The prisoner's true name unknown, Quintus Lentulus Batiatus, the owner of a ludus in Capua, suggests to name him 'Spartacus', because he fought like the ferocious Thracian king of that name. Senator Albinius commutes the punishment from death to slavery. Against all odds in the arena, he slays the four gladiators appointed to execute him and becomes an instant sensation with the crowd. The Thracian is shipped to Capua in Italy, a center of gladiator training. The Thracian and his wife Sura are captured by Glaber the next day the Thracian is condemned to die in the gladiator arena for his crime, while Sura is taken away, condemned to slavery. The Thracian, feeling betrayed, leads a mutiny against Glaber, and returns to find his village destroyed. Glaber is persuaded by his wife Ilithyia to seek greater glory, decides to break off attacking the Getae and directly confront the forces of Mithridates in Asia Minor. The Getae frequently raid the Thracians' lands, so the Thracians are persuaded by Glaber to enlist in the Romans' service as auxiliaries. In 72–71 BC, Roman general Marcus Terentius Varro Lucullus, proconsul of the Roman province of Macedonia, marched against the Getae, who were allies of Rome's enemy, Mithridates VI of Pontus. The story begins with an unnamed Thracian's involvement in a unit of Roman auxiliary in a campaign against the Getae in the Lower Danube under the command of the legatus, Claudius Glaber. A sequel series is in development at Starz, with DeKnight returning to write for the show. On June 4, 2012, Starz announced the third and final season, titled Spartacus: War of the Damned.

When the actor's cancer recurred and he later died on September 11, 2011, Starz had actor Liam McIntyre take on the role of Spartacus in the second season titled Spartacus: Vengeance. Īfter the completion of the first season titled Spartacus: Blood and Sand, production for another season was delayed because lead actor Andy Whitfield was diagnosed with early-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma so Starz produced a six-episode prequel miniseries entitled Spartacus: Gods of the Arena.

DeKnight and Robert Tapert focused on structuring the events of Spartacus' obscure early life leading up to the beginning of historical records.

The fiction series was inspired by the historical figure of Spartacus, a Thracian gladiator who from 73 to 71 BC led a major slave uprising against the Roman Republic departing from Capua. Spartacus is an American television series produced in New Zealand that premiered on Starz on January 22, 2010, and concluded on April 12, 2013.

Spartacus by J.M. Clements