Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Batiatus

Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Batiatus (or Vatia ) was a master gladiator ( lanista ) and the owner of a gladiator school in Capua .

His school broke out in 73 BC due to the poor living conditions. Chr. Spartacus and more than 70 other gladiators from the numbers in these sources. This led to the Spartacus Rebellion , the most important slave rebellion in Roman history.

The plausible assumption goes back to Friedrich Münzer that this Lentulus Batiatus, since the Cognomen Batiatus does not occur otherwise, is identical to the Gnaeus Lentulus Vatia mentioned in Cicero ( Epistulae ad Quintum Fratrem 2, 3, 5) . It fits that Orosius ( Historiae adversum Paganos 5, 24) calls the owner of the gladiator school Gnaeus Lentulus . Batiatus is a corrupted form of Vatia that can be explained by Plutarch, who wrote in Greek. After that, he was a lentulus adopted by a vatia, or a vatia adopted by a lentulus.

Lentulus Batiatus as a film role

Although the ancient sources only mention him and say nothing else about him, Lentulus Batiatus plays a prominent role in most of the film adaptations of the story of Spartacus. In Stanley Kubrick's historical film Spartacus , the historically reconstructable facts were heavily embellished and modified. Peter Ustinov received the Oscar for best supporting actor in 1961 for his portrayal of Batiatus in this film . In the 2004 US television film , Lentulus was played by Ian McNeice . In the television series Spartacus he is played by John Hannah , but here is called Quintus Lentulus Batiatus.

Sources (chronological)

Titus Livius , Book 95 (only preserved as a summary, there referred to as Lentulus )
Plutarch , Crassus 8 (as Lentlus Batiatus , Λέντλος Βατίατος)
Florus , Epitoma de Tito Livio 9, 21 (as Lentulus )
Orosius , Historiae adversum Paganos 5, 24 (as Gnaeus Lentulus )

literature

Friedrich Münzer : Cornelius 209 Cn. (Cornelius) Lentulus Batiatus. In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume IV, 2, Stuttgart 1901, column 1307.
Karl-Ludwig Elvers : Cornelius I 43 (C.) Lentulus Batiatus (or Vatia), C. In: Der Neue Pauly (DNP). Volume 3, Metzler, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-476-01473-8 , column 174.

Web links

The role of Lentulus Batiatus in the IMDb

Remarks

^ Friedrich Münzer: Cornelius 209 Cn. (Cornelius) Lentulus Batiatus. In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume IV, 2, Stuttgart 1901, column 1307.
^ Friedrich Münzer: Cornelius 231 Cn. (Cornelius) Lentulus Vatia. In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume IV, 2, Stuttgart 1901, Col. 1402.
^ DR Shackleton Bailey : The Roman Nobility in the Second Civil War. In: The Classical Quarterly 10, 1960, pp. 258-259, note 3; DR Shackleton Bailey: Two Studies in Roman Nomenclature (= American Classical Studies 3, ISSN 0278-5943 ). American Philological Association, New York NY 1976, pp. 31-32, 114.

personal data
SURNAME	Cornelius Lentulus Batiatus, Gnaeus
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Lentulus Batiatus, Gnaeus Cornelius; Lentulus Vatia, Gnaeus Cornelius; Cornelius Lentulus Vatia, Gnaeus; Lentulus Batiatus, Gnaeus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Owner of a gladiator school in Capua
DATE OF BIRTH	2nd century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH	1st century BC Chr.

[1] Friedrich Münzer: Cornelius 209 Cn. (Cornelius) Lentulus Batiatus. In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume IV, 2, Stuttgart 1901, column 1307.

[2] Friedrich Münzer: Cornelius 231 Cn. (Cornelius) Lentulus Vatia. In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume IV, 2, Stuttgart 1901, Col. 1402.

[3] DR Shackleton Bailey : The Roman Nobility in the Second Civil War. In: The Classical Quarterly 10, 1960, pp. 258-259, note 3; DR Shackleton Bailey: Two Studies in Roman Nomenclature (= American Classical Studies 3, ISSN 0278-5943 ). American Philological Association, New York NY 1976, pp. 31-32, 114.