This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (January 2010)

Crixus (died 72 BC) was a leader of the slave rebellion in the Third Servile War, along with Spartacus and Oenomaus.

He was a Gaul (his name means "one with curly hair" in Gaulish), and had been a slave for several years before the revolt. Crixus had fought for the Allobroges against the Romans and had been captured. Like his companions, Crixus had trained as a gladiator in Capua. In several early engagements, his company of Celtic gladiators changed the tide of battle by attacking weak points exposed by the slave army.

Initially the slave army proved very successful, defeating the forces the Roman Senate sent to put down the insurrection; however, Crixus separated from Spartacus towards the end of the year. Spartacus wanted to return to the slaves' homelands in Gaul and the Balkans, but Crixus is said to have set his heart on plunder, and stayed on in southern Italy. Some sources say that the break off from Spartacus may have also been a military strategy conducted by both Crixus and Spartacus to throw off the Romans as a decoy. This would allow Spartacus an escape to the far north with the main body of the army as Roman armies were starting to return home from overseas campaigns to the west and the east; this would be a dangerous position for Spartacus. If the decoy worked, Crixus would then meet up with Spartacus by another route; but there is no real data that proves that this was so.

In the spring of 72 BC one of the two Roman consuls sent to quash the rebellion, Lucius Gellius Publicola, caught up with Crixus and his forces, composed of Celts and Germanic tribesmen, in the region of Apulia. In the ensuing battle at Mount Garganus Crixus used his Germanic infantry to soften up the Romans before committing his elite Celtic gladiators; however his Germanic fighters were routed and Crixus was forced to fight a losing defensive action. Crixus was killed and his 30,000 strong army defeated.^[1]

In the manner of Roman aristocrats, Spartacus honored the memory of the ex-gladiator Crixus with funeral games at which 300 Roman prisoners-of-war were forced to fight to the death like gladiators.^[2]

In popular culture[link]

• Crixus was portrayed by Jon Ireland in the 1960 film Spartacus.
• Crixus appears as a character in Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of Spartacus.
• Crixus is portrayed by Paul Kynman in the 2004 TV movie Spartacus.
• Crixus is played by Manu Bennett in the Starz television series Spartacus: Blood and Sand,^[3] the prequel Spartacus: Gods of the Arena and sequel Spartacus: Vengeance. Contrasting the 1960 film, in which Crixus and Spartacus quickly become close friends, the Starz series initially portrays them as intense rivals with a near-hatred of one another. It is not until the rebellion that the two become respected friends.
• In the expandable turn-based miniature wargaming system Heroscape, Crixus is a unique gladiator hero following the general Einar

References[link]

• Appian, Civil Wars 1.116
• Livy, Perochiae 96
• Florus, Epitome 2.8.20 [1]
• Sallust, Fragmenta Historiarum 3
• Smith, William (1870), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology Vol 1 p. 896
• Bradley, Keith. Slavery and Rebellion in the Roman World. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1989. ISBN 0-253-21169-7

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (March 2011)

Manu Bennett (born 10 October 1969) is an actor from New Zealand who has appeared in television series and movies.

Early life[link]

Born in New Zealand, Bennett's mother was an Australian bikini model, his father a New Zealand singer. The family moved to Australia when Bennett was a few months old. On his father's side, Bennett is of Maori (specifically Te Arawa and Ngāti Kahungunu) and Irish descent. His mother is of Scottish and Spanish ancestry. He was raised mostly between Sydney and Newcastle, Australia. In 1986, Bennett returned to New Zealand to attend Te Aute College, where he played for the 1st XV. Upon returning to Australia, Bennett was chosen in the New South Wales Schoolboys Rugby Union Team. Interested in modern dancing, classical ballet and piano, Bennett quit rugby to attend university to study dance and drama, then travelled to Los Angeles on a scholarship to attend the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute.

Career[link]

Bennett's professional acting career began in 1993 in the teen soap Paradise Beach. He then played guest roles in other Australian TV dramas, including Water Rats, All Saints, and Beastmaster. Bennett then starred alongside Claudia Karvan in the mini series The Violent Earth, produced by French company Gaumont. In 1996, Manu participated in theater. In the open air production of D. H. Lawrence's " Lady Chatterley's Lover", Manu played the infamous gamekeeper Oliver Mellors, directed by Australian film/theatre director Robert Chuter.

In 1999, Bennett landed his first leading role in a feature film named Tomoko, shot on location in Tokyo, starring opposite Rumiko Koyanagi. In 2000, Bennett starred in Xena: Warrior Princess as Marc Antony, then scored a role opposite Without A Trace star Anthony La Paglia, where Bennett displayed his dancing skills as a salsa dance teacher in the award-winning Australian film, Lantana.

Bennett returned to New Zealand in 2000 to appear in the popular television drama, Shortland Street, then went on to play a cop turned lawyer in Street Legal before working with his director cousin Michael Bennett on the Maori Twilight Zone styled series Mataku before working with Richard Taylor from the Academy Award winning firm Weta Workshop on Creature Quest.

In 2003, Bennett hosted Going Straight, a New Zealand reality show.

In 2006, Bennett was cast in The Marine alongside WWE wrestling star John Cena and Robert Patrick. In 2007, Bennett was cast as one of ten convicts alongside Stone Cold Steve Austin and Vinnie Jones in The Condemned. In 2006, Bennett was cast opposite Josh Hartnett to play Deputy Billy Kitka in the US film 30 Days of Night.

In 2010, Bennett co-starred in the new American television series Spartacus: Blood and Sand, about the defiant gladiator Spartacus. Bennett has the key featured role of Crixus, Champion of Capua. ^[1]

Film/Television Appearances[link]

^[2]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Manu Bennett at the Internet Movie Database