Gaia

Gaia
First appearance	S0E01: Past Transgressions
Last appearance	S0E04: Beneath The Mask
Profession	Roman Noble
Race	Roman
Relationships	Unnamed Husband (deceased) Lucretia (Friend/Lover, deceased) Gaia's Slave (Body Slave) Quintilius Varus (Friend) Quintus Lentulus Batiatus (Friend/Lover, deceased) Tullius (Love Interest/Killer, deceased)
Status	Deceased (Killed by Tullius)
Actor/Actress	Jaime Murray

Gaia is a Roman woman and a close friend of Lucretia. She appears exclusively in Gods of the Arena.

Appearance

Gaia was endowed with beauty and charm. She is often seen dressed in stylish robes, wearing a bright red wig and possesses a great amount of jewelry.

Personality

Gaia is a manipulative, adventurous individual with few inhibitions when it comes to men and sex. She has a reputation for seducing married men, but she also seduces Lucretia and speaks excitedly of sleeping with the gladiators. When she has a goal in sight, Gaia will charm and manipulate those around her to achieve these goals. Despite this, she is honest and caring towards Lucretia and wishes to help and protect her, but she does not discount the option of furthering her own goals (like finding a husband) at the same time. She wants to marry a rich man and is constantly on the lookout.

Even though Gaia has many contacts and friends amongst the Roman and Capuan societies, it appears that the only person she genuinely cares about other than herself is Lucretia, and she puts herself at risk for her sake.

History

Gaia is a Capua native and close friend of Lucretia's and they have known each other since they were young. Like Lucretia she doesn't come from a family of means, though she makes up for this by having a unique charm. She has many contacts among the social circles of both Rome and Capua, and amongst these is Tullius, who often tried to seduce her when they were younger, to no avail. 

She eventually married a man who was heavy of coin and moved to Rome. At some point in her marriage, her husband's fortunes began to drop slowly, but surely.

Gods of the Arena

Gaia arrives in Capua where she is just returning from her travels following the death of her husband. She and Lucretia spot each other in the marketplace and decide to catch up.

Gaia confesses that her husband died and now she is looking for a new husband to satisfy her rich tastes and support her. She is invited to stay in the House of Batiatus until she is able to marry a rich man; shortly before this, she gives Lucretia a very expensive wrist band. (This, with Gaia's wig in the last episode of Spartacus: Vengeance, is eventually dropped off the cliff).

Gaia and Lucretia in the marketplace.

Gaia is close to Lucretia, both emotionally and physically. She introduces Lucretia to the option of having sex with someone other than her husband (perhaps even a gladiator), and the two first become intimate under the influence of Gaia's opium. At later times, Batiatus is involved and they have threesomes. When Titus first returns, he stumbles upon the three of them naked and shows a strong dislike for Gaia thereafter.

Gaia's appearance.

Gaia first helps Lucretia and Batiatus with their business when she lures Varus to their household and convinces them to satisfy Varus's desires to see Gannicus have sex with a slave, Melitta. In doing so she manages to secure Gannicus in the primus of the arena games through Varus's favor.

News of the pleasures that the house of Batiatus offers is whispered amongst the high social circles. Soon, more men approach Lucretia wishing to see these with their own eyes.

With Gaia's help, Lucretia and Batiatus organize an evening of events, inviting many men and offering them masked slaves and gladiators to spend the evening with. The villa becomes the site of a night-long orgy. Tullius arrives late, but does not partake in any of the pleasures that are offered. 

Gaia's murder by Tullius.

Lucretia is unsettled by his presence, so Gaia decides to seduce him to try and gain favor for Batiatus. Once alone, Tullius tells her of how he longed for her when they were both youths, and says that he will indulge her passion for him as long as she passes a message on to Batiatus. Later, as Tullius leaves, he tells Lucretia that Gaia has this message. Gaia is then found dead in the room, her head violently smashed open. To hide the murder and to remain on good business terms with Tullius, Titus decides that Gaia's body should be thrown off the cliff, as if she had wandered out of the villa and fallen off whilst drunk. Lucretia witnesses the guards throwing her

Lucretia seeing Gaia thrown off the cliff.

body off and swears vengeance for the death of her dear friend.

Legacy

Lucretia keeps Gaia's characteristic red wig and adds it to her collection of blonde and brown wigs. She is seen wearing it many times during Spartacus: Blood and Sand; the wig is later dropped off the side of the Ludus, and the cliff, in the last episode of Spartacus: Vengeance and in the same episode, Lucretia throws herself off the cliff too, being reunited with Gaia, the wig and Batiatus.

List of appearance

Spartacus: Gods of the Arena

• 001: Past Transgressions
• 002: Missio
• 003: Paterfamilias
• 004: Beneath The Mask

Trivia

•  Gaia is a Greek name, but also stems from the Latin praenomen Gaius, of Etruscan origin. It does not include her Gens source.
• Gaia is the name of the Greek primordial earth goddess and both the bride and mother of Ouranos (Uranus), the original sky deity, with whom she conceived the Titans, according to Hesiod's the Theogony.
• As a widow of substantial wealth with no other family, Gaia stands as one of the few truly free women in Roman society, who would otherwise be under the control of her father, husband or brothers.

Quotes

"That woman is a force of fucking nature, one that has blown many an unsuspecting man to his ruin"
-Batiatus regarding Gaia

"Gannicus? That Celt with the ridiculously charming smile?"
-Gaia (about Gannicus)

"He is a Gorgon with a cock turning all those around him to stone."
-Gaia (of Titus)

"In desperate times fortune must give way to more assertive hands."
-Gaia