Once upon a time there lived an Empire that existed outside of the United States. This was before the time of Christ when Rome controlled the world. There was no such thing as Great Britain, or George Bush. At this time there was not even such a thing as the great Caesar. Rome was ruled over by the believed gods of Olympus.

This Roman Empire was expanding every day from the east to the west of the world. Explorers and warriors were being recruited but not enough were found. If the Roman conquest was to succeed the Romans needed more, so they made raids on smaller islands and nations and took as their prisoners those who surrendered.

Now in these times if you look the Via Appia you will see people, no…lesser than people. You will see the crucified remains of slaves. It was told that the Empire needed slaves though, am I correct? So why than would they kill them?

You see…Before these crucifixions there existed a threat to Rome:

Our Store Begins…

On a small island of Thasos in the Empire of Thrace lived a prosperous farming family. There was only however the mother and son. The son’ brother was killed in a war and the father had the same fate. This left the son to do all of the work at home for his mother, and he enjoyed the labours that he performed for he knew no other life. We join our son on his field…

“It is too hot to carry on…but mother. I must continue, with no looking back.” The boy said. He continued to push a small plough through the crop. It was harvesting season and this year the crops were as bad as ever. There was too much sun and not enough water to circulate throughout the crop. He relied on his crops in order to pay the land tax set forth by the Emperor. The emperor of Thrace was a man of good nature and a man that could be relied on as long as you did your part.

Just as the boy finished the days work a large bang was heard from the home. “Mother!” the boy yelled out, and he ran across the crops and into the house. He through down the straw in the door and looked around. “Mother, where are you?” he cried out, “In here boy… quickly now.” she said. He walked into the next room and seen his mother there on the floor. His mother you see was pregnant and it was time for her baby to come into this world. “Mother, hold on and push. That is all I know how to do.

His mother followed her son’ instruction but something went wrong. Just as the baby was ready to come out she froze and she stopped screaming. “Mother, the baby is okay. I think it is a baby girl.” but his mother didn’t answer him. He figured that she must have passed out during the labour, and he decided to finish it. There in front of him was his mother, naked on the table with his new sibling about to enter life. He grabbed the baby and pulled. Not knowing what was he was doing he simply pulled, and than as the babies cries stopped he dropped it. He strangled the baby with its own umbilical cord. He took a glace at his mother and moved around her body checking for a heart beat, but now it was apparent that she too was dead. He knew that if somebody came looking for her that he would be for sure charged for the murder of his to be sister and his mother. He had to do something.

The boy went into his room and took the sheet his mother had made for him off his bed and threw his belongings into the bag. The boy’ plan was to go into refuge and become a bandit. His plan was to run away from Thrace.

His plan almost became a reality until a siren was heard. He knew for sure that his mother was found with her baby beside her in the home, and when he was not found in the home, the guards were going to be searching for him. He looked behind and there was a warrior there. The boy ran away, but while he was looking back he ran into another warrior. He dropped to his knees and begged, “Please sir, you do not need to kill me. I am but a Shepard, I did not kill her, but as he looked back again he noticed that they were two different warriors, and it became apparent to him that he was now speaking to a Roman soldier. The soldier looked down at him and smiled, “You are right. You look like a strong boy. The empire can use you.” the soldier said. The boy looked up in dismay but than he smiled. He remembered a friend telling him stories of people getting captured by the Romans and being whisked off to a Gladiator School. The boy put his hands out, and the soldier strapped bindings around him.

“You know boy I was once a slave like you and look at what I have become…A warrior of a great empire, and you can too. What is your name?” the Roman asked. The boy thought hard and than even harder. He now knew he had no name. For in the time it was the fathers responsibility for naming a boy, and the father passed away before he was named. The only boys name that came to his mind was his brothers name. He thought about it, and he thought for sure that if he had no name they would think him suspicious, so while getting up from the sand he said his brothers name… “Spartacus…” he said quietly as if it were to himself but the Roman heard it faintly and looked at him, “What did you say boy?” asked the Roman, “S-s-s-partakes, my name is Spartacus.” and from that day forward he would be known as Spartacus. “A name worthy of an Imperial Gladiator.” The Roman said as he walked away in the sands.

What the Warrior did not know was how worthy and how fearful the name of Spartacus was to become!