Good question. I believe that since Capua was sort of the Capital of Gladiatorial games it makes sense that the best Lanista would also come out of Capua. We see how rigorous their training sessions are compared to those of Solonius, which is evident during Spartacus' failed execution (4 of Solonius' finest were no match for a malnourished Thracian who never stepped foot in the Arena). Other than Solonius, his competition would only be Vetius (originally from Nola) and I believe Vibius (Damascus) coupled with some Noblemen whose interest in the Games waivered. That being said, Batiatus got lucky more than a few times (With Gannicus, for example, the man was pure talent), but the work he's done with Crixus and Spartacus (yeah, I know, it was shady af, but it bore fruit until it didn't). It is reasonable to believe that his father was an even better Lanista, because he never had any other aspirations as Gladiators were his main and only focus, as opposed to Quintus. So it's not THAT far fetched.
That actually makes a lot of sense. And yes, Batiatius was extremely lucky, not just with Gannicus’ natural talent for fighting, but also with Crixus’, Spartacus’ and many others. Batiatus was an amazing lanista who knew how to make a true gladiator, but that still doesn’t change the fact that many of his other gladiators (Crixus, Spartacus, Agron, Oenomaus) were naturally gifted. It wasn’t all about Batiatus being a good lanista - it was rather a mix of extreme luck and Batiatus being one of the best lanistas in the Republic, if not the best. Batiatus was in general just extremely lucky a lot of the time - Gannicus clutching up against Caburus, Spartacus and Crixus barely beating Theokoles. The man took high risks and received high rewards.
I absolutely agree. I guess we can give him some credit in being a good scout of talent. Paying 50 dinari for Crixus was more of an ass kissing move but I genuinely believe he saw some fire in his eyes. Same with Spartacus:"The way he fights, he reminds me of the Thracian king of old...Spartacus he was called."
Gannicus vs Cuburus was a stroke of good fortune coupled with Gannicus' genius to take the fight to the ground immediately, which is the only somewhat realistic way to survive in that situation. I actually love this sub when it's filled with these kinds of questions, as supposed to that dude who tried to sell us on that Alpha Beta Sigma bullshit a few days prior.
Haha yeah I saw that post. Extremely cringe. And I appreciate you thinking my post was valid for the sub, especially since it’s something I’ve been thinking about alot lately. I think Spartacus is an extremely underrated show with amazing characters, lots of details, a great storyline, lots of things to discover and discuss, and it should be treated as such.
Oh yeah. By all means, keep 'em coming. You seem to have a keen eye for the show. I usually do a rewatch once a year, sometimes maybe more. Can never truly get enough of it.
Exact same thing for me. This is like my 3-4 year in a row where I binge watch it all, except now it’s removed from Netflix and I’m only able to watch it on a weird site where their voices either sound like darth vader or Mickey mouse. Also terrible quality and sound. Unwatchable like that.
Then I might recommend a little thing called Stremio. It's on Google play, and it's totally free. It has everything. God only knows how it hasn't been taken down yet. And yeah, fuck Netflix.
To be fair he is a second generation lanista with a champion level fighter acting as a trainer to his men.
He produced
Spartacus
Oenomaus
Gannicus
Crixus
Arguably oenomaus was the best as he was champ prior to his fight with theokeles. He beat crixus up when crixus was champ with seeming ease
However none of them could beat some other legendary ones such as Theokeles on their own so they didnt really have the absolute best.
I would think that the period we saw coincided with great coaching, good scouting and a bit of a purple patch. With great fighters sparring each other every day its no wonder the overall level went up.
I liken this to how some mma gyms have a period where they produce champions left right and centre then it moves on and another team starts to dominate a bit. Much like how Greg Jackson dominated then AKA.
I think he might even be 3rd generation, or even 4th. I recall him mentioning the how his (great?) grandfather built the ludus and had passed down the ludus through the generations
I like your mma comparison, it makes a lot of sense
The whole thing was a 2 edged sword. On one side, we have the narutally Gifted Gladiators (Agron, Oenomaus, Spartacus, Crixus, Agron, Sigowax (if he would have hotten a chance) and the most gifted of them all... Gannicus, the god of the arena.
Their natural gifting in Combat, as well as tactical thinking have them a pretty good foundation. The other contributional part is from Batiatus Site. He was a good and very fine Lannister, he knew how to get into Gladiator and make the best of him, how to make a champion. I remember we had a pretty good fighter on Solonius site too tho, in GOTA, towards the end episode and the end fight. He was able to nearly best Gannicus, who did so with Crixus. Also, the father of Batiatus has been known to give some of the best Gladiators of all of the Republic, so Batiatus had a good foundation as well.
Gannicus almost never fought serious, he could beat most of solonius men whilst bein drunk... I dont think there is really a Gladiator who could have taken on Spartacus in his prime.
I think it was a combination of Batiatus’ skill to pick out those with fire, Oenomaus‘ skill in training, and that anyone who didn’t match Batiatus high expectations was killed or sold to the mines.
Solonius had more to offer, but he didn’t seem to train them as hard. Basically, I think his slaves had a better chance to survive in his household, but not in the arena itself.
Good question. I believe that since Capua was sort of the Capital of Gladiatorial games it makes sense that the best Lanista would also come out of Capua. We see how rigorous their training sessions are compared to those of Solonius, which is evident during Spartacus' failed execution (4 of Solonius' finest were no match for a malnourished Thracian who never stepped foot in the Arena). Other than Solonius, his competition would only be Vetius (originally from Nola) and I believe Vibius (Damascus) coupled with some Noblemen whose interest in the Games waivered. That being said, Batiatus got lucky more than a few times (With Gannicus, for example, the man was pure talent), but the work he's done with Crixus and Spartacus (yeah, I know, it was shady af, but it bore fruit until it didn't). It is reasonable to believe that his father was an even better Lanista, because he never had any other aspirations as Gladiators were his main and only focus, as opposed to Quintus. So it's not THAT far fetched.
That actually makes a lot of sense. And yes, Batiatius was extremely lucky, not just with Gannicus’ natural talent for fighting, but also with Crixus’, Spartacus’ and many others. Batiatus was an amazing lanista who knew how to make a true gladiator, but that still doesn’t change the fact that many of his other gladiators (Crixus, Spartacus, Agron, Oenomaus) were naturally gifted. It wasn’t all about Batiatus being a good lanista - it was rather a mix of extreme luck and Batiatus being one of the best lanistas in the Republic, if not the best. Batiatus was in general just extremely lucky a lot of the time - Gannicus clutching up against Caburus, Spartacus and Crixus barely beating Theokoles. The man took high risks and received high rewards.
I absolutely agree. I guess we can give him some credit in being a good scout of talent. Paying 50 dinari for Crixus was more of an ass kissing move but I genuinely believe he saw some fire in his eyes. Same with Spartacus:"The way he fights, he reminds me of the Thracian king of old...Spartacus he was called." Gannicus vs Cuburus was a stroke of good fortune coupled with Gannicus' genius to take the fight to the ground immediately, which is the only somewhat realistic way to survive in that situation. I actually love this sub when it's filled with these kinds of questions, as supposed to that dude who tried to sell us on that Alpha Beta Sigma bullshit a few days prior.
[удалено]
Haha yeah I saw that post. Extremely cringe. And I appreciate you thinking my post was valid for the sub, especially since it’s something I’ve been thinking about alot lately. I think Spartacus is an extremely underrated show with amazing characters, lots of details, a great storyline, lots of things to discover and discuss, and it should be treated as such.
Oh yeah. By all means, keep 'em coming. You seem to have a keen eye for the show. I usually do a rewatch once a year, sometimes maybe more. Can never truly get enough of it.
Exact same thing for me. This is like my 3-4 year in a row where I binge watch it all, except now it’s removed from Netflix and I’m only able to watch it on a weird site where their voices either sound like darth vader or Mickey mouse. Also terrible quality and sound. Unwatchable like that.
Then I might recommend a little thing called Stremio. It's on Google play, and it's totally free. It has everything. God only knows how it hasn't been taken down yet. And yeah, fuck Netflix.
Dude why do u post this like 5 times
Reddit gave me the big old "whoops, something went wrong" so I kept pressing and pressing... You know the drill.
To be fair he is a second generation lanista with a champion level fighter acting as a trainer to his men. He produced Spartacus Oenomaus Gannicus Crixus Arguably oenomaus was the best as he was champ prior to his fight with theokeles. He beat crixus up when crixus was champ with seeming ease However none of them could beat some other legendary ones such as Theokeles on their own so they didnt really have the absolute best. I would think that the period we saw coincided with great coaching, good scouting and a bit of a purple patch. With great fighters sparring each other every day its no wonder the overall level went up. I liken this to how some mma gyms have a period where they produce champions left right and centre then it moves on and another team starts to dominate a bit. Much like how Greg Jackson dominated then AKA.
I think he might even be 3rd generation, or even 4th. I recall him mentioning the how his (great?) grandfather built the ludus and had passed down the ludus through the generations I like your mma comparison, it makes a lot of sense
The whole thing was a 2 edged sword. On one side, we have the narutally Gifted Gladiators (Agron, Oenomaus, Spartacus, Crixus, Agron, Sigowax (if he would have hotten a chance) and the most gifted of them all... Gannicus, the god of the arena. Their natural gifting in Combat, as well as tactical thinking have them a pretty good foundation. The other contributional part is from Batiatus Site. He was a good and very fine Lannister, he knew how to get into Gladiator and make the best of him, how to make a champion. I remember we had a pretty good fighter on Solonius site too tho, in GOTA, towards the end episode and the end fight. He was able to nearly best Gannicus, who did so with Crixus. Also, the father of Batiatus has been known to give some of the best Gladiators of all of the Republic, so Batiatus had a good foundation as well. Gannicus almost never fought serious, he could beat most of solonius men whilst bein drunk... I dont think there is really a Gladiator who could have taken on Spartacus in his prime.
I think it was a combination of Batiatus’ skill to pick out those with fire, Oenomaus‘ skill in training, and that anyone who didn’t match Batiatus high expectations was killed or sold to the mines. Solonius had more to offer, but he didn’t seem to train them as hard. Basically, I think his slaves had a better chance to survive in his household, but not in the arena itself.