Spartacus Page #4

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 one hundred miles from

where we now sit and squabble.

So are you suggesting that we

recall a legion from the frontier?

- Pompey, perhaps?

- And wait weeks for him to arrive?

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.

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 don't put yourself forward?

Agrippa would have blocked me

out of sheer spite.

Besides there's little honor

in defeating slaves...

and terrible shame

if one fails.

If Glabrus succeeds...

a minor rebellion is put down

and he owes me a favor.

And if he fails the whole city

will be panicked.

And the Senate will

embrace the wisdom...

of 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 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 to 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 and

country by country.

- 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!

- Spartacus!

If that is your wish.

And so one man doesn't

become a tyrant...

we need laws.

- What are they?

- Whatever we take...

we hold together.

No man should own anything

but his own weapon.

- We'll be rich with the gold taken.

- 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 both man and woman.

- We're one tribe then?

- Yes.

- One people?

- Yes!

Is that your will?

It is my will.

- It is my will.

- It is my 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 slaves or masters!

- What is going on up there?

- Some plantation...

is burning the stubble

of a field.

There's too much smoke

for that.

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!

Pick up your litters!

Glabrus wishes us to know...

that while he hasn't

encountered the brigands...

evidence of their

atrocities is everywhere.

"A slave who doesn't join

their ranks is put to the sword...

and any Roman unfortunate

enough to encounter them...

meets a fate worse than death.

It's 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 Mt. 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 better. A child needs a father

it can look up to.

A child?

We're going to have a child?

The slave army's climbing the north

wall of the mountain, my Lord.

A little less liberal use of the

term 'army', if you don't mind.

- Sorry, my Lord.

- We'll camp here for tonight.

Why don't we push on, my Lord?

Cut off the slaves before they

reach 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 to be here.

Do women lead your armies?

Is that why Jews...

- squirm under the Roman thumb?

- What's the excuse of the Gauls?

David has news for us.

Three cohorts of Roman soldiers

have taken a position...

on the road below us.

We're trapped.

They're so confident they haven't

even built a stockade.

Fifteen hundred men.

I knew this would happen,

Thracian, but you insisted.

"The people are tired.

They need rest."

Well, the dead rest forever.

You must've known

they'd follow us here.

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 as far ahead

as 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 honor.

No, 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

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