Character Analysis
If the gladiators are an army (with Maximus as the general, obviously), Juba and Hagen are the two highest-ranking officers.
These dudes are Maximus' closest companions among the gladiators, and they act as both his bodyguards and his lieutenants. Juba's from somewhere in Africa, whereas Hagen…well, we never actually get that bit of info. (Hagen: International Man of Mystery.)
Juba and Hagen both fight to help Maximus escape, and Hagen actually dies in the process. He seems perfectly willing to die for Mr. Max, however, given that earlier he tasted Maximus' food to make sure it wasn't poisoned.
Juba ends up surviving, and he buries Maximus' statues of his family in the Colosseum, an act that symbolically suggests that Maximus' family was avenged by Maximus' feats in the Colosseum.