Spartacus: Blood and Sand is the first season of American television series Spartacus, which premiered on Starz on January 22, 2010. The series was inspired by the historical figure of Spartacus (played by Andy Whitfield), a Thracian gladiator who from 73 to 71 BC led a major slave uprising against the Roman Republic. Executive producers Steven S. DeKnight and Robert Tapert focused on structuring the events of Spartacus’ obscure early life leading up to the beginning of historical records.

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. But disenchantment with the Romans soon sets in when their allies’ strategies leave their homeland unprotected from Getae marauders. The warrior leads a rebellion of the auxiliary troops against the Roman officers, then deserts to return to his village and his wife. 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’s wife, Sura, is forced into slavery and he and the other deserters are shipped to the arena in Capua, to be put to death publicly by gladiators, whereupon he proves his worth by defeating all four opponents, and is given a new name, Spartacus.

The newly enslaved Thracian warrior Spartacus enters the ludus of Lentulus Batiatus to receive gladiator training and discipline. He soon manages to make an enemy of the undefeated Gallic champion of Capua, Crixus, and the attention of whip-wielding taskmaster Doctore who uses harsh methods to test the new novices. He also meets Varro, a Roman gladiator by bankruptcy, who becomes his friend. The crafty but cash-strapped Batiatus fails to impress Glaber and so makes Spartacus, his new slave, an offer: if he cooperates and trains as a prized gladiator, he will use his power to help locate his wife. Consequently Spartacus trains to face the test to be a gladiator, and throws Crixus from the platform right before being killed. Afterwards, the victorious Spartacus swears the sacramentum of the gladiator brotherhood.