The historical account of his involvement in the Third Servile War is incomplete, but it is known that an advance force of 2,000 led by his legate, Lucius Furius, was defeated, with Furius being killed in action, and that a later encounter also ended in the defeat of another 4,000 men.
Varinius, played by Australian actor Brett Tucker, is a secondary antagonist in the Starz series Spartacus: Vengeance.
The character version of Varinius is a military and political figure of some importance, holding the rank of praetor, like Glaber (Craig Parker); as such, due to the competitive nature of Roman politics, the two are rivals.
Glaber is constantly at odds with Varinius and eventually sees him killed by a flaming stone shot from a catapult during an attack on Spartacus.
Varinius was portrayed by Niall Refoy in the 2004 miniseries Spartacus.