He arrives as the Getae attack and reunites with his wife, who tells him that she had a vision of him 'falling before a red serpent.' He and his wife manage to escape, only to be captured by Glaber the next day. The warrior leads a rebellion of the auxiliary troops against the Roman officers, then deserts to return to his village and his wife. But disenchantment with the Romans soon sets in when their allies' strategies leave their homeland unprotected from Getae marauders. In the series premiere, in 73 B.C., a nameless Thracian warrior and his fellow fighters align themselves with legate Gaius Claudius Glaber and Rome to protect their homeland. Incidental nudity and scenes of a sexual or of a violent nature are present throughout. The program is preceded by a warning that it purports to portray a 'historical portrayal of ancient Roman society that contains graphic violence and adult content'.

Brooke Williams as Aurelia – Varro's wife.

Craig Walsh Wrightson as Solonius – a former close friend, but now the greatest rival to the House of Batiatus.

Craig Parker as Gaius Claudius Glaber – a legatus in the Roman Army who is responsible for Spartacus' enslavement.

Viva Bianca as Ilithyia – the daughter of Roman senator Albinius and wife of legatus Gaius Claudius Glaber.

Lucy Lawless as Lucretia – Batiatus' wife.

John Hannah as Quintus Lentulus Batiatus – a lanista and Spartacus' dominus.Dan Feuerriegel as Agron – a new German gladiator recruit who helps Spartacus plot his uprising.Katrina Law as Mira – a slave girl sent to seduce Spartacus and becomes his lover, under threat of death.Erin Cummings as Sura – Spartacus' wife.Lesley-Ann Brandt as Naevia – Lucretia's loyal body slave.Eka Darville as Pietros – Barca's younger gay lover and partner.Antonio Te Maioha as Barca – nicknamed the 'Beast of Carthage', he is one of Batiatus' most successful gladiators, serves as a bodyguard for his dominus.

Jai Courtney as Varro – a Roman citizen who sold himself to the ludus to support his family, and who soon becomes Spartacus' confidant and friend in the ludus.

Tarabay as Ashur – a former gladiator from Syria whose leg was crippled in the arena by Crixus now serves Batiatus as a bookkeeper and henchman.

Peter Mensah as Oenomaus/Doctore – an African slave who serves as trainer of Batiatus' gladiators.

Naevia's lover and Lucretia's unwilling lover.

Manu Bennett as Crixus – a Gaul, he is Batiatus' top gladiator prior to Spartacus.

Andy Whitfield as Spartacus – a Thracian warrior who is condemned to slavery as a gladiator.

Main article: List of Spartacus characters

Spartacus television show