Publius Varinius (born circa 110 BC) was a Roman

praetor Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vario ...

in 73 BC,

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military command, or ' ...

in 72 BC, and a military commander who was unsuccessful during the

Third Servile War The Third Servile War, also called the Gladiator War and the War of Spartacus by Plutarch, was the last in a series of slave rebellions against the Roman Republic known as the Servile Wars. This third rebellion was the only one that directly ...

. The historical account of his involvement in the ''Third Servile War'' is incomplete, but it is known that an advance force of 2,000 led by his legate, Lucius Furius, was defeated, with Furius being killed in action, and that a later encounter also ended in the defeat of another 4,000 men. There is a 'Publius Varinius' recorded as holding the office of Governor of the province of Asia in 65 BC, but it is unknown if it is the same Publius Varinius as the Roman Praetor.

Portrayals in film or television

Varinius, played by Australian actor

Brett Tucker Brett Alan Tucker (born 21 May 1972) is an Australian actor and singer. He was a series regular in ''The Saddle Club'', ''McLeod's Daughters'', and ''Mistresses''. He is also known for his role as Daniel Fitzgerald in ''Neighbours''. He playe ...

, is a secondary antagonist in the

Starz Starz (stylized as STARZ since 2016; pronounced "stars") is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by Lions Gate Entertainment, and is the flagship property of parent subsidiary Starz Inc. Programming on Starz consist ...

series '' Spartacus: Vengeance''. The character version of Varinius is a military and political figure of some importance, holding the rank of praetor, like

Glaber Glaber, a Latin word meaning ''bald'', may refer to : * Arduin Glaber (died c. 977), the Count of Auriate from c. 935 and Margrave of Turin from c. 950 * Gaius Claudius Glaber, a Roman praetor in 73 BC. that failed to hem in Spartacus and his fell ...

(

Craig Parker Craig Parker (born 12 November 1970) is a New Zealand actor, known for his roles as Guy Warner in the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Street'' (1992–96, 2007–08, 2020), Haldir in the ''Lord of the Rings'' films ''The Fellowship of the Ring ...

); as such, due to the competitive nature of Roman politics, the two are rivals. Glaber is constantly at odds with Varinius and eventually sees him killed by a flaming stone shot from a catapult during an attack on Spartacus. Varinius was portrayed by Niall Refoy in the 2004 miniseries ''

Spartacus Spartacus ( el, Σπάρτακος '; la, Spartacus; c. 103–71 BC) was a Thracian gladiator who, along with Crixus, Gannicus, Castus, and Oenomaus, was one of the escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprising ...

''. He was renamed as Publius Maximus.

Selected ancient sources

*Sallust, ''Histories'' 3.95-98 Maurenbrecher. *Frontinus, ''Strategemata'' 1.5.22. *Plutarch, ''Crassus'' 9.4-6. *Appian, ''Civil Wars'' 1.116.Appian conflates the names of Varinius and Claudius Glaber, writing ''Varinios Glabros'', not Varinius Faber, as in the Ancient Sourcebook translation. *Florus, ''Epitome'' 2.8.5 (Varinius is the unnamed general whose camp was attacked) *The Spartacus War by Barry Strauss

Notes

Bibliography

*Bradley, Keith. Slavery and Rebellion in the Roman World. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1989, pp. 95–96. *Broughton, T. Robert S. "Magistrates of the Roman Republic." Vol. 2. Cleveland: Case Western University Press, 1968, p. 110 & 119. 1st-century BC Romans Roman governors of Asia Roman Republican praetors Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown {{AncientRome-bio-stub