We need to get Fanfiction to allow more tabs so it makes the end of my stories a lot easier to read.
Spartacus: The rebellious gladiator who won a few battles with his untrained and undisciplined gladiators…
Vs…
Leonidas of Sparta: The Spartan king who fought with his Greek allies at the Battle of Thermopylae for 3 days.
Who…is…deadliest?
"We have two of the most similar warriors in history with the only differences in technology, time, and age." Mack said.
"Let's see how these two stack up." Dorian said.
Spartacus:
Circa: 71 BC
Age: 38
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 190 lbs.
Weapons and Armor:
Gladius
Trident
Scissor
Leather Belt
Scutum
Leonidas of Sparta:
Circa: 480 BC
Age: 60
Height: 5"8"
Weight: 165 lbs.
Weapons and Armor:
Xiphos
Dory
Aspis
Corinthian Helmet
Bronze Cuirass
Close Range:
Gladius vs. Xiphos
"The gladius is the Roman short sword, 30 inches in length, hard steel blade, actually adopted and named from the gladiators who used it." Dave explained.
"We've seen this weapon before and I'm not convinced of anything different between it and the Crocea Mors, the only test I can think of is can it cause enough damage through a helmet." Geoff said.
To test the damage of the sword, a gel head is given a Corinthian helmet and the expert will be given one swing, underneath the helmet is a load cell. Geoff gives the countdown and the expert gives a hard overhand chop to the helmet, denting it. "We only got 30 psi on the load cell so it would not cause a skull fracture or cause any altering damage to this guy." Geoff said.
"Our sword may be shorter, but it's definitely going through whatever armor Spartacus has." the Leonidas expert said.
"The xiphos is one of the shortest swords I've seen, at 12 inches long and around 2 pounds, it looks like a strange knife but it is a sword. The leaf shape of the iron blade makes it easier to thrust and pull out of thick armor while also causing more damage." Dave explained.
To test the lethality of the short sword, a gel torso is equipped with Spartacus' thick leather belt and the expert is given one thrust at the belt. Geoff gives the countdown and the expert stabs right into the center of the belt and half the blade goes through it. He yanks it out and the sword slide out with ease. "I see why the Spartans kept that sword so short, you can generate a lot more force with it, this is going through the small intestines and the wearer of this belt would soon bleed out." Dorian said.
So which close range weapon gets the edge? "Between the reach of the gladius and the penetrating power of the xiphos, I have to give it an even." Geoff said.
"If either one can close the distance on the other, the xiphos will give Leonidas the win, but if it's a distanced fight, the gladius could take it then, but still, even edge." Mack said.
"I agree, edge even." Dorian said.
EDGE: Even
Coming up, the titans of warfare bash and hack eachother with their special weapons, and later, Mack looks at the last stands of these two warriors.
Special Weapons:
Scissor vs. Aspis
"The scissor is a very effective weapon despite its look. The whole thing is 1½ feet; the handle is inside this tube, which makes it great for blocking. The hardened steel blade makes a lot of damage every place it hits, whether it be a slash, stab, or if it makes a grazing wound, it can make a very serious cut, and at 5 pounds, this makes it very easy for those grazes to be very serious cuts." Dave explained.
To test the killing power of the weapon, a gel torso with the cuirass and helmet Leonidas would wear is the target and he must get as many strikes possible in 15 seconds. Geoff gives the countdown and the expert gives an overhead swing at the helmet, the barb of the blade goes through the helmet. He regains the scissor and punches into the throat of the torso, decapitating it. He draws is arm back again for another punch and punches at the chest, but it only manages to scratch the armor. Geoff yells, "Time!" and the expert stops as Dr. Dorian assesses the trauma. "The first shot went the helmet and hit the scalp but not the skull; this would hurt, but not kill. The second shot cut his head off in one of the cleanest cuts I've ever seen. Of course, the final blow did not get through the armor, so three hits one kill." Dorian said.
"But, if I'm using this behind a scutum, I have double defense, the shield blocks and anything exposed I can cover with this, twist my wrist, and rip their hand wide open." the Spartacus expert claimed.
"But, you need both arms to do that, with the aspis, you could be one armed and still killing as many people as you want." the Leonidas expert said.
"The aspis is one of the biggest shields ever used. It was 4 feet in diameter and 24 pounds, your basically swinging a small child at someone. The shield is made of riveted planks of wood and coated in bronze, the lip that forms outer edge is pure bronze, and this can break necks, shatter skulls, and even a flat blow from the shield can knock someone out cold." Dave explained.
To test the lethality of the shield, the expert has four pressure sensors on the body to hit, one on the neck, one on the temple, one on the forehead, and one on the bicep of the left arm. Geoff gives the countdown and the expert whirls the shield back around his hip and swing, the rim hits the pressure sensor on the arm and bones are visibly shattered. He brings the shield up to him and shoves forward; the flat of the shield hits the sensor on the forehead. He brings the shield back around his hip again and in two rapid swings, hits the temple and neck. "The first shot broke the bones in the upper part of the arm in half so he could no longer use this arm, on the next shot, the pressure sensor picked up a 58, so that would knock him out. The next shot shattered the temple and sent pieces of skull into the brain, that's an instant kill. The next shot would break the C1 of the spine, that's basic life functions, without it, your dead instantly." Dorian said.
"There is the question of the fatigue this weapon can bring and that may play a major factor in the simulation." Mack said.
"But, Leonidas and all the other Spartans before him were trained from a young age with this shield, by the time he had completed his training, Leonidas would have carried the shield as if it were a pebble." the Leonidas expert said.
So which special weapon gets the edge? "I have to go with the aspis, it could serve a greater defensive purpose than the scissor and it could knock the scissor out of your hands." Geoff said.
"The scissor couldn't get through the bronze cuirass; the shield is coated in bronze and has hardwood in the center, which means the scissor has no chance of penetrating the shield, edge aspis." Mack said.
"Another thing is how fast can these weapons be used, the scissor had to have s loaded up punch to get the results we saw, the aspis could swing and shove very quickly, even a shove could knock you out. With that, I give my edge to the aspis." Dorian said.
EDGE: Aspis
Coming up, Mack takes insight on how these warriors spent their last days on Earth. Later, a double ended spear goes against a three barbed killer from the ocean.
Last Stand Tactics:
Third Servile War vs. Battle of Thermopylae
"Why did Spartacus perish during the Third Servile War?" Mack asked.
"Simply, he won some battles and his army wanted to ransack another town for supplies but Spartacus objected to this, but not wanting to anger his army, gave in. This gave an opening for Crassus, one of the men in the First Triumvirate with himself, Julius Caesar, and Pompey the Great, to barricade around Spartacus' troops in the city and commence siege warfare. At that point, Pompey was sent down to help Crassus in eliminating the slaves and Spartacus. In one of his last battles, he and some of his remaining troops led an all out attack against Crassus' legions, which many of perished in this last stand. His final battle led to his defeat and death, though it is not known if he died on the battlefield or was crucified with many of his slave troops, ending the Third Servile War." the Spartacus expert said.
"Why did the Battle of Thermopylae become Leonidas' last stand?" Mack asked.
"This was a strategic idea thought up by the many Greek generals during the Greco-Persian War, and Leonidas volunteered himself and his finest warriors to fight along with the thousands of Greek soldiers at the front lines. Leonidas actually had a few thousand soldiers but only brought 300 with him to leave protection incase Sparta was invaded. Before they began their march to the battle, Leonidas went and saw a Greek oracle for a prophecy of the battle and she said that if he sacrificed himself, all of Sparta would be saved. At the battle, they chose the narrow pass of Thermopylae because of the narrowness; this didn't allow the Persians to deploy their chariots and their size of the army slowed them down dramatically. The first day, Leonidas and his Spartans hold back a light infantry charge and his Spartans destroy this very quickly. The next day they fight the Immortals, the best the Persian army has, and are just as badly slaughtered. Near the end of the day, Xerxes, the king of Persia, has learned of a pass around the mountain and behind the Greek lines. Leonidas knew this and had 1,000 Phoenicians guard the pass, but feared their homes would be attacked and fled the pass. Hearing this, Leonidas had many of the Greek troops retreat; all that remained were his remaining Spartans and Thespians. When they collided with the Persians in the front and rear of the phalanx, everything broke apart, in this chaos, Leonidas was struck by Persian arrows and killed by a Persian soldier, his body was later decapitated, his head stuck on a stake and body crucified." the Leonidas expert said.
So which last stand gets the edge? "While Spartacus started a whole war by himself, Leonidas caused more problems and casualties for the Persian army by carefully selecting the terrain for the battle." Mack said.
EDGE: Battle of Thermopylae
Mid Range:
Trident vs. Dory
"The trident was originally a fishing tool used in the gladiatorial coliseum. Six feet long, 4 pounds, wood handle and steel head, the trident was very light and fast at thrusting." Dave said.
To test the killing ability of the trident, a gel torso without armor is the first target; the expert is given three thrusts to kill. The next target is wearing Leonidas' cuirass and has one thrust. Geoff gives the countdown and the expert thrusts, the middle prong goes into the chest and the hooked prongs hit nothing. He pulls out and the barb at the end has pieces of heart stuck to it. He thrusts again and all three prongs go into the abdomen, slicing through the large and small intestines. He pulls back and now bits of intestine are stuck to the barb. He thrusts the middle prong at the neck and it goes through the windpipe and into the spine. He rips the trident out again and steps to the next target and thrusts, the trident's middle prong makes a hole in the cuirass near the belly button area. "Nice, I thought the barbs would slow it down pulling out of the body but it didn't, you'd rip the heart up, tear large parts of the intestines out, and cut off his ability to breathe and strike the C4 column of his spine, all are kills. But, again, you weren't able to penetrate Leonidas' cuirass so Spartacus is going to have a tough time finding a way around that." Dorian said.
"He also had to use a lot of energy just to rip the trident out of the body because of the barbs, with the dory, the smooth edges give you a clean cut and pull out every time." the Leonidas expert said.
"The dory is the main weapon of all Greek soldiers, 8 feet long, around 5 pounds. At one end, you have the main weapon, the iron spearhead, but if that was broken off, you could flip around and use the bronze butt end, also known as the lizards tail because they'd stab downed enemies with this, making it dually effective." Dave said.
To test the killing power of both ends of the dory, two gel torsos with Spartacus' thick leather belt are to be hit in the belt by both ends of the dory, and a scutum is by each target to see how lethal the ends are against a shield. Geoff gives the countdown and he thrusts into the shield near the boss and the iron spearhead completely cuts through the shield. He extracts his spear and thrusts at the belt of the torso, going clean through and into the intestines. He switches ends and stabs into the seconds target's belt, getting through the belt but not nearly as deep as the iron head and he extracts it. He lines up for a shot at the shield and shoves the butt end into the shield, only cracking it. "Nice work, on the first shield if he's right behind this, he's dead, it'll hit heart, throat, brain, whatever body parts are near it, something vital will be hit, the belt is useless to this, went all the way through the intestines and hit the spine, instant kill, the next stab got through the belt and into the intestines but not as deep as the first strike, but it's still a kill. On the last shield shot, you did not make it through but you made a noticeable crack on the shield so this would knock him back but not hurt him." Dorian said.
So which mid range weapon gets the edge? "I'm with the dory; the spear has a greater reach and can penetrate Spartacus' armor." Geoff said.
"Not only could the iron head go through the belt, the bronze end could as well, and it can penetrate the shield, edge dory." Mack said.
"It can also penetrate much further into the body than the trident, edge dory." Dorian said.
EDGE: Dory
Finally, the team assesses the X-factors with Robert Daly. "First up we have strategy, we gave Spartacus an 86 to Leonidas' 88 because Leonidas actually very thoroughly thought out his last stand. For logistics, we gave Spartacus a 77 to Leonidas' 90 because Spartacus started out with his gladiator weapons and then gained a few Roman legion weapons as his war went on. For physicality, we gave Spartacus a 92 to Leonidas' 94 because Leonidas can get through Spartacus' armor. Next, we have generalship, where we gave Spartacus an 83 and Leonidas a 97 because Spartacus gave into his army to plunder a city which later led to his defeat, Leonidas stayed with his loyal men and died with them. For endurance, we gave Spartacus an 89 and Leonidas a 90 based solely upon the training Leonidas went through in his entire life. Finally, we have audacity, and we gave Spartacus an 81 and Leonidas a 92 because Leonidas offended Xerxes so badly he defiled his body." Rob said.
"Only thing to do now is throw the switch." Geoff said.
OOOO O Spartacus
oooo o Leonidas
Rob clicks a button and the battle begins. A flat, hard dirt road near Rome is seen with five Spartans walking down it towards the city in a small, single lined phalanx. But further down the road, then they see five men walking out of the city. Leonidas gives and order and the men charge towards the strangers down the road. Spartacus orders his men to do the same and they come with in reach the Spartans stop and lock shield together and thrust their spears forward, two of Spartacus' men are unable to stop in time, one is impaled in the throat by Leonidas (Ø), the other is stabbed in the chest and through the heart (Ø). The remaining slave soldiers and Spartacus leap through the shields where Leonidas and his other Spartan have attacked and attack the Spartans from behind, Leonidas slits the throat of the Spartan who killed one of his men with his gladius, then stabs him in the back of his neck for good measure, then frees his blade and lets the Spartan fall to the ground and he raises his scutum and backs away from the fight (ø). Another slave soldier attempts to do the same to Leonidas, but Leonidas spins around on him and hits him in the temple with the rim of his shield, knocking him to the ground with blood seeping out of his ears, eyes, mouth, and nose (Ø). Another Spartan gets separated in his fight with Spartacus' last soldier. The Spartan holds his shield in front of him just beneath his eyes and watches the soldier shuffles around with his trident. The Spartan lunges forward and leaps at him, thrusting his spear down at him. The slave soldier dodges this and stabs him in the arm with the trident, forcing him to drop his spear as he rips the trident out of his bloodied arm. He kicks him to his side and brings the middle prong of the trident down into the throat of the Spartan with two hands (ø). He looks and sees another Spartan charge at him and is hit with the flat side of the shield, knocking him off his feet and breaking his trident as he held it up to block himself. He runs for his nearby scissor and puts it on as the Spartan stabs him in the lower back with his xiphos, causing the soldier to groan in pain. He whirls around and backhands the Spartan in the throat with the scissor, cutting down to his spine and nearly decapitating him (ø). He runs to rejoin Spartacus, who stares at their final two opponents. The Spartan charges the slave soldier who stopped several yards from Spartacus, swing the flat side of the shield as he ran at the soldier, hitting him in the forehead and knocking him unconscious. He lifts his dory and stabs the butt end into the middle of his chest, tearing through his heart (Ø). Spartacus sees this and runs at the unwary Spartan, Leonidas in hot pursuit. The Spartan turns at the last moment to see the gladius cut straight through his throat in one swing, he slowly collapses to his knees and lies down as blood flows from his neck (ø). Spartacus turns just in time to raise his scutum as Leonidas thrusts his dory at Spartacus, the spear punctures the shield and goes straight through the forearm of Spartacus. He yells in pain and throws his scutum aside, forcing Leonidas to drop his spear and draw his xiphos. Spartacus charges at Leonidas and swings wildly several times at Leonidas' shield, all only leave slight grazes on his shield. In another swing, Leonidas swings his shield and knocks the gladius out of Spartacus' hand. At the same instant Leonidas stabs Spartacus through his belt and into his intestines. Spartacus lurches forward in pain and his met with a shield rim to the neck, breaking his neck and knocking off Leonidas' xiphos to the ground (Ø). Leonidas raises his sword in the air and shouts, "SPARTA!" and walks back down the road, looking for his remaining army.
Spartacus Leonidas
Gladius-54% Xiphos-46%
Trident-48% Dory-52%
Scissor-47% Aspis-53%
Armor Fail Rate: Armor Fail Rate:
No Helmet Helmet: 1%
Armor: 85% Armor: 7%
Shield: 5% Shield: 1%
2,341 Wins 2,659 Wins
X-Factors
Strategy: 86 Strategy: 88
Logistics: 77 Logistics: 90
Physicality: 92 Physicality: 94
Generalship: 83 Generalship: 97
Endurance: 89 Endurance: 90
Audacity: 81 Audacity: 92
"The reason Leonidas won was because of how disciplined he and his Spartans were, while the slave soldiers of Spartacus fought independently and in a very disorganized way." Mack said.
Next week: It's match up of two of the most feared fighters of Africa: The Zulu Warrior: Called the "Spartans of Africa" due to their intense training and fighting.
Vs…
The Zande Warrior: Central African killer notorious for brutal weapons and fierce executions.
Who will be…the deadliest warrior?
