Spartacus
(c. 109 BC-71 BC), according to Roman historians, was a slave and a gladiator who became a leader (or possibly one of several leaders) in the somewhat successful slave uprising against the Roman Republic known as the Third Servile War. Little is known about Spartacus beyond the events of the war, and surviving historical accounts are inaccurate and often contradictory.
Spartacus' struggle, often seen as the fight of an oppressed people fighting for their freedom against a slave-owning aristocracy, has found new meaning for modern writers since the 19th century. The rebellion of Spartacus has proven inspirational to many modern literary and political writers, making Spartacus a folk hero among cultures both ancient and modern.
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SPARTACUS TICKETS
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Spartacus's origins
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The ancient sources agree on Spartacus's origins.
Plutarch describes him as "a
Thracian of Nomadic stock" and "more
Hellenic than Thracian" when refering to his character.
[1] Appian says he was "a Thracian by birth, who had once served as a soldier with the Romans, but had since been a prisoner and sold for a
Gladiator".
[2] Florus (2.8.8) described him as one "who from Thracian mercenary, had become a Roman soldier, of a soldier a deserter and robber, and afterwards, from consideration of his strength, a gladiator".
[3] Some authors refer to the
Thracian tribe of the
Maedi,
[4] which in historic times occupied the area on the southwestern fringes of
Thrace (present-day south-western
Bulgaria).
[5]Plutarch also writes that Spartacus's wife, a prophetess of the same tribe, was enslaved with him. The name Spartacus is otherwise attested in the
Black Sea region: kings of the Thracian dynasty of the
Cimmerian Bosporus [6] and
Pontus [7] are known to have borne it, and a Thracian "Spardacus"
[8] or "Sparadokos",
[9] father of
Seuthes I of the
Odrysae, is also known.
Third Servile War
Revolt leading to the Third Servile War
Spartacus was trained at the gladiatorial school (
ludus
) near
Capua, belonging to
Lentulus Batiatus. Finally in 73 BC, Spartacus and some seventy
[10] followers escaped from the gladiator school of Lentulus Batiatus. Seizing the knives in the cook's shop and a wagon full of weapons, the slaves fled to the
caldera of
Mount Vesuvius, near modern day
Naples. There they were joined by other rural slaves.
The group overran the region, plundering and pillaging. Spartacus's intention was to leave Italy and return home.
His chief aides were gladiators from
Gaul and
Germania, named
Crixus,
Castus,
Gannicus, and
Oenomaus. Other runaway slaves joined, increasing the numbers to several hundred.
While the slave-to-Roman citizen ratio at that time was very high, a larger problem was that at the time of the uprising
Pompey was fighting a revolt led by
Quintus Sertorius in
Hispania while at the same time the consul
Lucullus had committed the rest of Rome's available legions to fighting
Mithridates in the
Third Mithridatic War. While the dispersal of Rome's legions on two distant fronts made this slave rebellion a very serious threat, Rome failed to take adequate action. With Rome's experienced legions away, and believing slaves could not defeat their legions, the Senate sent a praetor, Claudius Glaber (his
nomen may have been Clodius; his
praenomen is unknown), against the rebels, with a militia of about 3,000. They besieged the rebels on Vesuvius blocking their escape, but Spartacus had ropes made from vines and with his men, climbed down a cliff on the other side of the volcano, to the rear of the Roman soldiers, and staged a surprise attack. Not expecting trouble from a handful of slaves, the Romans had not fortified their camp or posted adequate sentries. As a result, most of the Roman soldiers were still sleeping and killed in this attack. After this success, many runaway slaves joined Spartacus until the group grew into an army of allegedly 100,000 escaped slaves.
Military success continues
Spartacus is credited as an excellent
military tactician and his experience as a former auxiliary soldier made him a formidable enemy, but his men were mostly former slave labourers who lacked military training. They hid out in the
Caldera on
Mount Vesuvius which at that time was dormant and heavily wooded, and this enabled them to train properly for the fight with the Romans.
Following the defeat of Glaber, two legions of militia under the command of the praetor
Publius Varinius set out to confront the rebels. Spartacus intercepted an advance force of 2,000 men under Varinius’ lieutenant Lucius Furius and annihilated it. Leaving Vesuvius he discovered another force of Romans under Cossinius at a camp near
Herculaneum which was similarly defeated. Moving further south into
Lucania the rebels deployed in battle formation to face the 4,000 legionairies led by Varinius. Some legionaires refused to advance, while others fled but Varinius attacked and was badly defeated, Varinius escaped but the legions standards and insignia were lost. Four hundred Roman prisoners were forced to fight each other as gladiators or were crucified in celebration.
By spring the rebels marched turned north towards
Gaul occupying
Campania and destroying a Roman corps under Gaius Thoranius. Spartacus wanted to continue north but Crixus wanted to attack Rome and taking 30,000 men with him moved to the
Apulia region. Finally taking the revolt seriously, the consuls
Lucius Gellius Publicola and
Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Clodianus led four veteran Roman legions who had been recalled from Spain, Gaul and Germany to crush the rebellion. Lentulus blocked Spartacus in the north while two legions under praetor Quintus Arrius attacked Crixus near Apulia, soundly defeating the rebels and killing Crixus. The two legions then moved behind Spartacus intending to trap him between the two armies. Spartacus attacked Lentulus destroying his army, he then turned and defeated the oncoming legions of Gellius.
At
Mutina in the Cisalpine Gaul region of northern Italy governor Caius Cassius attempted to block the rebels with 10,000 men but was quickly defeated leaving no more obstacles between Spartacus and Gaul. More importantly, no more legions were available to defend Rome.
[11] [12]
Choice to remain in Italy
Apparently, Spartacus had intended to march his army out of Italy and into
Gaul (now
Belgium,
Switzerland, and
France) or maybe even to
Hispania, where Roman soldiers were fighting, to join the rebellion of
Quintus Sertorius as it is known that Sertorius was in communication with the rebels. However, he changed his mind and turned back south, the sources say under pressure from his followers for they wanted more plunder. Although it is not known for certain why they turned back when they were on the brink of escaping into Gaul, it is regarded as their greatest mistake.
The
Roman Senate gave supreme military command to the praetor
Marcus Licinius Crassus who at that time was the wealthiest man in Rome and was also the only volunteer for the position. Crassus now collected the remnants of the defeated legions and integrated them with several legions newly raised from militia. When news reached Rome that Spartacus was marching through
Picenum, Crassus ordered his legate Mummius to lead two of the new legions behind Spartacus but to avoid contact. Mummius, believing he had the element of surprise on his side, attacked. In the resulting battle the legions broke rank and fled. Crassus ordered that 500 legionaires accused of cowardice be decimated (one in ten executed after drawing lots) and began re-arming and training the troops. Finally, with 40,000 men in eight legions now under his command, Crassus engaged Spartacus in a running battle forcing him further south through Lucania as Crassus gained the upper hand. By the end of 72 BC, Spartacus was encamped in Rhegium (
Reggio Calabria), near the
Strait of Messina.
Spartacus arranged a deal with
Cilician pirates to get them to
Sicily but after accepting payment they failed to take their fleet to the approved rendezvous. Crassus now constructed a 32 mile long wood and stone wall with a 15 foot deep ditch completely across the peninsula to cut the rebels off and starve them into submission. With winter setting in and supplies running low Spartacus had no choice but to try to break through the encirclement. During a snowstorm he managed to break through Crassus's lines and escape towards
Brundisium (now Brindisi). With the rebels now free again Rome panicked and the senate authorized the return of
Pompey from
Hispania; and
Marcus Terentius Varro Lucullus from
Macedonia.
Ganicus and Cestus with their followers broke away from Spartacus' army to plunder the villages and estates but were surprised by Crassus. Camped on the shores of a lake with no retreat possible more than 12,000 were killed before Spartacus arrived to rescue them. Pursued by the Romans, the rebels fled to the mountains of
Petelia. With several legions under the legates Scrophas and Quintus attacking their rear Spartacus wheeled about and routed them. Word arrived that Lucullus had landed at Brundisium and Spartacus decided to attack Crassus as the weaker of the two forces. Crassus' forces faced Spartacus in
Lucania near the river
Silarus, where Spartacus sought to overwhelm the Romans by sheer numbers. The rebels were routed with the survivors fleeing. It is believed that Spartacus himself was killed during the rout. According to
Plutarch, "Finally, after his companions had taken to flight, he (Spartacus) stood alone, surrounded by a multitude of foes, and was still defending himself when he was cut down".
[13] According to
Appian, "Spartacus was wounded in the thigh with a spear and sank upon his knee, holding his shield in front of him and contending in this way against his assailants until he and the great mass of those with him were surrounded and slain"; The body of Spartacus was not found.
[14] After the battle, legionaries found and rescued 3,000 unharmed Roman prisoners in their camp and 6,600 of Spartacus's followers were
crucified along the
via Appia (or the
Appian Way) from
Brundisium to
Rome. Crassus never gave orders for the bodies to be taken down, thus travelers were forced to see the bodies for years after the final battle.
Around 5,000 slaves, however, escaped the capture. Although Crassus had won, his own legions were so badly depleted in the battle that he was unable to chase the fugitive slaves who had escaped. They fled north and were later destroyed by
Pompey, who had arrived from
Roman Iberia and hunted the rebels without mercy throughout Italy. This enabled him also to claim credit for ending this war. Pompey was greeted as a hero in Rome while Crassus received little credit or celebration.
Modern depictions of Spartacus
Politics
- Toussaint L'Ouverture and his successor Jean-Jacques Dessalines led the slave rebellion of the Haitian Revolution (1791—1804), where the armies of Spain, Britain and Napoleon Bonaparte's France were defeated. Toussaint was called the "Black Spartacus" by one of his defeated opponents, the .
- Spartacus has been a great inspiration to revolutionaries in modern times, most notably the Spartacist League of Weimar Germany, which later became the Communist Party of Germany, as well as the Spartacus anti-fascist organisation in the '70s Austria.
- Karl Marx listed Spartacus as one of his heroes [15], and described him as "the most splendid fellow in the whole of ancient history." [16]
- Noted Latin American Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara was also a strong admirer of Spartacus.
- Founder of the Bavarian Illuminati, Adam Weishaupt, often referred to himself as Spartacus within written correspondences.
Artistic
Film and Television
- Most famously, Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of Howard Fast's novel, as Spartacus
, in 1960. The catchphrase "I am Spartacus!" from this film has been referenced in a number of other films, television programs, and commercials.
- An unofficial sequel to Kubrick's film was made in Italy under the title Il Figlio di Spartacus
(The Son of Spartacus
) in 1963. The titular character (performed by Steve Reeves), first appearing as a Roman centurion, eventually learns of his true identity and takes revenge against Crassus, the murderer of his father.
- In the 1995 film Clueless
, Christian uses Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of the film as part of a subtle campaign to reveal his homosexuality.
- Just before The Wonders are about to play the biggest show of their career during one of the final scenes of Tom Hanks' 1996 film That Thing You Do!
the band's lead guitarist Lenny Haise asks, "Skitch, how did we get here?" Drummer Guy Patterson replies, "I led you here, sir, for I am Spartacus."
- In 2004, Fast's novel was adapted as Spartacus
, a made-for-TV movie, by the USA Network, with Goran Višnjic in the main role.
- Sam Raimi has confirmed that he is producing a 13 episode television series based on Spartacus. Filming has begun in New Zealand this year and will be aired on Starz in January. [17] [18]
- In the Nicktoons Network series Kappa Mikey
, Spartacus is a frequent character that randomly inserts short, opinionated quips. He is depicted as bald and wields a sword.
- In the 2003 movie The Recruit
, James Clayton (played by Colin Farrell), creates a software program called Spartacus that can hijack all webcast devices in a particular area. The students who created the program in the film say it was named for "the slave revolt."
- The title character of the cartoon series Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea
is loosely based on Spartacus.
- The name of the character Sportacus in the children's television program LazyTown
is a pun on Spartacus.
- In "The Histories of Pliny the Elder" - a 1957 episode of the British radio comedy The Goon Show
parodying epic films - Spartacus is used as a pseudonym for Bloodnok after he has an affair with Caesar's wife and has to escape from Caesar; "You know that saying, 'Caesar's wife is above suspicion'? Well I put an end to all that rubbish!".
- In the episode "Massage Chair" of Newsradio
when the workers stage a revolt, Dave retorts, "So Spartacus here speaks for everyone?" Bill replies, "Yes, Dave, I am Spartacus. And so is Matthew, right, Matthew? Matthew!" Matthew affirms this and Bill continues, "Beth!" Beth hesitantly mumbles, "I am Spark-tis too..."
- In the anime Persona: Trinity Soul
, Spartacus is a persona of Takuro Sakakbiba.
- In the anime Dinosaur King
Spartacus is the older brother of Sophia and the owner of the Yellow Cosmo Stone.
Literature
- Howard Fast wrote the historical novel Spartacus
.
- Arthur Koestler wrote a novel about Spartacus called The Gladiators
.
- There is a novel Spartacus
by the Scottish writer Lewis Grassic Gibbon.
- Spartacus is a prominent character in the novel Fortune's Favorites
by Colleen McCullough.
- The Italian writer Rafaello Giovagnoli wrote his historical novel, Spartacus
, in 1874. His novel has been subsequently translated and published in many European countries.
- There is also a novel Uczniowie Spartakusa (The Students of Spartacus)
by the Polish writer Halina Rudnicka.
- The Reverend Elijah Kellogg's Spartacus to the Gladiators at Capua
has been used effectively by schoolboys to practice their oratory skills for ages.
- Spartacus also appears in Conn Iggulden's 'Emperor' series in the book The Death of Kings
.
- Spartacus and His Glorious Gladiators
, by Toby Brown, is part of the Dead Famous series of children's history books
- In the Bolo novel Bolo Rising
by William H. Keith, the character HCT "Hector" is based on Spartacus.
- In the novel Flip
by David Lubar, one of the legends Ryan becomes is Spartacus, specifically when he is challenged to a fight by the school bully.
- Amal Donkol, the Egyptian modern poet wrote his masterpiece "The Last Words of Spartacus".
- Steven Saylor's novel Arms of Nemesis
, part of his Roma Sub Rosa series, is set during the Third Servile War.
Music
- Spartacus
is a ballet, with a score by composer Aram Khachaturian.
- Australian composer Carl Vine wrote a short piano piece entitled "Spartacus", from Red Blues
.
- The German group Triumvirat released the album Spartacus
in 1975.
- Jeff Wayne released his musical retelling, Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of Spartacus
in 1992.
- Phantom Regiment, a World Class (formerly Division 1) drum corps of Drum Corps International, performed a show entitled Spartacus
depicting the show through music and visual movement for their competitive field show in 1981, 1982, and 2008. Their 2008 program won World Championship Finals.
- "Love Theme From Spartacus
" Swing of Delight
Carlos Santana, Wayne Shorter, 1980
Games
- Spartacus is a character in the real-time strategy game Rome: Total War
.
- The board game Heroscape
features Spartacus as one of the game pieces.
Sports
- Russian sports clubs named FC Spartak, of which FC Spartak Moscow is the most well-known, and Spartak sport society are named in honor of Spartacus. [19]
- The Spartakiad was a Soviet bloc version of the Olympic games. [20], This name was also used for the mass gymnastics exhibition held every five years in Czechoslovakia.
- Swiss professional Cyclist Fabian Cancellara has been given the nickname Spartacus.
- Spartacus 7s is the name of an international rugby sevens team created in 2006.
- The Ottawa Senators mascot is a lion named Spartacat, a play on Spartacus since the team logo is a Roman Senator.
- The University of Tampa Spartan's mascot is named Spartacus.
Places
- Spartacus Peak on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands.
References
- Plutarch, ''Crassus'' 8
- Appian, ''Civil Wars'' 1.116
- Florus, ''Epitome of Roman History'' 2.8
- The Histories, Sallust, Patrick McGushin, Oxford University Press, 1992, ISBN 0198721439, p. 112.
- Balkan history, Thracian tribes, Maedi.
- Diodorus Siculus, ''Historical Library'' Book 12
- Diodorus Siculus, ''Historical Library'' Book 16
- Theucidides, ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' 2.101
- Tribes, Dynasts and Kingdoms of Northern Greece: History and Numismatics
- Plutarch, ''Crassus'', 8:1–2; Appian, ''Civil Wars'', 1:116; Livy, ''Periochae'', 95:2; Florus, ''Epitome of Roman History'', 2.8; Plutarch claims 78 escaped, Livy claims 74, Appian "about seventy", and Florus says "thirty or rather more men".
- Spartacus and the Slave Rebellion
- Spartacus and the slave wars :a brief history with documents
- Plutarch • Life of Crassus
- Appian • The Civil Wars — Book I
- Karl Marx's "Confession"[1]
- Letter from Marx to Engels In Manchester
- http://tvblog.ugo.com/tv/spartacus-comic-con-2009
- http://spartacus.ausxip.com/2009/06/
- History of Spartak, fcspartak.ru {{ru icon}}
- Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd edition, volume 24 (part 1), p. 286, Moscow, Sovetskaya Entsiklopediya publisher, 1976