Marcellus (died 73 BC) was a Roman gladiator who served as a trainer at the lanista Lentulus Batiatus' gladiatorial school in Capua during the 1st century BC. He was the first victim of Spartacus' slave revolt in 73 BC, drowned in a pot of soup after taunting Spartacus about the sale of the slave Varinia, whom he loved.
Biography[]
Marcellus' death
Marcellus was born in the Roman Republic to a family of slaves, and he was purchased by Lentulus Batiatus and became a gladiator in his service. Marcellus excelled as a fighter and survived long enough to earn his freedom and become a trainer employed by his former master. Marcellus was sadistic and harsh with his master's recruits, and one of the recruits whom he abused was Spartacus. After discovering Spartacus' feelings for the female slave Varinia, Marcellus had Varinia taken from Spartacus' cell and sent to service a Spanish gladiator instead. Marcellus later told Spartacus that Varinia had been sold to Marcus Licinius Crassus, angering Spartacus and causing him to attack Marcellus in the kitchen area. During the ensuing struggle, Spartacus drowned Marcellus in a pot of soup, and he and the other gladiators proceeded to launch an uprising which led to the Third Servile War.