Spartacus
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- For other uses, see Spartacus (disambiguation).
Image:Spartacus1.jpg Spartacus (ca. 120 BC<ref>(Russian) Валентин Лесков. Спартак. М.: Молодая гвардия, 1987</ref> – ca. 70 BC, at the end of the Third Servile War), according to Roman historians, was a gladiator-slave who became the alleged leader of an unsuccessful slave uprising against the Roman Republic. Little is known about Spartacus beyond the events of the Third Servile War, and the historical accounts of the war that have survived into modern times are sketchy and often contradictory. However, Spartacus' struggle, often perceived as the struggle of an oppressed people fighting for their freedom against a large powerful State, has found new meaning for modern writers since the 19th century. The figure of Spartacus, and his rebellion, have become an inspiration to many modern literary and political writers, who have made the character of Spartacus an ancient/modern folk hero.
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[edit] Ancient depictions of Spartacus
[edit] Spartacus' origins
Almost nothing is known for certain about Spartacus' origins and early life. The ancient historians Appian and Plutarch claim that Spartacus was born in Thrace, a region covering parts of south-eastern Europe and portions of modern day Turkey. According to Appian, Spartacus was enslaved either when captured fighting against Rome, or that he had served in the Roman army (presumably in the Auxilia), but for reasons that are not specified had been condemned into slavery.<ref>Appian, Civil Wars, 1:116. Note: Spartacus' status as an auxilia is taken from the Loeb edition of Appian translated by Horace White, which states "...who had once served as a soldier with the Romans...". However, the translation by John Carter in the Penguin Classics version reads: "...who had once fought against the Romans and after being taken prisoner and sold...".</ref> Whether Spartacus was actually a Thracian is questionable. While the Roman army was campaigning in Thrace at the time that Spartacus was likely to have been enslaved, he had been condemned to a life as a gladiator-slave, and as "Thracian" was a style of gladiator, Spartacus may have later been known as "Thracian" simply because he was trained in the Thracian style.<ref>Smith, Greek and Roman Antiquities, "Gladiatores", p. 576.</ref>
Plutarch describes Spartacus as "a Thracian of Nomadic stock, possessed not only of great courage and strength, but also in sagacity and culture superior to his fortune, and more Hellenic than Thracian."<ref>Plutarch, Crassus, 8:2.</ref>
[edit] The Third Servile War
- For more details on this topic, see Third Servile War.
[edit] The Capuan revolt
Whatever his origins, we know that Spartacus was trained at the gladiatorial school near Capua, belonging to Lentulus Batiatus. In 73 BC, Spartacus and some seventy<ref>Plutarch, Life of Crassus, 8:1–2; Appian, Civil Wars, 1:116; Livy, Periochae, 95:2; Florus, Epitome, 2.8; Plutarch claims 78 escaped, Livy claims 74, Appian "about seventy", and Florus says "thirty or rather more men".</ref> followers escaped from the gladiator ludo 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, although Spartacus apparently tried to restrain them. His chief aides were gladiators from Gaul, named Crixus, Castus, Gannicus and Oenomaus. His numbers were swelled by other runaway slaves until it eventually grew into an army allegedly composed of 120,000 escaped slaves. The slave-to-Roman citizen ratio at that time was very high, making this slave rebellion a very serious threat to Rome. The Senate sent a praetor, Claudius Glaber (his nomen may have been Clodius; his praenomen is unknown), against the rebel slaves, with a militia of about 3,000. They besieged the rebels on Vesuvius, but Spartacus led his men down the other side of the mountain using vines, maneuvered to the rear of the Roman soldiers, and staged a surprise attack on them. Most of the Roman soldiers were killed in this attack, including Claudius Glaber. [citation needed]
[edit] Military success continues
Spartacus' forces defeated two more Roman legions sent to crush them before settling down to spend the winter on the south coast, manufacturing weapons. At this point, Spartacus' many followers were not all able-bodied males; some of them were women, children, and elderly men who tagged along. By spring they marched towards the north and Gaul. The Senate, alarmed, finally sent two consuls (Gellius Publicola and Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Clodianus), each with two legions, against the rebels. The Gauls and Germanic peoples, who had separated themselves from Spartacus, were defeated by Publicola, and Crixus was killed. Spartacus defeated Lentulus, and then Publicola. At Picenum in central Italy, Spartacus defeated the consular armies, then pushed north and at Mutina (modern-day Modena) they defeated yet another legion under Gaius Cassius Longinus, the Governor of Cisalpine Gaul ("Gaul this side of the Alps").
[edit] Choice to remain in Italy
Spartacus had apparently intended to march his army out of Italy and into Gaul (modern-day Belgium, Switzerland and France) or maybe even to Hispania to join the rebellion of Quintus Sertorius. However, he changed his mind, the sources say [citation needed], under the pressure of his followers, who wanted more plunder. Although it will never be known for certain why his forces turned back south when they were on the brink of escaping into Gaul, it will always be regarded as their greatest mistake. Perhaps their many victories made them overconfident, or perhaps they believed that they would escape to Sicily as planned, and could plunder more in the meantime. There are theories that say that some of the non-fighting followers (some 10,000 or so) did, in fact, cross the Alps and return to their homelands.
The rest marched back south, and defeated two more legions under Marcus Licinius Crassus, who at that time was the wealthiest man in Rome. At the end of 72 BC, Spartacus was encamped in Rhegium (Reggio Calabria), near the Strait of Messina (the "tip of the Italian boot").
Spartacus' deal with Cilician pirates to get them to Sicily fell through. In the beginning of 71 BC, eight legions of Crassus isolated Spartacus's army in Calabria. With the assassination of Quintus Sertorius, the Roman Senate also recalled Pompey from Hispania; and Lucullus from northern Anatolia where he was campaigning against Rome's most obstinate enemy Mithridates VI of Pontus.
Spartacus managed to break through Crassus's lines, and escaped towards Brundisium (modern-day Brindisi), but Crassus's forces intercepted them in Lucania, and the slaves were routed in a subsequent battle at the river Silarus. After the battle, legionaries found and rescued 3,000 unharmed Roman prisoners in their camp.
6,600 of Spartacus's followers were crucified along the Via Appia (or the Appian Way) from Capua to Rome—the distance being 132 Roman miles (or 5,000 Roman feet), so 100 Roman feet apart. Crassus never gave orders for the bodies to be taken down, thus travelers were forced to see the bodies for years, perhaps decades, after the final battle.
Around 5,000 slaves, however, escaped the capture. They fled north and were later destroyed by Pompey, who was coming back from Roman Iberia. 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. It is unknown whether or not Spartacus died in the battle at Silarus or survived and was crucified along with his men.
Spartacus' body was never found.
[edit] Modern depictions of Spartacus
[edit] Political
- Spartacus has been a great inspiration to revolutionaries in modern times, most notably the Spartacist League of Weimar Germany.
- The Spartakiad was a competition similar to the Olympic games for countries of the Soviet bloc.
- Karl Marx said Spartacus was his hero, citing him as the 'finest fellow' antiquity had to offer.
- Noted Latin American Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara was also a strong admirer of Spartacus.
- Spartacus has been compared by many to American Civil War abolitionist John Brown, citing both their "extreme" views of slavery (respective of their time periods),and willingness to follow their own path, regardless of the consequences; in both cases they are killed due to their beliefs.
[edit] Artistic
[edit] Film
- Most famously, Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of Howard Fast's novel, as Spartacus, in 1960.
- In 2004, Fast's novel was adapted as "Spartacus", a made-for-TV movie or miniseries by the USA Network, with Goran Višnjić in the main role.
- Silent movie
[edit] Literature
- Howard Fast wrote the historical novel Spartacus.
- Arthur Koestler also wrote a novel about Spartacus called The Gladiators.
- There is also a novel Spartacus by the Scottish writer Lewis Grassic Gibbon.
- Spartacus is a prominent character in the novel Fortune's Favorites by Colleen McCullough. McCullough subscribes to the theory that Spartacus was a renegade Roman soldier, but sticks to the historical account that his body was never found.
- 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 Spartacus' children (Dzieci Spartakusa) by the Polish writer Halina Rudnicka.
- Elijah Kellogg's " Spartacus to the Gladiators" has been used effectively by schoolboys to practise their oratory skills for ages.
- Spartacus also appears in Conn Iggulden's Emperor Series in the book The Death of Kings.
[edit] Music
- Spartacus was also a ballet written by composer Aram Khachaturian.
- The German group Triumvirat released the album Spartacus in 1975.
- The Farm's debut LP in 1991 was titled Spartacus.
- Jeff Wayne released his musical retelling, "Jeff Wayne's Musical Version Of Spartacus" in 1992.
- The anti-fascist punk/rock band Angelic Upstarts released an album in 2004 named "Sons Of Spartacus"
- "Spartacus" is the name of the 2nd song on The Fall of Troy's debut album.
[edit] Theatre
- Spartacus Returns, an Indian ballet/play [1]
[edit] Videogames
- The videogame God of War was loosely based on the trails of Spartacus and his rebellion (though mainly based on Ares, the Greek god of war).
- The video game Spartan: Total Warrior [2] was also loosely based on the journey of Spartacus.
- The player-controlled spaceship in the space simulation game Independence War: Defiance was dubbed the Spartacus, with a gladiator crudely emblazoned across its hull.
- Spartacus was featured in the game Heroscape in the wave known as Thora's Vengeance.
- In the popular real-time strategy game Rome: Total War, Spartacus can be unlocked and fought against. If a player builds a colosseum or arena in a conquered city, then let the city revolt Spartacus will be the general of the revolted city. Apparently, the rebel army led by Spartacus is extremely difficult and the player will have to use superior tactics to defeat it and reclaim the city.
[edit] Other
- Adam Weishaupt, Freemason and supposed founder of the Illuminati, used "Spartacus" as a nom de plume.
- In the 2003 movie, The Recruit, James Clayton (played by Colin Farrell), creates a webcast software program called "Spartacus", that can gain control of 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.
- Spartacus is the name of an international rugby sevens team created in 2006.
- Spartacus is a character in the collectible miniatures game, Heroscape, released in Wave 5, Thora's Vengeance.
[edit] References
[edit] Classical authors
- Appian. Civil Wars. Translated by J. Carter. (Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1996)
- Florus. Epitome of Roman History. (London: W. Heinemann, 1947)
- Orosius. The Seven Books of History Against the Pagans. Translated by Roy J. Deferrari. (Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 1964).
- Plutarch. Fall of the Roman Republic. Translated by R. Warner. (London: Penguin Books, 1972), with special emphasis placed on "The Life of Crassus" and "The Life of Pompey".
- Sallust. Conspiracy of Catiline and the War of Jugurtha. (London: Constable, 1924)
[edit] Modern historiography
- Bradley, Keith R. Slavery and Rebellion in the Roman World, 140 B.C.–70 B.C. Bloomington; Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1989 (hardcover, ISBN 0253312590); 1998 (paperback, ISBN 0253211697). [Chapter V] The Slave War of Spartacus, pp. 83–101.
- Rubinsohn, Wolfgang Zeev. Spartacus' Uprising and Soviet Historical Writing. Oxford: Oxbow Books, 1987 (paperback, ISBN 0951124315).
- Trow, M.J. Spartacus: The Myth and the Man. Stroud, United Kingdom: Sutton Publishing, 2006 (hardcover, ISBN 0750939079).
[edit] Notes
[edit] Honours
Spartacus Peak on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named for Spartacus.
[edit] External links
- Spartacus' Revolt—An article and excerpts from the original Roman sources.
- Spartacus Article and full text of the Roman and Greek sources.
- "Spartacus"—Movie starring Kirk Douglas and Sir Peter Ustinov
- "Spartacus"—TV-Mini-series starring Goran Višnjić and Alan Bates
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