Why he's so miserable: Well, he's a slave in Libya to begin with, whipped for trying to help an old man and sentenced to death by starvation when he fights back. Then he's recruited as a gladiator and has to escape a man who wants to kill him as an example almost immediately. After some brief success as a gladiator, Spartacus is inspired to rebel by the abduction of the woman he loves, and leads a slave uprising against the might of Rome. Inevitably, this fails and he is ultimately crucified. Bummer.

Why he's inspiring: Spartacus, like Han Solo, clearly never wants to be told the odds. A ragtag band of former slaves might not have a snowflake's chance in hell against the finest fighting force of the ancient world, but that doesn't stop Sparty (as we wish we could call him) winning several victories against the legions and inspiring his men to such an extent that they're willing to die for him.