Prefect Odius Asparagus wants one of the indomitable Gaul as a present for Julius Caesar, so his men capture Cacofonix the bard. By the time the other Gauls notice how quiet and peaccful the village is, he is on his way to Rome. But Asterix is and Obelix are hot on his heels, taking ship with Ekonomikrisis the Phoenician merchant...

Highly unimpressed by his present, Caesar decides to throw the bard to the lions. Asterix and Obelix enlist as gladiators in order to rescue him and, in the course of their training, teach their new colleagues some interesting tricks. The next Games in the Circus -Maximus turn out to be the most unusual yet...

• What it means: Odius means disagreeable, so a bad asparagus.
• About : Odius Asparagus is the Prefect of Gaul. When he was called upon to go to Rome, he wanted to present Julius Caesar with a special gift as was customary. Instead of the usual gifts like a marble memo tablet, he decided to present Caesar with one of the indomitable Gauls. Of course, he had to capture one first, so he ordered a patrol from the Camp of Compendium to find one. Unfortunatley for Cacofonix the Bard, he was the one who was captured. Fortunately for Odius Asparagus, Caesar approved of the "original little present"

• What it means: Economic Crisis
• About: Ekonomikrisis is a shrewd Phonecian Merchant. For instance, you need "slaves" to man the oars on a ship, so when he floated the company he signed a whole lot of "partners" up who failed to read the small print in his contract, thus becoming the oarsmen. He agrees to take Asterx and Obelix to Rome, thinking that he could sell them as slaves at the next port. When Pirates are sighted he worries that they will "take us prisnor, kill us, or even worse, steal our merchandise!" When Asterix and Obelix defeat the pirates, he admits he was going to sell them, but now views them as "bosom friends"

• What it means: Fatuous means silly, foolish. It also refers to his weight.
• About: Caius Fatuous runs a school for Gladiators, who regularily perform for Ceasar at the Games ath the Circus Maximus that Fatuous also organises the program for. He is always on the look-out for new Gladiators, and Asterix and Obelix with their super-human strength interest him greatly. So he introduces a reward for the capture of the two Gauls, but no-one is able to get them. Ironically, Asterix and Obelix go to Fatuous to be trained as Gladiators, hoping to get into the Circus to rescue Cacofonix. He becomes a laughing stock when the Gladiators, under Asterix's influence, refuse to fight, instead opting for parlour games

The different Asterix characters are starting to take shape, in particular Cacofonix and Julius Caesar in this adventure. The humour just keeps getting funnier, classic Asterix right here.