| Santos | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
| First appearance | S0E03: Paterfamilias S1E02: Sacramentum Gladiatorum | |
| Last appearance | S3E09: The Dead and the Dying | |
| Profession | Body Slave (former) Escaped Slave Rebel | |
| Race | Numidian | |
| Relationships | Titus Lentulus Batiatus (Dominus, deceased) Quintus Lentulus Batiatus (Dominus, deceased) | |
| Status | Unknown (presumed deceased or active) | |
| Actor/Actress | Made Man Chris | |
Santos is a slave in the House of Batiatus and later a rebel under Spartacus' command.
Character Outline[]
Large, dark-skinned and silent, Santos serves as Batiatus' body slave and personal attendant. As body slave to Titus Lentulus Batiatus, he kept his hair in braids and would wear a white cloak whenever accompanying his dominus on pressing business. With Quintus Lentulus Batiatus, he wore sandals, breeches, and a tight metal slave collar with inscriptions on a large metallic tag, and kept his head shaved. Interestingly, it seems that he did not wear a slave collar when serving Titus, but Quintus apparently deemed it a necessity.
Gods of the Arena[]
Santos was originally the body slave of Titus Batiatus, accompanying him to the ludus in the episode Paterfamilias. After Titus' death, he would eventually serve his son Quintus in the same capacity. Although Santos is nothing but silent and attentive, Quintus at one point takes out his frustration on him by punching his shoulder. When Titus dies, Santos sits tenderly at his bedside and looks upon him, apparently in mourning, before Quintus pushes him out of the way.
Blood and Sand[]
Santos is Batiatus' silent body slave who does whatever he is commanded. While he is the first slave to be heard speaking, it is his one and only line: "Dominus." He typically follows his Dominus and does menial duties. He was present at the death of Barca, and had to hastily clean up the mess with the sudden arrival of Magistrate Titus Calavius.
Throughout the entire season he does nothing but accompany and serve Batiatus, but he bears witness to many key moments. While he does not take up arms in the revolt at the ludus, he is one of the many slaves who take their leave with Spartacus.
Vengeance[]
Santos serves as a background character throughout the season, and survives to the end.
War of the Damned[]
Santos is seen for the first
Santos above Nasir.
time in the crowd with the other rebels on the Tribute Games for Crixus. Afterwards it is unknown what happened to him.
It is assumed that Santos was most likely killed either in the final battle or was captured and crucified as he is not seen again. It is also possible that he escaped the battlefield and traveled into the alps with other survivors and embraced true freedom.
Trivia[]
- Santos has no lines (other than one spoken at the beginning of the series), yet is a constant 'background' feature throughout Blood and Sand, Gods of the Arena, Vengeance and War of the Damned.
- In Gods of the Arena, we learn of his origin as Titus' body slave and attendant.
- Santos is frequently mentioned by name in the commentary tracks on the Blu-ray releases; the show-runners in particular often joke about some of the more obscene and sexual scenes the relatively inexperienced and rather religious foreign actor had to witness.
- The name Santos may be an anachronism, as its origin seem to be a Medieval Castilian (Spanish) name for someone born on All Saint's Day. Santos is etymologically related to the Latin term Sanctus.
- Santos' origins could be with the agricultural Bafour (pre-Haratin) people of North Africa, or the nomadic Melanogaetuli (Black Gaetulians) in Algeria (Numidia).
- Santos is sometimes confused with a galdiator from the House of Batiatus named Ortius.
- Body slave in Latin is Servus Corporis.
- As the personal body-slave to both Titus and Quintus Batiatus, Santos would have been known as an Amanuensis, meaning "within hand's reach".
- Santos was a regular escort for Titus and Quintus Batiatus on the streets of Capua, and was even among the slaves who aided Quintus Lentulus Batiatus to abduct Tullius, killing his men in the process, which would indicate that Santos was something of a bodyguard. The Roman term for a private bodyguard was Stipator, which translates as "attendent" or "escort".
Quotes[]
Quintus Lentulus Batiatus: "Close the curtains! Santos, clean the blood up in there! Get it cleaned up!"
Santos (to Batiatus): "Dominus" (Santos' one and only line)