Titus Lentulus Batiatus
First appearance	S0E03: Paterfamilias
Last appearance	S0E05: Reckoning S2E02: A Place In This World (flashback)
Profession	Lanista
Race	Roman
Relationships	Quintus Lentulus Batiatus (Son, deceased) Lucretia (Daughter-in-law, deceased) Oenomaus (Gladiator/Friend, deceased) Santos (Body Slave, deceased) Magnetius (Top Champion) Titus Calavius (Friend, deceased)
Status	Deceased (Poisoned by Lucretia)
Actor/Actress	Jeffrey Thomas

Titus Lentulus Batiatus is the father of Quintus Lentulus Batiatus and 'Paterfamilias' (head) of The House of Batiatus in Spartacus: Gods of the Arena.

Contents 1 Appearance 2 Personality 3 Early Life 4 Gods of the Arena 5 Trivia 6 Quotes 7 References 8 Comments

AppearanceEdit

Titus is an old man with a weathered face that can appear both gentle and harsh at times.

PersonalityEdit

A man of honor and discipline, Titus is extremely reverent of Roman tradition and society, and demands the same of those around him. As Quintus mentions to Spartacus, Titus "aspired to be nothing more than a humble lanista". Unlike his son, Titus is humble, patient, respectful, kind, and cautious to all those around him. Also in stark contrast to Quintus' overly condescending leadership style, Titus shows great pride and respect toward his slaves, and believes them of high worth. He is most respectful of the men he trained as gladiators, with a possible exception for Gannicus, who Titus regards as a deviation of his household's honor. The gladiator he respects the most is Oenomaus, whom he has a close relationship with and has valued since Oenomaus was brought to the ludus.

Titus severely disapproves of Quintus's own ambitions, resulting in heavy friction between father and son, which remains a major source of conflict in the prequel. Due to his paternalistic authority and respect for the old ways, Titus is at odds with what he regards as Batiatus breaking from family reputation and tradition. Because of Batiatus' schemes, Titus devotes his energy to restore his family name, as well as his relationship with his son. He is also unapproving of Quintus's marriage to Lucretia, who is of a lower class than her husband, and as a result Titus disregards her.

The Paterfamilias of the Batiatus house is shown as being both harsh and soft in his interactions with people. When he returns to his household, many of the slaves and gladiators are happy to see him again and welcome him warmly, particularly Auctus, Oenomaus, and Melitta. On the other hand, he treats Lucretia and Gaia with unconcealed coldness. Despite failing health and advanced age, Titus remains tightly firm to his cause, and wishes to bring back the respect he felt was lost from his house after his son's takeover. However, honeyed wine, his favorite drink, is a weak-point of Titus that is constantly exploited by others to gain his favor. When Lucretia offers him honeyed wine, for instance, Titus warms to her and accepts the gift with pleasure, despite his personal distaste for her. 

He is a skilled businessman, and is experienced in dealings of the ludus. When clearing the mess from Batiatus's doings, he and Tullius are able to find a solution to their problem and sort out past transgressions, even though Titus emerges at a disadvantage. Titus remains a reasonable, yet stubborn, man whose dealings reflect his honorable character, no matter the cost; he was even willing to be excluded from the games just for the sake of honoring a request from his close friend Oenomaus.

Titus was once married, and states that the loss of his wife is sorely felt by him each and every day.

Early LifeEdit

Titus' father founded the ludus, and taught his son its operations. Titus later married and had a son, Quintus, whom he loved though kept at a distance and treated harshly. His wife later passed away, which left him devastated. He disapproved of his son's marriage to Lucretia, and often belittled him, in a misguided attempt to make him stronger.

He took great care in personally selecting those he recruited to be gladiators. At one point, he even

ventured into the Pits and witnessed and was impressed by the unlikely young African fighter Oenomaus. He purchased the African and attempted to mentor him in becoming a gladiator, encouraging him to fight for something other than his own survival. When Oenomaus chose to fight to honor Titus' house, the latter was honored himself, and they develop a close bond following his initiation into the brotherhood.

His ill treatment of Lucretia eventually reaches a breaking point, and she begins to poison his honeyed wine. The poison is not meant to kill him however, but merely make him ill enough to force his retire. Titus eventually moves to Sicily, leaving Batiatus' Ludus in his son's hands, and his health improves in the absence of Lucreta's poison, although all but Lucretia attribute this to a change in climate.

Gods of the ArenaEdit

Titus spends many months in Sicily recovering his health. However, he receives word from a worried friend, Solonius, who tells him of Batiatus's violent dealings with Tullius. Titus decides to return to his h

ome.

On arrival, Titus finds the ludus to be in a deplorable state. He discovers Batiatus in bed with both Lucretia and Gaia and calls him angrily to his office, where he tells him that he knows Tullius offered to buy Gannicus and that he has been excluded from the games for denying the offer. He arranges to meet Tullius and Vettius the next morning to try and sort out his son's mess, which he does, but at his son's expense: Gannicus is removed from a Primus match secured by Quintus, and the remainder of the combatants are to be paired against each other.

Titus is impressed, however, when the gladiator Crixus performs well in the Games, and compliments his son in the Gaul's training. He decides to remain in Capua, believing he can help restore the ludus to former glory. 

Towards the end of Gods of the Arena, Titus' health is rapidly declining and fears that his time on earth will end soon. On his deathbed, he is nursed by Lucretia and her slaves; as a result of her care, Tit

us finally begins to approve of his daughter-in-law. However, Lucretia reveals that she had spitefully poisoned his wine, as retaliation for his inaction with Gaia's murder and to enable Quintus to expand beyond his father's shadow. Titus puts up a fight and attacks Lucretia, but the extra dosage of poison in his drink finally overwhelms him - he crawls weakly on the floor, spewing blood from

his nose and mouth, and succumbs to death. The wine he drank having been a gift from Tullius, Lucretia frames his murder on the latter, in order to force Quintus to take revenge for the murder of Gaia.

In keeping with Roman tradition, Titus's body is cremated, to the scene of his gladiators in combat.

TriviaEdit

• Jeffrey Thomas, the actor who plays Titus, is 183cm (6' 0") tall.
• In stark contrast to his son's overly condescending leadership, Titus Batiatus shows great pride and respect for his slaves (men and women alike) and holds the games and its traditions in reverence. He has so much respect to his servants that he even remembers their faces, names and when he bought them.
• He is one of the only main Roman characters who doesn't seem to have sex with his slaves.
• Titus' favorite drink is honeyed wine, and despite his negative view of Lucretia, she can earn his good will by offering his favored drink to him.
• His full name (Titus Lentulus Batiatus) is revealed at his funeral by his son.
• In history, 'Titus' was one of the ten most common Roman personal names.
• It is revealed in Shadow Games that he knew Magistrate Titus Calvaius and Calvaius mentions to Batiatus that his father was a true roman who knew his place.

QuotesEdit

"You seek to ply me with honeyed wine? ... You find my weakness, and I would have it exploited."^[1]
―Titus to Lucretia

"A champion is more than his victories upon the sands. He is the sum of his actions. Every decision, no matter how small, speaks to the man, and the balance of his heart."^[2]
―Titus to Batiatus

"I would witness the games here, among the people, with son beside me."^[2]
―Titus to Batiatus

"Tell me you're not the serpent I thought you to be."
―Titus to Lucretia

ReferencesEdit

1. ↑ Spartacus: Gods of the Arena Prequel; Episode 3
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Spartacus: Gods of the Arena Prequel; Episode 4