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 civilized 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...
before it finally would die.
Back to work!
Get up, Spartacus,
you Thracian dog!
Come on, get up!
My ankle, my ankle!
My ankle!
Spartacus again?
This time he dies.
Back to work, all of you!
- Welcome, Lentulus Batiatus.
- Welcome, indeed, my dear captain.
Eleven miles
through the disastrous heat...
and the cost
of hiring an escort-- ruinous.
Even so, I warrant you have nothing
fiit to sell me, have you, Captain?
I've wasted my time and my money.
Tell me the truth.
I think we have a few
you might be interested in.
What, these? Carrion!
The buzzards are late.
This one here's not bad.
He's a Gaul.
I don't like Gauls. Hairy.
-Can he come down from there unassisted?
-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 others. 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.
Hamstrung? How 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 profiit 11,000 sesterces!
Including your commission,
of course.
No, sir.
Without my commission.
Marcellus, there they are.
They're a dirty-looking lot,
but it's the best I could fiind.
No one else could have made
so fiine a choice.
Slaves...
you have arrived at the gladiatorial
school of Lentulus Batiatus.
Here you will be trained by experts
to fiight in pairs to the death.
Obviously, you won't be required
to fiight to the death here.
That will only be
after you've been sold...
and then for ladies
and gentlemen of quality...
those who appreciate
a fiine 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 certain special occasions,
those of you who please me...
will even be given
the companionship of a young lady.
Approximately half our graduates...
Iive for fiive, ten-- ten years.
Some of them
even attain freedom...
and become trainers themselves.
Marcellus.
I congratulate you.
And may fortune smile on most of you.
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 overdo it. He has quality.
Next.
Next.
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?
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.
You'll get us all 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.
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 l.
What's your name?
Varinia.
You'll have to take her
out of here, Marcellus.
You may not be
an animal, Spartacus...
but this sorry show
gives me very little hope...
that you'll ever be a man.
First rule:
You get an instant kill
on the red.
Here. Here.
Always remember:
Go for the red fiirst...
because 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
in him 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.
In there.
Woman!
I've warned you
about this kind of thing.
All right, bring them in.
No talking!
Move along there.
Did they hurt you?
No.
That's a kill.
One, two...
three, four, fiive.
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 suppose 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? Varinia,
my red toga with the acorns.
And some 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 of some sort.
Forgive me, Gracchus.
Marcus Licinius Crassus...
most noble radiance...
fiirst 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 so 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 think 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.
Here in Capua we train
the fiinest gladiators in all ltaly.
We can give you a display
of swordsmanship...
which is better than anything
you can see in Rome at any cost.
When they're sold, their new masters
may do with them as they wish...
but here, no, we never fiight them
to the death.
Crassus.
Today is an exception.
But the ill feeling it would spread
through the whole school.
And then the cost. The cost!
Name your price.
Arrange it.
Are you serious, sir?
Arrange it immediately.
Of course, we shall want
to choose them ourselves.
You do have a certain variety,
don't you?
Yes. Inexhaustible.
Spartacus, there's going to be
a fiight to the death.
- To the death?
- How do you know?
I heard Marcellus
tell one of his guards.
- Who fiights?
- I don't know.
To the death.
What if they matched
you and me?
They won't.
What if they did?
Would you fiight?
I'd have to. So would you.
Would you try to kill me?
Yes, I'd kill.
I'd try to save--
I'd try to stay alive
and so would you.
All gladiators
up to the training area.
Some visitors
want to admire you.
Form a line
right here in front of me.
Would Your Excellencies care
to make your selection now?
Claudia.
They're magnifiicent.
For you, Lady Helena...
may I suggest Praxus?
A veritable tiger.
I don't like him.
- I prefer that one.
- Which one?
David?
Crixus, yes.
Marcellus, Crixus
for the short sword.
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 actual arena.
Optical.
- Give me that one.
- Galino.
Yes, yes. Galino.
You have a shrewd eye, Your Pulchritude,
if I may permit myself the--
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 only the best--
I want the most beautiful.
I'll take the big black one.
Very good.
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.
- Impertinent, and a coward to boot.
Have him flogged!
Over there, Lady Helena.
The beast of Libya.
I prefer the coward.
If both men are down
and refuse to continue to fiight...
your trainer will slit their throats
like chickens.
- We want no tricks.
- Tricks? At the school of Batiatus?
You heard the instruction, Marcellus?
Remember it.
I feel so sorry for the poor things
in all 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.
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 Magnifiicences
to the gallery now?
An eavesdropper.
Oh, the god!
How far from Rome must I go
to avoid that cunning face?
Crassus, 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 fiirst senator of Rome?
Crassus, it's so boring.
I believe that girl smells
of perfume.
Whatever it is,
she smells most delectable.
You can't keep slaves from stealing
these days 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 could be sure
an arrangement was made!
- Master!
- Good heavens, a catastrophe!
- I've been anointed!
- You trollop!
- I believe 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 fiirst master had me tutored
for his children.
I like her. She has spirit.
- I'll buy her.
- Buy her, Your Magnifiicence?
I have spent
quite a lot of money on her.
Yes, I've no doubt of it.
Two thousand sesterces.
Two thou--
She'll be waiting at your litter.
No, I don't want her feet
spoilt 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.
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!
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.
But you will have
to watch him, Claudia.
Father almost disinherited him
because of slave girls.
The marriage contract
absolutely forbids a harem.
What about your litter bearers?
After all, every one of them
is under 20...
and taller than they should be.
She sets rather a high standard
for you, does she?
Your pleasure, Your Highness.
To you, my dear, shall go the honour
of starting this poetic drama.
Open up!
First pair:
Crixus and Galino!
Those who are about to die
salute you.
Crixus.
Next pair!
Those who are about to die,
salute you.
Your Thracian's doing well.
How were you able to get my appointment
without Gracchus knowing?
I fought fiire with oil.
I purchased the senate behind his back.
I still think
the trident's going to win.
- Why doesn't he kill him?
- Kill him.
What's the matter now?
- Kill him!
- Kill him, you imbecile!
He'll hang there till he rots.
Take a last look, Spartacus.
She's going to Rome.
She's been sold.
She's been sold?
No talking
in the kitchen, slave.
There's trouble in the mess hall.
They killed Marcellus and maybe others.
Call out the guard!
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.
Around Capua,
they ravaged 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 presently 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,
y own...
burned to the ground
and three million sesterces lost.
I propose the immediate recall
of Pompey and his legions from Spain.
- I could bring them in with 500 men!
- 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?
Let's send Glabrus
against these scoundrels!
Give 'em a taste of Roman steel.
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.
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.
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.
One fat one, Fimbria!
No, keep the change.
Give it to your wife.
- May the gods adore you.
- Only through your prayers.
Let's make an old-fashioned sacrifiice
for Glabrus' success.
I thought you had reservations
about the gods.
Privately I believe in none of them.
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, sir.
Antoninus.
Sicilian, age 26.
Singer of songs.
For whom did you practice
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 even proposed it.
Rather decently, too.
And you? Do you think I made you
commander of the garrison...
to control some rock patch
on Vesuvius?
It was to control
the streets of Rome!
I only take six cohorts.
The rest of the garrison remains.
- Under whose command?
- Under Caesar's.
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. I'll withdraw
from the expedition.
One of the disadvantages
of being a patrician...
is that occasionally
you're obliged to act like one.
You pledged the senate 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 still in camp
outside the city walls?
My legions?
Do you truly believe I'd order
my legions to enter Rome?
I only point out that
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, then, that I cannot come
to power or even defend myself...
by an act which betrays
the most sacred tradition of them 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 city 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...
try and see to it that you don't have
to sneak back again.
Farewell.
Come on, fat boy!
Noble Romans...
fiighting each other
like animals!
Your new masters,
betting to see who'll die fiirst.
Drop your swords.
I want to see their blood
right over here where Draba died!
When I fiight matched pairs,
they fiight to the death.
I made myself a promise, Crixus.
I swore that
if I ever got out of this place...
I'd die before I'd watch
two men fiight to the death again.
Draba made that promise too.
He kept it.
So will l.
Go on. Get out!
What are we, Crixus?
What are we becoming?
Romans?
Have we learned nothing?
What's happening to us?
We look for wine
when we should be hunting bread.
When you've got wine,
you don't need bread!
You can't just be a gang
of drunken raiders.
- What else can we be?
- Gladiators!
An army of gladiators.
There's never been
an army like that.
One gladiator's worth
any two Roman soldiers that ever lived.
We beat the Roman guards,
but a Roman army's a different thing.
They fiight different
than we do too.
We can beat anything they send
against us if we really want to.
- It takes a big army for that.
- We'll have a big army.
Once we're on the march...
we'll free every slave
in every town and village.
Can anybody get
a bigger army than that?
Once we cross the Alps,
we're safe!
Nobody can cross the Alps. Every pass
is defended by its own legion.
There's only one way
to get out of this country.
The sea.
What good is the sea
if you have no ships?
The Cilician pirates have ships.
They're at war with Rome.
Every Roman galley that sails
out of Brundusium pays tribute to them.
They've got the biggest fleet
in the world.
I was a galley slave with them. They'll
take you anywhere for enough gold.
We haven't got enough gold.
Take every Roman we capture
and warm his back a little.
- We'll have gold, all right.
- Spartacus is right!
Let's hire these pirates
and march straight to Brundusium!
Come join us.
All of you, come join us.
Come on and join us!
Back to Vesuvius!
Varinia.
I thought
I'd never see you again.
Everything's so different.
The last time I saw you...
you were waiting
in the arena to--
I thought
you were in Rome.
How'd you escape?
I jumped out of the cart...
and Batiatus was so fat--
I flew out of the cart...
and Batiatus was so fat...
that he couldn't catch me.
He couldn't catch up with me.
Do you realize...
nobody can ever sell you again?
Nobody can sell you.
- Or give you away.
- Or give you away.
Nobody can ever make you
stay with anybody.
Nobody can make you
stay with anybody.
I love you, Spartacus.
I love you.
I still can't believe it.
Forbid me ever to leave you.
I do forbid you.
I forbid you.
It was funny at the time.
I wish he'd heard it.
How good you are to me,
if I may say so.
- You may.
- Thank you.
Don't just eye those birds.
Eat them.
There's no need to be
on your best behaviour here.
May I remind you...
you've been very good to me
in the past?
I've been good to you?
Yes. You've sold me slaves
at an extremely reasonable price.
And you arranged private gladiatorial
jousts at cost, or practically.
On the whole, you are both
ethical in business matters...
and certainly farsighted socially.
Zenobia's put on a little weight
since I last saw her.
- Yes, hasn't she? I like it.
- So do l.
You and I have a tendency
towards corpulence.
Corpulence makes a man reasonable,
pleasant and phlegmatic.
Have you noticed the nastiest
of tyrants are invariably thin?
In spite of your vices, you are
the most generous Roman of our time.
Vices?
The ladies.
Ladies!
Since when are they a vice?
Perhaps I used the wrong word.
An eccentricity, a foible.
I hope I pronounced that word--
It's well-known that even your groom
and your butler are women.
I'm the most virtuous man in Rome.
I keep these women
out of my respect for Roman morality.
That morality, which has made
Rome strong enough to steal...
two-thirds of the world
from its rightful owners...
founded on the sanctity
of Roman marriage and family.
I happen to like women.
I have a promiscuous nature...
and, unlike these aristocrats,
I will not take a marriage vow...
which I know my nature
will prevent me from keeping.
You have too great a respect
for the purity of womankind.
Exactly.
It must be tantalizing
to be surrounded by so much purity.
It is.
Now, let's mix business with pleasure.
How may I help you?
Great Gracchus,
I fiind it diffiicult to hate...
but there's one man I can't think of
without fuming.
- Who's that?
- Crassus.
- You've grown ambitious in your hatred.
- Do you blame me?
There I was, better than
a millionaire in the morning...
and a penniless refugee
by nightfall...
with nothing but these rags
and my poor flesh to call my own.
All because Crassus decides
to break his journey at Capua...
with a couple of capricious,
over-painted nymphs!
These two daughters of Venus
had to taunt the gladiators...
force them to fiight to the death,
and before I knew what had happened...
revolution on my hands!
What revenge have you in mind?
I sold Crassus this woman,
Varinia.
- Whom?
- Varinia. May the gods give her wings.
There was no contract,
but she was clearly his slave...
as soon as
the deal was made.
Now she's off with Spartacus
killing people in their beds.
And Crassus--
no mention of money, no!
You never offered me
this woman. Why not?
Well, she's not remotely
your type, Gracchus.
- She is very thin and--
- Look around you.
You'll see women of all sizes.
Five hundred sesterces
deposit on Varinia.
Since he hasn't paid,
this gives me fiirst call over Crassus...
when she's caught and auctioned.
May the gods adore you!
Why would you buy a woman
you've never even seen?
To annoy Crassus, of course,
and to help you.
Fetch a stool, Antoninus.
In here with it.
That will do.
Do you steal, Antoninus?
No, master.
Do you lie?
Not if I can avoid it.
Have you ever
dishonoured the gods?
No, master.
Do you refrain from these vices
out of respect for the moral virtues?
Yes, master.
Do you eat oysters?
When I have them, master.
Do you eat snails?
No, master.
Do you consider the eating
of oysters to be moral...
and the eating of snails
to be immoral?
No, master.
Of course not.
It is all a matter
of taste, isn't it?
Yes, master.
And taste is not
the same as appetite...
and therefore not a question
of morals, is it?
It could be argued so, master.
That will do.
My robe, Antoninus.
My taste includes...
both snails and oysters.
Antoninus, look.
Across the river.
There is something
you must see.
There, boy, is Rome!
The might, the majesty...
the terror of Rome.
There is the power that bestrides
the known world like a colossus.
No man can withstand Rome.
No nation can withstand her.
How much less...
a boy!
There's only one way to deal
with Rome, Antoninus.
You must serve her.
You must abase yourself
before her.
You must grovel at her feet.
You must...
Iove her.
Isn't that so, Antoninus?
- Take your time!
- How are they coming?
Good. Give me another thousand like them
and we can march on Rome.
Come on, once again.
Here on Vesuvius,
we're safe from attack...
while we organize ourselves
into an army.
It may take six months.
It may take a year. We don't know.
Once we're strong, we're gonna fiight
our way south to the sea.
We're going to arrange for ships
with the Cilician pirates.
Then the sea will be a road
back home for all of us.
If you agree, you may join us.
If you don't agree, go back
before your escape is discovered.
Too many women.
What's wrong with women?
Where would you be now,
you lout...
if some woman hadn't fought
all the pains of hell...
to get you
into this accursed world?
I can handle a knife
in the dark as well as anyone.
I can cast spells
and brew poisons.
I have made the death shrouds
for seven Roman masters in my time.
- You lout! I want to see Spartacus.
- All right, grandmother.
I'm Spartacus. Stay with us.
We'll need a million Roman shrouds
before we're through.
Where do you people come from?
Most of us come
from the estate of Lillius.
- What kind of work did you do there?
- Sixteen years a carpenter and mason.
Good. We can use carpenters.
- What kind of work did you do?
- I was a chief steward.
You'll help with the food supplies.
You'll report to the man Patullus.
What kind of work did you do?
Singer of songs.
Singer of songs?
But what work did you do?
That's my work.
I also juggle.
Juggle. What else do you do?
I can do feats of magic.
Magic?
Maybe he can make
the Romans disappear.
I'll need one volunteer,
man or woman. How about you?
Here we have a likely subject.
You'll notice there is
nothing in my hand, true?
- How many fiingers do you see?
- Three.
- How many fiingers do you see?
- Three!
I make a bowl.
My hand is upside down,
and I ask you to blow at it.
No, not hard enough. Hard!
Thank you.
Would you like to try?
Hit it against the rock, gently.
Poet, I haven't had
an egg in days.
You haven't?
- Here.
- Thank you.
I'm not going
to let mine get away.
- Sing us a song.
- Sing us a song, Antoninus.
Sing, Antoninus.
When the blazing sun
hangs low in the western sky...
when the wind dies away
on the mountain...
when the song
of the meadowlark turns still...
when the fiield locust clicks
no more in the fiield...
and the sea foam sleeps
like a maiden at rest...
and twilight touches the shape
of the wandering earth...
I turn home.
Through blue shadows
and purple woods...
I turn home.
I turn to the place
that I was born...
to the mother who bore me
and the father who taught me...
Iong ago. Iong ago...
Iong ago.
Alone am I now. Iost and alone.
in a far. wide. wandering world.
Yet still when
the blazing sun hangs low...
when the wind dies away
and the sea foam sleeps...
and twilight touches
the wandering earth...
I turn home.
Where'd you learn that song?
My father taught it to me.
I was wrong about you, poet.
You won't learn to kill.
You'll teach us songs.
I came here to fiight.
Anyone can learn to fiight.
I joined to fiight!
- What's your name?
- Antoninus.
There's a time for fiighting,
and there's a time for singing.
Now you teach us to sing.
Sing, Antoninus.
When the blazing sun
hangs low in the western sky--
You like him, don't you?
Who wants to fiight?
An animal can learn to fiight.
But to sing beautiful things...
and make people believe them--
What are you thinking about?
I'm free.
And what do I know?
I don't even know
how to read.
You know things
that can't be taught.
I know nothing.
Nothing!
And I want to know.
I want to--
I want to know.
Know what?
Everything.
Why a star falls
and a bird doesn't.
Where the sun goes at night.
Why the moon changes shape.
I want to know
where the wind comes from.
The wind begins in a cave.
Far to the north,
a young god sleeps in that cave.
He dreams of a girl...
and he sighs...
and the night wind
stirs with his breath.
I want to know all about you.
Every line...
every curve.
I want to know
every part of you.
Every beat of your heart.
Go on about the city
of Metapontum.
What garrisons
will we fiind there?
There are two legions in the garrison.
Some have been sent south--
Set the litter down there.
Where is this slave general?
Dionysius, get the litter bearers
out of the rain.
Give them food, bread,
and their freedom.
- All right, follow me.
- We'll pay you for them.
We have no slaves
in this camp.
Tigranes Levantus at your service.
My credentials.
Come in.
"To the general of the ltalian slaves
called Spartacus...
from lbar M'hali, Cilician governor
of the island of Delos."
- Sit down.
- "Greetings.
Word has been received that you wish
to embark your armies...
on the Cilician ships
from the ltalian port of Brundusium.
- Receive now my agent, Tigranes--"
- Levantus.
"who bargains in my name.
May lsis and Serapis bring victory
to your cause. The governor of Delos."
- Who are lsis and Serapis?
- Gods of the east.
Why should they want us to win?
Because they favour Cilicia...
and Cilicia, like you,
fiights against the Romans.
Would you like some wine?
I drink only after the bargain
has been concluded...
never before.
How many ships
do these Cilicians have?
Five hundred at least.
But no deal is too small,
I assure you.
We'll need them all.
- All?
- What is the price?
Price is 100,000 sesterces
per ship.
For 500 ships that would be...
- You have such a sum?
- We will have.
See for yourself.
- Beautiful.
- When will the ships be ready?
Beautiful.
I love to see such beauty.
When will the ships be ready?
My friend...
when will you be ready?
How long will it take you...
to cross one-third
the length of ltaly...
fiighting a major battle
in every town?
One year? Two years?
If we're not in Brundusium
seven months from now...
we'll never be there.
What if we assemble the ships...
and there is no longer
a slave army to board them?
We'll give you a chest of treasure now,
the rest when we get to Brundusium.
- This one?
- Yes.
Done! Seven months from now,
the ships will be assembled.
Arrange to have the chest loaded.
Now, with your permission, I should
like to have the wine you offered me.
- Will you join me?
- I will.
Excellent workmanship.
It came from the estate
of a wealthy nobleman.
I've heard that you are
of noble birth yourself.
I'm the son
and grandson of slaves.
I knew that
when I saw you couldn't read.
Of course, it pleases Roman vanity
to think that you are noble.
They shrink from the idea
of fiighting mere slaves...
especially a man like Crassus.
- You know him?
- I entertained him one afternoon.
- You?
- In the arena.
Excellent wine.
- May I ask you something?
- You can ask.
Surely you know
you're going to lose, don't you?
You have no chance.
At this very moment, six cohorts
of the garrison of Rome...
are approaching this position.
What are you going to do?
We'll decide that
when they get here.
Let me put it differently.
If you looked
into a magic crystal...
and you saw your army destroyed
and yourself dead...
if you saw that in the future...
as I'm sure
you're seeing it now...
would you continue to fiight?
- Yes.
- Knowing that you must lose?
Knowing we can.
All men lose when they die
and all men die.
But a slave and a free man
lose different things.
They both lose life.
When a free man dies,
he loses the pleasure of life.
A slave loses his pain.
Death is the only freedom
a slave knows.
That's why he's not afraid of it.
That's why we'll win.
Spartacus,
that pirate was right.
The garrison of Rome,
they're setting up camp.
- How many are there?
- About six cohorts.
- Where?
- At the mouth of the valley...
against the cliffs.
- Strong camp?
- They have no stockade.
No stockade? Are you sure?
- I'm very sure.
- This campaign is great sport for them.
The Romans are having a picnic.
- Did they see you?
- No! We were hidden.
Maybe we ought to join
this Roman picnic.
Form your men.
Six cohorts.
A lot of arms and weapons...
to build our army with.
Crixus always wanted
to march on Rome.
Now he doesn't have to.
Rome's come to us.
Half this way!
The rest over there.
Stand up, the way
a noble Roman should!
That's Roman pride for you!
That's better.
What's your name?
Marcus Glabrus.
Commander of the garrison
of Rome!
Commander?
He was commanding it on his belly
when we found him, playing dead!
You disappoint me,
Marcus Glabrus.
Playing dead.
You afraid to die?
It's easy to die.
Haven't you seen
enough gladiators in the arena...
to see how easy it is to die?
Of course you have.
What are you going
to do to me?
I don't know.
- What should we do with him?
- Let's have a matched pair, him and me.
I'll not fiight like a gladiator!
You keep staring at this.
Do you recognize this baton?
- Yes!
- You should! It was in your tent.
The symbol of the senate.
All the power of Rome!
That's the power of Rome!
Take that back to your senate.
Tell them you and that broken stick is
all that's left of the garrison of Rome!
Tell them we want nothing
from Rome.
Nothing except our freedom!
All we want is to get out
of this damn country!
We're marching south
to the sea.
And we'll smash every army
they send against us.
Put him on a horse!
Their leader said
their hatred of Rome was such...
that all they wished
was to escape from her rule.
If unopposed, he promised
a peaceful march to the sea.
If opposed, he threatens
to ravage the countryside...
and destroy every legion
sent against him.
And once they get to the sea?
They plan to take ship with Cilician
pirates and return to their homes.
From which port do they
propose to embark?
I don't know.
But city garrisons
can't stand up to them.
If they are to be intercepted,
it's work for the legions!
What sort of a man is
this leader of the slaves?
I don't know.
I think they called him
Spartacus.
Is that name familiar to you?
Yes, it does seem to be.
I can't place it.
After he talked to you,
what happened then?
I was tied to a horse
and lashed out of camp.
How many of your company
escaped?
Fourteen have reported
thus far.
I myself was taken prisoner
in my own command tent.
The camp was thoroughly infiiltrated
before an alarm could be sounded.
Did you surround your camp
with moat and stockade?
No.
We arrived after sunset.
Sentries were posted every ten paces.
There was no reason to expect
an attack by night.
Then again, well, they--
Continue.
They were only slaves.
I see.
I submit that Publius Marcus Glabrus
has disgraced the arms of Rome.
Let the punishment
of the senate be pronounced.
If we punished every commander
who made a fool of himself...
we wouldn't have anyone left
above the rank of centurion.
But this is a case
of criminal carelessness!
Six cohorts have been slaughtered.
Crassus sponsored this young man.
Let him pronounce sentence.
The punishment is well-known!
Let Publius Marcus Glabrus
be denied...
fiire, water,
food and shelter...
for a distance of 400 miles
in all directions from the city of Rome.
One thing more.
Glabrus is my friend, and I will not
dissociate myself from his disgrace.
I now lay down the command
of my legions...
and retire to private life.
Good-bye, Crassus.
This is no time for a man of honour
to withdraw from public affairs!
- Shame, shame!
- Sit down.
This sort of heroic
public behaviour is nothing new!
I've seen it before-- we all have--
and I know the meaning of it!
- Crassus acted on a point of honour!
- Patrician honour!
No matter how noble
this looks from the outside...
I don't like the colour of it.
Crassus is
the only man in Rome...
who hasn't yielded to
republican corruption, and never will!
I'll take some republican corruption
along with some republican freedom...
but I won't take...
the dictatorship of Crassus
and no freedom at all!
That's what he's out for...
and that's why he'll be back.
To the mother that bore me...
to the father that taught me...
to the god--
To the blue woods
and the purple shadows, l--
To blue shadows
and purple woods.
- Spartacus, you frightened me!
- I'm sorry.
- How long have you been there?
- A little while.
Why didn't you say something?
You seemed so happy.
I didn't want to bother you.
I am happy.
Spartacus, I've been trying to remember
the song that Antoninus sang.
Is it blue shadows
and purple woods?
Or is it purple woods
and blue shadows, or what is it?
I want to make love
to my wife!
Spartacus, put me down. I'm--
I don't care.
- You've got, you've--
- Yes?
- You have to be gentle with me.
- Why?
Why, darling?
I'm going to have a baby.
Now put me down.
What?
A baby.
A baby? When?
In the spring.
- How? I mean, how do you know?
- I know.
A baby in the spring.
- I'm gonna have a son.
- But it might be a daughter.
- Why didn't you tell me?
- I just did.
You're cold.
Here, get underneath this.
- Did I hurt you?
- No, you didn't.
- I didn't mean to be so rough.
- Why don't you kiss me?
This is the fiirst time
I was ever going to have a baby.
A baby.
I'm just the same
as I ever was, Spartacus.
I won't break.
These slaves have already cost us
a thousand million sesterces.
If now they want to relieve us
of their unwelcome presence...
in the name of all the gods,
let them go!
Impossible! They've already infected
half of ltaly with this uprising.
If we permit them
to escape now...
this condition will spread
throughout the entire empire.
The Republic...
is still weak
from 20 years of civil strife.
We're engaged in two wars:
one in Spain
and the other in Asia.
Pirates have cut off
our Egyptian grain supply...
and Spartacus raids the commerce
of all south ltaly.
Half the precincts of Rome
are without bread!
The city is close to panic.
There are two things
we must do immediately!
Confiirm Caesar as permanent
commander of the garrison...
and assign two legions...
to intercept and destroy Spartacus
at the city of Metapontum!
If we could only have had
Batiatus in the other pot!
- Now you're talking!
- Varinia, wonderful meal.
A small piece of land
with a few goats on it.
The best wine in the world.
For wine you've got to go to Aquitania.
The sweetest grapes on earth.
Come to Lidya for wine.
That's the best.
The best wine comes from Greece.
Everybody knows that. Even the Romans!
No, Lidya!
You're all wrong!
The best wine comes from home,
wherever it is.
I agree with you.
Gentlemen.
- Are there reports on Metapontum?
- Heralds are crying the news now.
We lost 19,000 men,
including Commodius and his offiicers.
Nineteen thousand?
Have you estates in Metapontum?
No. A son with Commodius.
With your permission, good day.
We take fiive years
to train a legion.
How can this Spartacus
train an army in seven months?
There's something wrong,
something very wrong.
- We should have an investigation.
- By all means, an investigation.
-Where is Spartacus now?
-He's nearing the seaport of Brundusium.
I need a few moments
of the commander's time.
Will you excuse us?
I hear you've taken a house
in the fourth ward.
Not a very splendid house either.
And you feasted 11,000 plebeians
in the fiield of Mars.
It scarcely could've
been called a feast.
For 200 years, your family
and mine have been members...
of the Equestrian Order
and the Patrician Party.
Servants and rulers of Rome.
Why have you left us
for Gracchus and the mob?
I've left no one,
least of all Rome.
But this much I've learned
from Gracchus: Rome is the mob.
No!
Rome is an eternal thought
in the mind of God.
I had no idea
you'd grown religious.
That doesn't matter.
If there were no gods at all,
I'd revere them.
If there were no Rome,
I'd dream of her...
as I want you to do.
I want you to come back
to your own kind.
I beg you to.
Is it me you want
or is it the garrison?
Both. Tell me frankly.
If you were l, would you
take the fiield against Spartacus?
- Of course.
- Why?
We have no other choice
if we're to save Rome.
Caesar!
Which Rome?
Theirs...
or ours?
You know Gracchus
is my friend.
I won't betray him.
Caesar.
Which is worse: to betray a friend
or to betray Rome herself?
My dear Crassus,
I face no such choice.
You will,
sooner than you think.
Good afternoon, Crassus.
I've been looking for you all day.
Your new master.
The senate's been in session all day
over this business of Spartacus.
We've got eight legions to march
against him and no one to lead them.
The minute you offer
the generals command...
they start wheezing
like winded mules.
I've seen such epidemics before,
haven't you?
- How's your health?
- Excellent, as you know.
I take it the senate's now offering
command of the legions to me.
- You've been expecting it.
- I have.
But have you thought how costly
my services might be?
We buy everything else
these days.
No reason why we shouldn't be charged
for patriotism. What's your fee?
My election as fiirst consul,
command of all the legions of ltaly...
and the abolition of senatorial
authority over the courts.
Dictatorship.
Order.
- Advise me if my terms are acceptable.
- I can tell you now.
- They're unacceptable.
- Yes, I know.
For the present perhaps, but times
change, and so does the senate.
When that day comes,
I shall be ready.
- Convey my respects to your wife.
- With pleasure.
He's right, you know.
If something isn't done about Spartacus,
the senate will change.
And Crassus will move in
and save Rome from the slave army...
by assuming dictatorship.
But that, like everything else,
depends on which way Spartacus jumps.
Just now, he's trying
to get out of ltaly.
If he succeeds,
the crisis is over...
and Crassus may stay
in retirement indefiinitely.
I've arranged for Spartacus
to escape from ltaly.
You've done what?
I've made a little deal
with the Cilician pirates.
I've assured them
that we won't interfere...
if they transport Spartacus
and his slaves out of ltaly.
So now we deal with pirates.
We bargain with criminals!
Don't you be so stiff-necked about it.
Politics is a practical profession.
If a criminal has what you want,
you do business with him.
How far are we from Brundusium?
About 20 miles.
Our army will have to camp here tonight.
They're still about six hours behind us.
Patullus, ride ahead to Brundusium.
Bring Tigranes here.
Marco, report back to Spartacus.
Tell him we camp tonight
by the sea!
If all goes well, my estimate is
we can load 150 ships a day.
That's your job, Dionysius.
Work with the Cilician pirates.
- That oughta keep him busy.
- Saves me fiinding someplace to sleep.
Crixus, keep giving me reports
on Pompey.
There won't be any surprises.
I still want patrols of
the back country until we board ship.
I'll get them together now.
Spartacus, the harbour district
in Brundusium has food warehouses...
but not enough to provide
for the whole fleet.
The countryside's fiilled with cattle.
And we've more than enough salt
to preserve them.
I'll handle it.
Find out how many men we have in camp
who were galley slaves or sailors.
Tigranes Levantus.
- My dear general.
- Welcome, Tigranes!
No, no. You needn't look
for litter bearers to emancipate.
I rode a horse.
Your gods lsis and Serapis
must've been good to us.
The balance of the 50 million sesterces
we owe you.
General...
I bear a heavy burden
of evil tidings.
What is it?
Pompey and his army
has landed in ltaly.
At the border of Rhegium
three days ago.
We get complete reports
on their movements.
But do you also know...
that a Roman fleet carrying
Lucullus and his army...
arrives tomorrow at Brundusium?
- Lucullus here?
- You have no ships.
I saw them in the harbour.
The Cilician fleet,
out of strategic necessity...
has been obliged to withdraw.
- Withdraw?
- There are no ships at all?
Cilician pirates can destroy
any Roman fleet that ever sailed.
If they run away now,
it's not because they're afraid!
You better give me
a better reason.
I'm as desolated
as you are, General.
Stand up. Up!
On your toes.
- You'll cut the skin.
- Why did the Cilicians run away?
They were paid.
And who paid them?
Who?
Crassus.
Crassus won't fiight us himself.
The reports say he won't take
the command of an army.
Why would he bribe your pirates
to keep us from escaping?
I don't know. How can I answer
when there is no answer?
I've been betrayed,
just as you have!
There is an answer.
There must be an answer
to everything.
We're fiive miles
from Brundusium.
Here's Rhegium.
Pompey's march must have
brought him to about here.
He's four days away,
maybe more.
Lucullus lands
at Brundusium tomorrow.
If we engage Lucullus...
Pompey will have enough time
to march against our rear.
If we turn west
to meet Pompey...
Lucullus will march
against our rear.
The only other army
in all of ltaly is here!
Rome.
Yes, of course!
Crassus is inviting us
to march on Rome...
so he can take the fiield
against us.
You mean Crassus wants us
to march on Rome?
He's forcing us to. He knows
I won't let myself be trapped...
between two armies
with my back to the sea.
He knows my only other choice
is Rome.
Somewhere on the way,
we meet.
If he beats us,
he becomes the saviour of Rome...
and there's his fiinal victory
over the senate.
General, allow me
to redeem myself in your eyes.
For a very small commission...
I can arrange for you, your family
and your leaders, of course...
to be smuggled out of ltaly and
transported to an eastern country...
where men of substance like you
are welcome and appreciated.
You can live there like kings
for the rest of your lives.
What do you think, General?
Go away.
Go away?
Tell the trumpeters
to sound assembly.
Tonight a Roman army lands
in the harbour of Brundusium.
Another army is approaching
us from the west.
Between them,
they hope to trap us here...
against the sea.
The Cilician pirates have betrayed us.
We have no ships.
"By order of the senate...
be it known that we have
this day elected...
Marcus Licinius Crassus...
fiirst consul of the Republic...
and commander in chief
of the armies of Rome."
Hail Crassus!
Rome will not allow us
to escape from ltaly.
We have no choice
but to march against Rome herself...
and end this war the only way
it could have ended:
by freeing every slave in ltaly.
I promise you...
a new Rome...
a new ltaly
and a new empire.
I promise the destruction
of the slave army...
and the restoration of order...
throughout all our territories.
I'd rather be here,
a free man among brothers...
facing a long march
and a hard fiight...
than to be the richest citizen
of Rome...
fat with food
he didn't work for...
and surrounded by slaves.
I promise the living body
of Spartacus...
for whatever punishment
you may deem fiit.
That or his head.
This I vow by the spirits
of all my forefathers.
This I have sworn...
in the temple
that guards their bones.
Hail Crassus!
We've travelled
a long ways together.
We've fought many battles
and won great victories.
Now, instead of taking ship
for our homes across the sea...
we must fiight again.
Maybe there's no peace
in this world...
for us or for anyone else.
I don't know.
But I do know...
that as long as we live...
we must stay true to ourselves.
I do know that we're brothers,
and I know that we're free.
We march tonight!
Hail Crassus!
Greetings to you, Crassus.
Caius. Gentlemen.
Have your dispositions
been made?
Each maniple knows its position in line,
sir, and exactly what's expected.
Every legion commander
has been given his battle orders.
Excellent. All positions
will now be changed.
Changed?
Spartacus takes too keen
an interest in our plans, I fear.
New battle orders
will be issued in a short while.
Spartacus has every reason to believe
that he has outdistanced...
the pursuing armies
of Pompey and of Lucullus.
However, there are passes
through the Apennine Mountains...
unknown to any map.
It may fortify
your courage to know...
that Pompey is at this moment encamped
some 20 miles to the west of us...
and that the army of Lucullus
approaches from the south...
by forced night march.
Sir, allow us to pledge you the most
glorious victory of your career.
I'm not after glory!
I'm after Spartacus.
And, gentlemen,
I mean to have him.
However, this campaign
is not alone to kill Spartacus.
It is to kill
the legend of Spartacus.
You may go, gentlemen.
Hail Crassus.
Lentulus Batiatus
awaits Your Excellency.
- Who?
- The lanista, sir.
Admit him.
Most Blessed Highness,
as soon as I received your message...
I hurried into your
distinguished presence.
I'm glad you were able
to spare the time. Sit down.
How gracious.
I understand--
I'm informed--
that Spartacus once trained
under your auspices.
Yes! ln fact...
if it isn't too subversive
to say so...
I made him
what he is today.
You're to be congratulated
indeed.
I, too, as it happens, since you're
so admirably qualifiied to give me...
what up to now
I've not been able to obtain:
a physical description
of Spartacus.
Yes.
But you saw him.
- What?
- In the ring.
When?
When you visited my school
with those two charming ladies.
What?
I trust they're both
in good health.
They selected him to fiight
against Draba, the Negro.
- I remember the Negro.
- You had good cause to, if I remember--
If I may say so, Your Excellency.
A brilliant dagger thrust.
Diffiicult angle.
- Spartacus was the opponent?
- Yes.
What did he look like?
That's a matter of some
importance to Your Highness?
Yes, to every man who loves Rome
and wishes to see her strong.
We're both Roman patriots, sir.
You're a great one.
I, of course, smaller.
But we both believe
in Roman fair play.
If you want
something from me...
I would be lacking
in respect for my own conscience...
if I did not say
that I wish something from you.
Name your price.
If-- no--
when you win
your victory tomorrow...
presumably the survivors
will be auctioned off...
in order to pay for the expenses
of this heroic expedition.
Could not the agent
for that sale be he...
who shares this tiny moment
of history with Your Honour?
I authorize you to be the agent
for the sale of all survivors.
In return, you will remain here with us
until after the battle...
and aid me
in identifying Spartacus.
After the battle?
You misunderstand me.
I'm a civilian.
I'm even more of a civilian
than most civilians.
If you wish to remain so...
I should strongly advise you
to stay here and be our guest.
Guard!
My dear, all-conquering
Marcus Licinius Crassus...
what if it is Spartacus
who crosses the battlefiield...
Iooking for you?
In such circumstances,
I have no doubt...
you will be helping him.
This fellow remains with us
until after the battle.
Make him comfortable.
Don't let him feel lonely.
Mommy? Mommy?
When do we go home?
Go to sleep, dear.
No pains yet?
He's a bad child, though.
He hits me with his fiist.
He wants to see his mother.
Can you blame him?
Can you feel it?
No, I don't.
I hope he waits
till we get to Rome.
Rome!
They've never beaten us yet.
No.
But no matter how many times
we beat them...
they still seem to have
another army to send against us.
And another.
Varinia, it just seems
like we've started something...
that has no ending!
If it ended tomorrow,
it would be worth it.
Varinia, don't make me weak.
You're strong enough
to be weak.
I love you more than my life.
Yet, sometimes, even with you here
sleeping beside me...
I feel so alone.
I imagine a god for slaves...
and I pray.
What do you pray for?
I pray for a son
who'll be born free.
I pray for the same thing.
Take care of my son, Varinia.
If he never knows me...
tell him who I was
and what we dreamed of.
Tell him the truth. There will be
plenty of others to tell him lies.
I can't live without you,
Spartacus!
For you and me
there can be no farewells.
As long as one of us lives...
we all live.
I felt it! Did you feel it?
- Yes, I did.
- That was so strong. Does it hurt you?
That was so strong.
Lucullus and Pompey.
Have we a count of prisoners?
We haven't made
the fiinal count, sir.
I bring a message
from your master...
Marcus Licinius Crassus...
commander of ltaly.
By command of
His Most Merciful Excellency...
your lives are to be spared.
Slaves you were...
and slaves you remain.
But the terrible penalty
of crucifiixion...
has been set aside...
on the single condition
that you identify the body...
or the living person
of the slave called Spartacus.
- I'm Spartacus!
- I'm Spartacus!
Forgive me for being one of the last
to congratulate you, Your Nobility.
There's an ugly rumour
going round the camp...
that the prisoners
are to be crucifiied.
That is true.
Perhaps this is the moment
to remind Your Highness...
that yesterday you promised me I could
be the agent in their auctioning.
Last night you promised
Spartacus to me! Where is he?
In return, I promised you
the sale of the survivors...
and there will be none!
- It's Varinia.
- Yes, I remember.
You're the woman of Spartacus?
I'm his wife.
And this is his child?
Yes.
Where is Spartacus?
Dead.
Did you see him killed?
Yes.
You're lying. Where is he?
At least here is someone
worth selling, Your Enormity.
I'll even take the child
as an investment.
- How many women have been taken?
- Under forty, sir.
Most of those who weren't killed have
run to the hills with their children.
You may sell all the others,
but not this woman.
But you haven't seen
the others, Your Magnitude.
They're of surpassing ugliness!
A genius wouldn't be able to sell them!
Flog that scoundrel out of camp.
This woman and her child
are to be conveyed to my house in Rome.
- Halt them!
- Halt!
Antoninus?
Tribune!
Slaves are to be crucifiied
along the roadside...
the whole distance between here
and the gates of Rome.
Hold this man till the end.
And that man too.
- March on.
- March on!
I've more stripes on my back
than a zebra!
Every time I touch my wounds...
they sing like larks.
But in spite of that,
I think I've found something...
- I never had before with all my wealth.
- What is that?
Don't laugh at me,
but I believe it to be dignity.
In Rome,
dignity shortens life...
even more surely than disease.
The gods must be saving you
for some great enterprise.
You think so?
Anyone who believes I'll turn informer
for nothing is a fool.
I bore the whip
without complaint.
Yes, indeed, that sounds
like a bad attack of dignity.
I hope, however,
this will not deflect you...
from the revenge
you were going to take on Crassus.
No, on the contrary.
It only strengthens my resolve.
I'm glad to learn that.
This woman Varinia is in his house.
All Rome knows about it.
Malicious tongues even say...
that he's in love
for the fiirst time in his life.
I noticed a strange look in his eye
when he fiirst saw her.
It would take a great woman...
to make Crassus
fall out of love with himself.
I'll be honest with you,
Gracchus.
She's not as unattractive
as I told you she was.
Dignity and honesty in one afternoon!
I hardly recognize you.
- But she is an impossible woman.
- Beautiful?
Beautiful? Well, beautiful.
The more chains you put on her,
the less like a slave she looks.
- Proud?
- Proud, proud.
You'd feel that she would surrender
to the right man...
which is irritating.
I like Crassus.
Let's save him from his agony.
Let's steal this woman.
Steal the woman? Why?
I can no longer hurt Crassus
in the senate...
but I can hurt him where
he'll feel it most: in his pride.
Attack our enemy from within.
The scheme is excellent...
but I hope you're not suggesting
that I steal the woman!
Yes.
Buy some horses
and a cart with a canopy.
Bring her here by nightfall.
Add courage
to your newfound virtues.
Would half a million sesterces
make you brave?
Half a million?
Crassus does seem to dwindle
in the mind, but--
Let's reduce him still further.
A round million!
A million.
For such a sum,
I could bribe Jupiter himself!
With a lesser sum, I have.
Forgive the intrusion.
You know I'm not in the habit
of coming into your house uninvited.
You've always been welcome here...
as a pupil.
- You're not alone.
- No.
This time you've come to teach.
You've joined Crassus?
- Am I arrested?
- No.
But I must ask you to come with me
to the senate immediately.
What I do,
I do not for myself...
but for Rome.
Poor helpless Rome!
Let's go and hear more
about Rome from Crassus!
Did you truly believe
could so easily be delivered
into the clutches of a mob?
Already the bodies
of 6,000 crucifiied slaves...
Iine the Appian Way.
Tomorrow the last of their companions
will fiight to the death...
in the temple of my fathers
as a sacrifiice to them.
As those slaves have died,
so will your rabble...
if they falter one instant
in loyalty to the new order of affairs.
The enemies of the state
are known.
Arrests are in progress.
The prisons begin to fiill.
In every city and province, lists
of the disloyal have been compiled.
Tomorrow they will learn
the cost of their terrible folly...
their treason.
Where does my name appear...
on the list of disloyal enemies
of the state?
First.
Yet upon you I have
no desire for vengeance.
Your property
shall not be touched.
You will retain the rank
and title of Roman senator.
A house...
a farmhouse in Picenum
has been provided for your exile.
You may take your women
with you.
Why am I to be left
so conspicuously alive?
Your followers are
deluded enough to trust you.
I intend that you shall speak to them
tomorrow for their own good...
their peaceful
and profiitable future.
From time to time thereafter,
I may fiind it useful...
to bring you back to Rome
to continue your duty to her...
to calm the envious spirit...
and the troubled mind.
You will persuade them
to accept destiny and order...
and trust the gods!
You may go.
Halt!
Now, why hide
behind that stola?
That's better.
That dress took some weeks
of a woman's life.
You, above all people, should respect
the work of slaves and wear it proudly.
Come here.
This belonged to a queen...
the queen of Persia.
It's heavy.
In time you will wear it
lightly enough.
Sit down.
Will you have
some squab and honey?
No.
You'll enjoy it.
And a piece of melon?
And some wine, of course.
Eat.
I did not command you to eat.
I invited you.
You fiind the richness
of your surroundings...
makes conversation diffiicult?
Why am I here?
Good question.
A woman's question.
I wish the answer could be
as good and straightforward.
- The infant-- it thrives?
- He thrives.
I purchased a wet nurse
for him yesterday.
I hope milk agrees with him.
I sent her away.
I prefer to nurse
the child myself.
I'm not sure I approve.
It ties you to the old life.
I want you to begin
to look forward to the new.
I don't care
about my new life here.
You care about the life
of your child, don't you?
Why do you threaten me
with my baby?
I belong to you.
You can take me anytime you wish.
But I don't want to take you.
I want you to give.
I want your love, Varinia.
You think by threatening
to kill my child...
you'll make me love you?
I did not threaten
to kill your child.
I'm sorry, Varinia.
One shouldn't grieve forever.
I'm not grieving.
I'm remembering.
Do I interfere
with your memories?
No.
You tread the ridge
between truth and insult...
with the skill
of a mountain goat!
What do you remember
when you think about Spartacus?
It doesn't distress you
to talk about him?
No.
Well, then...
what sort of a man was he...
really?
He was a man
who began all alone...
Iike an animal.
Yet on the day he died...
thousands and thousands
would gladly have died in his place.
What was he?
Was he a god?
He wasn't a god.
He was a simple man.
A slave.
I loved him.
He was an outlaw!
A murderer!
An enemy to everything fiine
and decent that Rome ever built!
Damn you! You tell me.
- Why did you love him?
- I can't tell you.
I can't tell you things
you can never understand.
But I want to understand.
Don't you see?
I must understand.
You're afraid of him,
aren't you?
That's why you want his wife...
to soothe your fear
by having something he had.
When you're so afraid,
nothing can help.
Nothing.
We shall see.
Could we have won,
Spartacus?
Could we ever have won?
Just by fiighting them,
we won something.
When just one man says,
"No, I won't"...
Rome begins to fear.
And we were tens of thousands
who said no.
That was the wonder of it.
To have seen slaves
lift their heads from the dust...
to see them rise
from their knees...
stand tall...
with a song on their lips...
to hear them...
storm through the mountains
shouting...
to hear them sing
along the plains.
And now they're dead.
Dead.
Varinia...
dead.
And the baby.
All of them.
Are you afraid to die,
Spartacus?
No more than I was
to be born.
Are you afraid?
Yes.
Hail Counsel!
Guards, fall in.
- Where are the gladiators?
- Over there, sir.
Antoninus, the night passes slowly,
doesn't it?
You are he...
aren't you?
Gladiator,
I'm Marcus Licinius Crassus.
You must answer
when I speak to you.
Centurion!
Let them fiight now.
Unchain them.
The entire city's been told
they'll fiight tomorrow...
in the temple of your ancestors.
They will fiight now, for me.
Here!
And to the death.
And the victor shall be crucifiied.
We will test this myth
of slave brotherhood.
Unchain them!
Form a circle.
Don't give them
the pleasure of a contest.
Lower your guard.
I'll kill you on the fiirst rush.
- I won't let them crucify you!
- It's my last order. Obey it!
Let them begin.
I won't let them crucify you.
Do you realize how long it takes
to die on the cross?
I don't care!
Forgive me, Antoninus.
I love you, Spartacus,
as I loved my own father.
I love you...
Iike my son
that I'll never see.
Go to sleep.
Here's your victory.
He'll come back.
He'll come back
and he'll be millions!
I wonder what Spartacus
would say...
if he knew that the woman,
Varinia, and her child...
are slaves in my household?
Yes.
Crucify him!
I want no grave for him.
No marker.
His body's to be burnt
and his ashes scattered in secret.
Did you fear him, Crassus?
Not when I fought him.
I knew he could be beaten.
But now I fear him,
even more than I fear you.
- Me?
- Yes, my dear Caesar.
You!
I don't see the letter here
to the leader of the senate.
Julia, I don't like
the sound of weeping.
This is a happy house.
Please stop it.
There you are. Go away, Julia!
Where have you been all this time?
The city is full of Crassus' legions.
We've been hiding.
I don't know Rome
as well as I know Capua.
They're arresting everyone!
So this is the woman...
it took Crassus'
eight Roman legions to conquer!
I wish I had time to make
your acquaintance, my dear.
Unfortunately, we all have
to make journeys...
to different destinations.
- Where are we going?
- You're going to Aquitania.
The governor's one
of my innumerable cousins.
Here's a senatorial pass.
It's valid in all the known world.
Why do I have to go
to Aquitania?
'Cause I ask you to.
It's very good of you, Gracchus,
but I'd rather--
Double the money I promised you.
Here's two million sesterces.
Two million?
Here. Articles of Freedom
for the woman.
And here's a smaller document
that I've prepared...
for the child
befiitting its size.
Where are you going?
To Picenum.
Picenum?
That's the dreariest town in ltaly.
Will you please leave me?
Come with us.
See to it that I don't misuse
the money.
Don't be ridiculous.
I'm a senator.
Will you please go
before the soldiers come here?
This would really make
Crassus jealous.
Go and make
my joy complete.
Save your tears now.
Save them for the journey.
Prettier.
Halt!
Identify yourselves, please.
- Lentulus Batiatus.
- Climb down and identify yourselves.
- I object to that tone.
- I've got my orders.
Come down
and identify yourselves, please.
As I told you, I'm Lentulus Batiatus,
the lanista from Capua.
This--
my sister-in-law.
Lady, please.
She's travelling...
with her child to Aquitania
on a senatorial pass.
- Take a look through his baggage.
- Not a word, please.
What did you say?
- Tell the lady no loitering's allowed.
- Instantly.
Move on!
This is your son.
He's free, Spartacus!
Free!
He's free.
He'll remember you, Spartacus.
Because I'll tell him.
I'll tell him who his father was
and what he dreamed of!
Varinia, have mercy on us.
Get in the wagon.
My love, my life.
Please die. Die.
Please, please die, my love.
Oh, God!
Why can't you die?
Come on.
Good-bye, my love, my life.
Good-bye, good-bye.