Rhaskos

Rhaskos
First appearance	S0E01: Past Transgressions S1E02: Sacramentum Gladiatorum S2E01: Fugitivus
Last appearance	S2E05: Libertus
Profession	Gladiator (House of Batiatus) Escaped Slave Rebel
Race	Gaul
Relationships	Crixus (Leader/Friend, deceased) Spartacus (Leader/Comrade, deceased) Titus Lentulus Batiatus (Dominus, deceased) Quintus Lentulus Batiatus (Dominus, deceased) Ulpius (Doctore, deceased) Oenomaus (Doctore/Comrade, deceased) Duratius (Friend, deceased) Chadara (Lover, deceased) Acer (Friend, deceased) Liscus (Friend, deceased) Fortis (Friend, deceased) Hamilcar (Friend, deceased) Varro (Friend, deceased) Rabanus (Friend, deceased) Ortius (Friend, deceased) Dagan (Friend, deceased) Diona (Fellow victim, deceased) Cossutius (Predator, deceased) Ashur (Rival, deceased) Agron (Rival/comrade) Publius Varinius (Enemy, deceased) Gaius Claudius Glaber (Enemy, deceased) Seppius (Enemy, deceased)
Status	Deceased (Killed by Mycter)
Actor/Actress	Ioane King

Rhaskos is a gladiator in Batiatus' Ludus. He joins Spartacus and the other freed slaves in seeking vengeance, and becomes one of the more prominent rebels.

Appearance

Rhaskos is a medium height, muscular, and bald Gaul who serves as one of Batiatus' many gladiators. Early on in the series, Rhaskos is extremely dirty, with mud and grime covering his entire body, although later on he bares a cleaner look.

Personality

Indiscrimate in his self-indulgent activities, Rhaskos enjoys a pleasurable life of eating, drinking, fighting, gambling, and sex. Being the life of the party, Rhaskos is often seen socializing with the other Gauls, and has high respect for their leader Crixus, to whom he is very loyal and consider the "true champion" of the house. Rhaskos also enjoys the little things in life, and has a keen hand for gambling; the likes of Varro and Hamilcar often gamble with him in a game of dice.

As a rebel with a boisterous personality, Rhaskos is one of the most rambunctious warriors, with the intent of seeking enjoyment from wine and women. He is also unrestrained in his actions, and is unafraid to live his life to the fullest extent, going as far as to strip his clothes off when in a jolly mood. Due to Rhaskos' rambunctious personality, he gets into fights frequently, even when they serve no purpose. Rhaskos is also a bit of a show off, having sex and stripping nude whenever he can. He is often seen nude in the baths, even when not bathing, having once mentioned that "his cock is easily stirred". Because of this, however, Rhaskos also comes across as inconsiderate to those who do not share his entertainment, generally treating them with contempt. When provoked, Rhaskos can be rash and vicious.

Rhaskos' hygienic manners have also been put into question. According to Cossutius and Chadara, Rhaskos' body odor is equivalent to the smell of excrement, and, in as a result of his sexual habits, Chadara considers him unpleasant, with no consideration for pleasing women. This was seen with his encounters her and Diona.

According to Ashur, Rhaskos is illiterate and therefore cannot read a calendar, but yet has an ability to know what time of the month it is i.e. he knows when Ashur will bring the local prostitutes to the ludus.

Combat Prowess

A veteran of the ludus, Rhaskos possesses adept skills as a warrior and as a true testament to the prowess of gladiators, Rhaskos is an excellent warrior, skilled with both the sword, the spear and even his bare hands.

Gods of the Arena

Rhaskos is a minor gladiator in Batiatus' Ludus, and mainly serves as a background character. He often trains with his friend Duratius, and mocks Ashur on several occasions.

Rhaskos was later assigned by the nobleman, Cossutius, to have sex with him and the slave Diona. He would again take part in sex with Diona when the House of Batiatus was entertaining several nobles that would ensure a place in the Opening Games of the New Arena. During this time he also notices Ashur falsely translate to a Roman noble and offer Dagan up as a sex slave. When Dagan and Ashur later train in the square, Rhaskos points out to Ashur how Dagan appears to harbor a grudge against the Syrian.

Rhaskos and Diona together for the nobles.

During the funeral pyre of Titus Lentulus Batiatus, Rhaskos is selected as one of the six gladiators (with Gannicus, Crixus, Duratius, Barca and Gnaeus) to fight as the Lanista's body is burned. In this bout he is paired to face off against Gnaeus. 

He would later be selected for taking part in capturing Tullius, alongside Batiatus and several other gladiators.

Rhaskos does not take part in the Opening Games of the New Arena, but is seen later following Gannicus' freedom, and with the other gladiators bids him farewell.

Blood and Sand

Rhaskos spends most of the time training with the other gladiators, and is a close friend and admirer of Crixus, whom he holds as an idol and the true champion of the ludus. He sparred with Spartacus on many occasions, though was always defeated by the latter.

Following Varro's death, Rhaskos, along with Spartacus, Rabanus, and Hamilcar, acted as a pallbearer to Varro in carrying his body outside the ludus.

At first, Rhaskos is hesitant to join Spartacus, Hamilcar, and the German brothers in the revolt against Batiatus, given his loyalty to Crixus, whom Rhaskos considers the "true champion". After Spartacus fails to convince him, Rhaskos reveals this to Crixus who also has doubt towards Spartacus' plan.

After Crixus catapults Spartacus into the villa, however, Rhaskos is the first to charge into battle, easily tossing the guards around. Alongside Rabanus and other gladiators, he would corner Batiatus in the center of the villa, where Spartacus then arrives to kill Batiatus personally. From that moment on, they all embraced their new selves as freemen and rebels.

Vengeance

In his most prominent role in the series, Rhaskos is among the escaped slaves who are living as fugitives in the slums acting as Crixus' second-in-command of the Gauls. Rhaskos and the other Gauls help themselves to larger rations of food than given, which they feel is just since they are risking their lives to fight the Romans. Spartacus orders the Gauls to share what they have, creating a minor tension between Spartacus and Crixus, which is soon mended. Rhaskos usually displays reckless and insubordinate behavior, coming in conflict with Spartacus' more egalitarian ideals.

When the rebels attack a

Rhaskos and the Gauls.

villa and kill the guards and dominus, they celebrate in plundering the house. Chadara, a slave girl of the villa, catches Rhaskos' eye, but Mira drives him away in Chadara's defense. Rhaskos turns to celebrating and strips nude while drinking heavily, which Spartacus disregards since he wants to keep men like Rhaskos under control. Chadara later offers herself in reluctance to Rhaskos, since she feels she has nothing else to offer in return for the rebel's protection. Mira impedes their encounter and threatens Rhaskos with a knife. Rhaskos tells Mira that he would teach her a lesson if she were not Spartacus' lover. Despite this, Chadara chastises Mira for this action, given her master-slave mentality.

After Crixus learns of Naevia's whereabouts, the freed slaves split up with some going with Crixus and Spartacus to the mines, and others going with Agron to the coast. Rhaskos is seen with Chadara again, having one last good time before the two part, showing them both in good spirits, although Chadara claims she is only with him because he offers her protection.

Rhaskos is killed by Mycter.

During the attempt to free Naevia (which was successful), Rhaskos is one of three men captured by Glaber's soldiers in the mines. He is sentenced to death in the arena, alongside Crixus and Oenomaus and, although he fights bravely to save his life, he is greatly outnumbered and is put at a great disadvantage, which results in his death moments before Spartacus is able to set his plan in motion and rescue the other men. Crixus and Spartacus eventually avenge his death, and slays his killers during the burning of the arena. As a result, Rhaskos remains the only rebel casualty in the event.

Later when the rebels manage to defeat and capture Publius Varinius, Crixus angrily assaults the Praetor, and desires Vengeance for his involvement of the deaths of Acer and Rhaskos.

Trivia

• Ioane King, the actor who plays Rhaskos is 184cm (6'0") tall and weighs 91kg (202lbs).
• Steven Deknight, the creator of Spartacus, hinted that Rhaskos would have either died or played a significant role in Vengeance. The former proved to be the true statement, although Rhaskos' role in Vengeance was much larger than it was in the previous seasons.
• Rhaskos' name is among those that are shouted out at Crixus' funeral.
• Rhaskos is the first and only gladiator rebel to die in the arena before it was destroyed.
• Since Rhaskos is never seen fighting professionally in the arena, we may never learn what gladiator style he favored (though his Gaul background, stocky build and seeming preference for the sword suggests possibly Murmillo or Samnite).
• Although Rhaskos is described as a Gaul in the series, his name appears to be Thracian. Historically, Celtic tribes with a presence in the Balkans, where Thrace was located, included the Scordisci (located in Serbia) and the Boii and Volcae tribes, whom founded a settlement called Tylis (located in Bulgaria).
  • Rhaskos may be a Celt of the Scordisci, a tribal confederation of mixed Celt, Illyrian and Thracian elements. The Scordisci were dominant within the lands of Pannonia and Moesia, ancient countries which included parts of modern Serbia, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia and Austria. Their independence came to an end in 15 BCE when they submitted themselves to Roman rule in the wake of the conquest of Raetia by the future emperor Tiberius.

Quotes

"Varro, the dice call your name!"
—Rhaskos to Varro

"Spear any fish today in your little net?"
—Rhaskos to Gnaeus

Rhaskos: "You speak of dangerous things."
Spartacus: "We live in dangerous times." —Rhaskos to Spartacus about rebelling.

"My cock rages on!"
—Rhaskos singing drunk

"Your beauty, stirs my cock." —Rhaskos to Chadara

"If you were not Spartacus' bitch, I would show you how to use that. And my cock. -Rhaskos to Mira

Rhaskos: "They give us swords absent fucking edge."
Crixus: "Let us prove them fools for giving us swords at all."

Gallery