Glabrus will be back.
Maybe.
At least it gives me a chance...
to separate Glabrus from Crassus for a while.
You know, this republic of ours...
is something like a rich widow.
Most Romans love her as their mother.
But Crassus dreams of marrying the old girl, to put it politely.
Hail Glabrus! Hail Glabrus!
- God be with you, Glabrus. - And with you too.
I hope he returns to such applause.
Oh, one fat one, Fimbria!
Keep the change. Give it to your wife.
- May the gods adore you. - Only through your prayers.
Let's make an old-fashioned sacrifice for Glabrus' success, hmm?
I thought you had reservations about the gods.
Privately I believe in none. Neither do you.
Publicly I believe in them all.
Greetings, Marcus Clodius Flavius!
Is Marcus Glabrus in attendance?
- He awaits you in the atrium, sir. - Excellent.
- What have we here? - A gift from the governor of Sicily.
Antoninus...
Sicilian, age 26...
singer of songs.
For whom did you practise this wondrous talent?
For the children of my master...
whom I also taught the classics.
Classics, indeed.
What position have we, I wonder...
for a boy of such varied gifts?
You shall be my body servant. Instruct him.
All of you, come with me.
Are you on guard duty?
My dear Crassus, congratulate me.
Or better still, let us congratulate each other.
I congratulate us.
Tomorrow I lead six cohorts of the garrison...
against the slaves on Vesuvius.
The whole city is turning out to see us off.
Great merciful bloodstained gods!
Your pardon.
I always address heaven in moments of triumph.
Did Gracchus have something to do with this brilliant affair?
Yes, he proposed it. Rather decently, too.
And you? Do you think I made you commander...
to control some rock patch on Vesuvius?
It was to control the streets of Rome!
I only take six cohorts. The rest remain.
Under whose command?
- Under Caesar's. - Oh, excellent, excellent!
Finding Gracchus in control of the mob and the senate...
you felt compelled to hand over the garrison to him also.
I see.
I'll refuse, withdraw from the expedition.
One of the disadvantages of being a patrician...
is that occasionally you're obliged to act like one.
You've pledged to go, and go you must.
If Gracchus should decide to move against you...
He won't! Has no need to.
He has, with your assistance, immobilized me altogether.
Your legions are in camp outside the city walls?
My legions?
Do you truly believe I'd order my legions to enter Rome?
You can... if you have to.
Are you not aware of Rome's most ancient law...
that no general may enter the city at the head of his armed legions?
- Sulla did. - Sulla? To the infamy of his name!
To the utter damnation of his line!
No, my young friend.
One day I shall cleanse this Rome which my fathers bequeathed me.
I shall restore all the traditions that made her great.
It follows that I cannot come to power or defend myself...
by an act which betrays the most sacred tradition of all.
I shall not bring my legions within these walls.
I shall not violate Rome...
at the moment of possessing her.
Go.
Prepare your troops at once.
March out of Rome tonight, but the tribute is impossible.
We've already been made to look a fool.
Let's not add the trappings of a clown.
Leave by unfrequented streets...
without fanfare, without even a drum!
Sneak out.
As you wish.
And for heaven's sake, my young friend...
see to it that you don't have to sneak back again.
Farewell.
[Shouting]
[Faint Shouting]
[Shouting]
A-ha-ha!
Come on, fat boy!
[Shouting And Cheering]
Hey, Spartacus! Spartacus!
Noble Romans.
Fighting each other like animals!
Your new masters, betting to see who'll die first.
[Cheering And Laughing]
Drop your swords.
- No! No! - No! No!
I want to see their blood here where Draba died!