Spartacus

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Spartacus

Spartacus (c. 109 BC-71 BC), according to Roman historians, was a slave and gladiator

Gladiator

A Gladiator was a slave, criminal or professional fighter in ancient Rome. Gladiators fought other gladiators, wild animals and condemned criminals, sometimes to the death, for the entertainment of Spectator sport in cities and towns of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, from the 3rd century BCE to the 5th century CE....
who became the leader (or possibly one of several leaders) in the somewhat successful slave uprising against the Roman Republic

Roman Republic

The Roman Republic was the phase of the Ancient Rome characterized by a republican form of government; a period which began with the overthrow of the Roman Roman Kingdom, c....
known as the Third Servile War

Third Servile War

The Third Servile War, also called the Gladiator War and The War of Spartacus by Plutarch, was the last of a series of unrelated and unsuccessful slave rebellions against the Roman Republic, known collectively as the Servile Wars....
. Little is known about Spartacus beyond the events of the war, and surviving historical accounts are inaccurate and often contradictory.

Spartacus's 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.

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Encyclopedia

Spartacus (c. 109 BC-71 BC), according to Roman historians, was a slave and gladiator

Gladiator

Roman Republic

Third Servile War

Ancient depictions of Spartacus

Spartacus's origins

in Odrysian kingdom

Odrysian kingdom

The Odrysian kingdom was a union of Thracians tribes that endured between the 5th century BC and the 3rd century BC. It consisted largely of present-day Bulgaria, spreading to parts of Romanian Northern Dobruja, as parts of Northern Greece and modern-day European Turkey....
and Spartacus tribe, the Maedi

Maedi

The Maedi were a Thracian tribe who, in historic times, occupied the area between Paionia and Thrace, on the southwestern fringes of Thrace, along the middle course of the Strymon and the upper course of the Nestus rivers, ....
]] The ancient sources agree on Spartacus's origins. Plutarch

Plutarch

Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. AD 46 ? 120 ? commonly known in English as Plutarch ? was a Ancient Rome historian , biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonism....
describes him as "a Thracian of Nomadic stock". Appian

Appian

Appianus , of Alexandria was a Ancient Rome historian who flourished during the reigns of Trajan, Hadrian and Antoninus Pius. He is commonly referred to by the anglicised form of his name, 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

Gladiator

Florus

Florus, Roman Empire historian, lived in the time of Trajan and Hadrian.He compiled, chiefly from Livy, a brief sketch of the history of Rome from the foundation of the city to the closing of the temple of Janus by Augustus Caesar ....
(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". Some authors refer to the Thracian tribe of the Maedi

Maedi

The Maedi were a Thracian tribe who, in historic times, occupied the area between Paionia and Thrace, on the southwestern fringes of Thrace, along the middle course of the Strymon and the upper course of the Nestus rivers, ....
, which in historic times occupied the area on the southwestern fringes of Thrace

Thrace

Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. Today the name Thrace designates a region spread over southern Bulgaria , northeastern Greece , and European Turkey ....
(present-day south-western Bulgaria

Bulgaria

The state of Bulgaria , Scientific transliteration Balgarija, officially the Republic of Bulgaria has played a significant role in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe for over fourteen centuries....
). There is a hypothesis, he was born in the Thracian settlement Desudava, in the area of present-day Sandanski

Sandanski

Sandanski is a town and a recreation centre in south-western Bulgaria, part of Blagoevgrad Province. Named after revolutionary Yane Sandanski, it is located in a valley at the foot of Pirin Mountain, on both banks of the Sandanska Bistritsa River....
, where his monument is built. 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

Black Sea

The Black Sea is an inland sea sea bounded by southeastern Europe, the Caucasus and the Anatolia and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean Sea and Aegean Seas and various straits....
region: kings of the Thracian dynasty of the Cimmerian Bosporus

Bosporan Kingdom

The Bosporan Kingdom or the Kingdom of the Cimmerian Bosporus was an ancient state, located in eastern Crimea and the Taman Peninsula on the shores of the Cimmerian Bosporus ....
and Pontus

Pontus

Pontus or Pontos is a region on the southern coast of the Black Sea, located in modern-day northeastern Turkey. The name was applied to the coastal region in Antiquity by the Greeks who colonized the area, and derived from the Greek name of the Black Sea: Pontos Euxeinos , or simply Pontos....
are known to have borne it, and a Thracian "Spardacus" or "Sparadokos", father of Seuthes I

Seuthes I

Seuthes I was king of the Odrysian Thracians from 424 BC until 410 BC. He was the nephew of Sitalces. He is infamous for the fact that he was bribed by Perdiccas II of Macedon, which directly lead to the end of Sitalces' campaign in Macedon....
of the Odrysae

Odrysian kingdom

Thraex

The Thraex, or Thracian, was a type of Roman gladiator, armed in the Thracian style with small rectangular shield called a parmula and a very short sword with a slightly curved blade called a sica , with the intention of maiming an opponent's unarmoured back....
" or Thracian was a style of gladiatorial combat, and it has been argued that this may have confused the sources about his geographical origins, although no alternative origin is attested.

Third Servile War

Revolt leading to the Third Servile War

Spartacus was trained at the gladiatorial school (ludus) near Capua

Capua

Capua is a city in the province of Caserta, Campania, southern Italy, situated 25 km north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain....
, belonging to Lentulus Batiatus

Lentulus Batiatus

Lentulus Batiatus was the owner of the Roman gladiatorial school in Capua who owned Spartacus, the leader of the slave rebellion during the Third Servile War....
. Finally in 73 BC, Spartacus and some seventy 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

Caldera

A caldera is a cauldron-like volcano feature usually formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption such as the one at Yellowstone National Park....
of Mount Vesuvius

Mount Vesuvius

Naples

Naples is a city in southern Italy, the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples. The city is known for its rich history, art, culture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,800 years old....
. 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

Gaul

Gaul is the name used for the region of Western Europe comprising part of present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western Switzerland and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the River Rhine....
and Germania

Germania

Germania was the Latin language exonym for a geographical area of land on the east bank of the River Rhine , which included regions of Sarmatia as well as an area under Ancient Rome control on the west bank of the Rhine....
, named Crixus

Crixus

Crixus was a leader of the slave rebellion in the Third Servile War, along with Spartacus and Oenomaus .He was a Gaul , and had been a slave for several years before the revolt....
, Castus

Castus

Castus can refer to:*Lucius Artorius Castus, Roman general*Castus and Emilius, Roman martyrs and saints*Castus fought with Spartacus....
, Gannicus and Oenomaus

Oenomaus (rebel slave)

Oenomaus, was a gladiator from Gaul, escaped from the gladiatorial school of Lentulus Batiatus in Capua. Together with the Thracian Spartacus and a fellow Gaul, Crixus, he became one of the leaders of rebellious slaves during the Third Servile War , but died early in the war....
. he slave-to-Roman citizen ratio at that time was very high, making this slave rebellion a very serious threat to Rome. However Rome did not believe slaves could defeat their legions so they failed to take adequate action. All of Rome's experienced legions were away The Senate sent an inexperienced praetor, Claudius Glaber (his nomen may have been Clodius; his praenomen

Praenomen

In Roman naming conventions, the praenomen was the only name in which parents had some choice, roughly equivalent to the given name of today....
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, including Claudius Glaber. After this success many runaway slaves joined Spartacus until the group grew into an army of allegedly 140,000 escaped slaves.

Military success continues

Spartacus is credited as an excellent military tactician

Military tactics

Military tactics are the techniques for using weapons or military units in combination for engaging and defeating an Enemy in battle. Changes in philosophy and technology over time have been reflected in changes to military tactics....
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

Caldera

A caldera is a cauldron-like volcano feature usually formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption such as the one at Yellowstone National Park....
on Mount Vesuvius

Mount Vesuvius

Mount Vesuvius is an stratovolcano east of Naples Italy. It is the only volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last hundred years, although it is not currently eruption....
which at that time was dormant and heavily wooded, and this enabled them to train properly for the fight with the Romans.

Due to the short amount of time expected before battle, Spartacus delegated training to the Gladiators who trained small groups, and these then trained other small groups and so on leading to the development of a fully-trained army in a matter of weeks. By spring they marched north towards Gaul

Gaul

Lucius Gellius Publicola

Lucius Gellius Publicola was one of two Consuls of the Roman Republic in 72 BC along with Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Clodianus. He is noted for being one of the consular generals who lead Roman legions against the slave armies of Spartacus in the Third Servile War....
and Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Clodianus

Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Clodianus

Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Clodianus was one of two Consuls of the Roman Republic in 72 BCE along with Lucius Gellius Publicola. He is noted for being one of the consular generals who lead Roman legions against the slave armies of Spartacus in the Third Servile War....
, each with a legion, against the rebels. Crixus

Crixus

Crixus was a leader of the slave rebellion in the Third Servile War, along with Spartacus and Oenomaus .He was a Gaul , and had been a slave for several years before the revolt....
wanted to stay in Italy and plunder but Spartacus wanted to continue North and so, along with around 30,000 Gaul and Germanic supporters, Crixus left Spartacus and was later defeated by Publicola. Crixus was killed in battle. Spartacus first defeated Lentulus, and then Publicola. At Picenum in central Italy, Spartacus defeated the consular armies, then pushed north. At Mutina (now Modena

Modena

Modena is a city and a comune on the south side of the Padan Plain, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy.An ancient town, it is the seat of an archbishop, but is now best known as "the capital of engines", since the factories of the famous Italian sports car makers Ferrari, De Tomaso, Lamborghini, Pagani and...
) in 73BC, they defeated yet another legion under Gaius Cassius Longinus, the Governor

Governor

A governor is a governing official, usually the Executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state. In federations, a governor may be the title of each appointed or elected politician who governs a constitutive state....
of Cisalpine Gaul

Cisalpine Gaul

Cisalpine Gaul was the Roman name for a geographical area , in the territory of modern-day northern Italy , inhabited by the Celts. Sometimes referred to as Gallia Citerior , Provincia Ariminum, or Gallia Togata ....
("Gaul this side of the Alps"). By now, Spartacus's many followers included women, children, and elderly men who tagged along.

Choice to remain in Italy

Apparently, Spartacus had intended to march his army out of Italy and into Gaul

Gaul

Belgium

* A small German-speaking Community of Belgium exists in eastern Wallonia. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political and cultural conflicts are reflected in the history of Belgium and a complex Communities and regions of Belgium....
, Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland is a landlocked Swiss Alps country of roughly 7.7 million people in Western Europe with an area of 41,285 km?. Switzerland is a federal republic consisting of 26 states called Cantons of Switzerland....
and France

France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
) or maybe even to Hispania

Hispania

Hispania was the name given by the Ancient Rome to the whole of the Iberian Peninsula . When Rome was a Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into Roman provinces: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior....
,where Roman soldiers were fighting, to join the rebellion of Quintus Sertorius

Quintus Sertorius

Quintus Sertorius was a Roman statesman and general, born in Nursia, in Sabine territory, around 124 BC.After acquiring some reputation in Rome as a jurist and an orator, he began a military career....
. he rest marched back south, and defeated two more legions under Marcus Licinius Crassus

Marcus Licinius Crassus

Marcus Licinius Crassus was a Roman Republic general and politician who commanded Sulla's decisive victory at Battle of the Colline Gate, suppressed the Slavery revolt led by Spartacus and entered into a secret pact, known as the First Triumvirate, with Pompey and Julius Caesar....
, who at that time was the wealthiest man in Rome. At the end of 72 BC, Spartacus was encamped in Rhegium (Reggio Calabria

Reggio Calabria

Reggio di Calabria , commonly known as Reggio Calabria or Reggio, is a city in southern Italy Italy, the Capital of the Province of Reggio Calabria as well as the largest and oldest city in the Calabria region....
), near the Strait of Messina

Strait of Messina

The Strait of Messina is the narrow section of water between the eastern tip of Sicily and the southern tip of Calabria in the south of Italy....
. Spartacus's deal with Cilician pirates

Piracy

Piracy is a warlike act committed by a foreign nonstate actor, especially robbery or crime committed at sea, on a river, or sometimes on shore, either from a vessel flying no national flag, or one flying a national flag but without authorization from a nation....
to get them to Sicily

Sicily

Sicily is an Autonomous regions with special statute of Italy. Of all the regions of Italy, Sicily covers the largest land area at 25,708 km? and currently has just over five million inhabitants....
fell through. In the beginning of 71 BC, eight legions of Crassus isolated Spartacus's army in Calabria

Calabria

Calabria , is a Regions of Italy in Southern Italy Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian peninsula. It is bounded to the north by the region of Basilicata, to the south-west by the region of Sicily, to the west by the Tyrrhenian Sea, and to the east by the Ionian Sea....
. With the assassination of Quintus Sertorius

Quintus Sertorius

Roman Senate

The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic. According to the Greek historian Polybius, our principal source on the Constitution of the Roman Republic, the Roman Senate was the predominant branch of government....
also recalled Pompey

Pompey

Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, commonly known as Pompey /'p?mpi/, Pompey the Great or Pompey the Triumvir , was a distinguished military and political leader of the late Roman Republic....
from Hispania; and Marcus Terentius Varro Lucullus

Marcus Terentius Varro Lucullus

Marcus Terentius Varro Lucullus , younger brother of the more famous Lucullus, was a supporter of Lucius Cornelius Sulla and consul of ancient Rome in 73 BC....
from Macedonia

Macedonia (Roman province)

The Roman province of Macedonia was officially established in 146 BC, after the Roman general Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus defeated Andriscus of Macedon in 148 BC, and after the four client republics established by Rome in the region were dissolved....
.

Spartacus managed to break through Crassus's lines and escape towards Brundisium (now Brindisi), but Pompey's forces intercepted them in Lucania

Lucania

Lucania was an ancient district of southern Italy, extending from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Gulf of Taranto. To the north it adjoined Campania, Samnium and Apulia, and to the south it was separated by a narrow isthmus from the district of Bruttium....
, and the slaves were routed in a subsequent battle at the river Silarus

Sele River

The Sele is a river in southwestern Italy. Originating from the Monti Picentini, it flows through the region of Campania and into the Gulf of Salerno in the Tyrrhenian Sea....
, where Spartacus is believed to have fallen. According to Plutarch

Plutarch

Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. AD 46 ? 120 ? commonly known in English as Plutarch ? was a Ancient Rome historian , biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonism....
, "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".According to Appian

Appian

Appianus , of Alexandria was a Ancient Rome historian who flourished during the reigns of Trajan, Hadrian and Antoninus Pius. He is commonly referred to by the anglicised form of his name, 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.

After the battle, legionaries found and rescued 3,000 unharmed Roman prisoners in their camp. 6,600 of Spartacus's followers were crucified

Crucifixion

Crucifixion is an ancient method of execution , whereby the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead....
along the via Appia (or the Appian Way

Appian Way

The Appian Way was one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of the ancient Roman Republic. It connected Rome to Brindisi, Apulia, in southeast Italy....
) from Brundisium to Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city, with 2,724,347 residents in an urban area of some ....
. 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. They fled north and were later destroyed by Pompey

Pompey

Hispania

Hispania was the name given by the Ancient Rome to the whole of the Iberian Peninsula . When Rome was a Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into Roman provinces: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior....
. 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
Toussaint L'Ouverture

Fran?ois-Dominique Toussaint Louverture , also Toussaint Br?da, Toussaint-Louverture was a leader of the Haitian Revolution. Born a slave in Saint-Domingue, in a long struggle for independence Toussaint led enslaved Africans to victory over Europeans, abolished slavery, and secured native control over the colony in 1797 while nom...
and his successor Jean-Jacques Dessalines
Jean-Jacques Dessalines

Jean-Jacques Dessalines was a leader of the Haitian Revolution and the first ruler of an independent Haiti under the 1801 constitution. He was autocratic in his rule and crowned himself List of heads of state of Ha?ti in 1805....
led the slave rebellion
Slave rebellion

A slave rebellion is an armed uprising by Slavery. Slave rebellions have occurred in nearly all societies that practice slavery, and are amongst the most feared events for slaveholders....
of the Haitian Revolution
Haïtian Revolution

The Haitian Revolution was the only successful slave revolt in history. It established Haiti as the first republic ruled by blacks. At the time of the revolution, Haiti was known as Saint-Domingue and was a colony of France....
(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
Spartacist League

The Spartacist League was a left-wing Marxism revolutionary movement organized in Germany during and just after the politically volatile years of World War I....
of Weimar Germany
Weimar Republic

The Weimar Republic was the democracy and republican period of Germany from 1919 to 1933. Following World War I, the republic emerged from the German Revolution in November 1918....
, which later became the Communist Party of Germany
Communist Party of Germany

The Communist Party of Germany was a major political party in Germany between 1918 and 1933, and a minor party in West Germany in the postwar period....
, as well as the Spartacus anti-fascist organisation in the '70s Austria.
Karl Marx
Karl Marx

Karl Heinrich Marx was a Germanphilosophy, political economy, historian, sociologist, humanism, political theorist and revolutionary credited as the founder of communism....
said Spartacus was his hero, citing him as the 'finest fellow' antiquity had to offer.
Noted Latin America
Latin America

Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages ? particularly Spanish language and Portuguese language, and variably French language ? are primarily spoken....
n Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara
Che Guevara

Ernesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as Che Guevara, El Che, or simply Che, was an Argentina Marxism revolutionary, politician, author, physician, military theorist, and guerrilla leader....
was also a strong admirer of Spartacus.
Founder of the Bavarian Illuminati, Adam Weishaupt
Adam Weishaupt

Johann Adam Weishaupt was a Germans philosopher and founder of the Illuminati, a secret society with origins in Bavaria....
, often referred to himself as Spartacus within written correspondences.

Artistic

Film

Most famously, Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick

Stanley Kubrick was an influential American-British filmmaker, screenwriter, Film producer and photographer. He directed a number of highly acclaimed and often controversial films....
's adaptation of Howard Fast
Howard Fast

Howard Melvin Fast was a Jewish American novelist and television writer, who wrote also under the pen names E. V. Cunningham and Walter Ericson....
's novel, as Spartacus
Spartacus (film)

Spartacus is a 1960 in film historical film drama film directed by Stanley Kubrick and based on the Spartacus by Howard Fast about the historical life of Spartacus and the Third Servile War....
, in 1960. The catchphrase "I'm Spartacus!" from this film has been referenced in a number of other films, television programs, and commercials.
Just before the members of The Wonders are about to play the biggest show of their careers during one of the final scenes of Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks

Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American film actor, film director, voice-over artist, writer and film producer. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies before achieving success as a dramatic actor portraying several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia , the title role in Forrest Gump, Commander J...
' 1996 film That Thing You Do!
That Thing You Do!

That Thing You Do! is a 1996 film, screenwriter and Director by Tom Hanks. Set in the summer of 1964, the movie tells the slightly altered story of Erie Pennsylvania's 7 Fabulous Epics, and their one hit wonder, "High School Girl" on the Warner Brothers label....
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
Spartacus (2004 film)

Spartacus is a 2004 television adaptation of the Howard Fast Spartacus , made by USA Network Pictures and distributed by USA Cable Entertainment LLC and Universal Home Entertainment....
, a made-for-TV movie or miniseries by the USA Network
USA Network

USA Network is an United States cable television channel launched in 1977. The channel shows a variety of original and second-run programming, from syndicated TV series to edited Film....
, with Goran Višnjic
Goran Višnjic

Goran Visnjic is a Croats actor who has appeared in United States films and television productions. He is best known for his role as Dr. Luka Kovac in the hit television series ER ....
in the main role.
Sam Raimi
Sam Raimi

Samuel Marshall "Sam" Raimi is an American film director, film producer, actor and screenwriter.He is best known for directing the cult classic horror film The Evil Dead and the Blockbuster Spider-Man film series....
has confirmed that is he producing a 13 episode television series based on Spartacus. Filming is expected to start next year and will be aired on Starz.¹⁹
In movie "The Recruit" hero Clayton helped to develop a computer program called Sp@rtacus, which turns computer terminals to which it is networked into its slave

Literature

Howard Fast
Howard Fast

Howard Melvin Fast was a Jewish American novelist and television writer, who wrote also under the pen names E. V. Cunningham and Walter Ericson....
wrote the historical novel Spartacus.
Arthur Koestler
Arthur Koestler

Arthur Koestler Order of the British Empire was a Jewish-Hungary polymath author who became a naturalized United Kingdom subject....
wrote a novel about Spartacus called The Gladiators.
There is a novel Spartacus by the Scottish
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
writer Lewis Grassic Gibbon
Lewis Grassic Gibbon

Lewis Grassic Gibbon was the pseudonym of James Leslie Mitchell , a Scotland writer.Born and raised in Arbuthnott, Aberdeenshire, Mitchell started working as a journalist for the Aberdeen Journal and the Scottish Farmer at age 16....
.
Spartacus is a prominent character in the novel Fortune's Favorites
Masters of Rome

Masters of Rome is a series of historical fiction novels by author Colleen McCullough set in ancient Rome during the last days of the old Roman Republic; it primarily chronicles the lives and careers of Gaius Marius, Lucius Cornelius Sulla, Pompey the Great, Julius Caesar, and the early career of Caesar Augustus....
by Colleen McCullough
Colleen McCullough

Colleen McCullough Order of Australia is an internationally acclaimed Australian author. McCullough was born in Wellington, New South Wales in central west New South Wales to James and Laurie 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 The students of Spartacus (Uczniowie Spartakusa) by the Polish
Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian Enclave and exclave, to the north....
writer Halina Rudnicka.
The Reverend Elijah Kellogg's Spartacus to the Gladiators at Capua
Spartacus to the Gladiators at Capua

Spartacus to the Gladiators at Capua is a rhetorical Monologue#Soliloquy_.2F_dramatic_monologue_.28theatre.29 written by Elijah Kellogg for a student competition at Bowdoin College in 1842, and later published by Epes Sargent , one of the judges, in his 1846 School Reader....
has been used effectively by schoolboys to practise their oratory skills for ages.
Spartacus also appears in Conn Iggulden
Conn Iggulden

Conn Iggulden is a United Kingdom author, who mainly writes historical fiction.Iggulden was born in 1971. He attended St.Martins School in Northwood before moving on to Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood....
's Emperor Series in the book The Death of Kings
The Death of Kings

The Death of Kings is a novel by British author Conn Iggulden, and is the second book in the Emperor series, which follows the life of Julius Caesar....
.
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".

Music

Spartacus
Spartacus (ballet)

Spartacus, or Spartak, is a ballet by Aram Khachaturian . The work follows the exploits of Spartacus, the leader of the Slavery uprising against the Ancient Rome known as the Third Servile War, although the ballet's storyline takes considerable liberties with the historical record....
is a ballet, with a score by composer Aram Khachaturian
Aram Khachaturian

Aram Khachaturian was a Soviet Union-Armenians composer whose works were often influenced by Armenian folk music....
.
Australian composer Carl Vine
Carl Vine

Carl Vine is a prominent Australian Contemporary classical music, theatre, film, television and electronic music composer....
wrote a short piano piece entitled Spartacus, from "Red Blues."
The German group Triumvirat
Triumvirat

Triumvirat was a Germany progressive rock trio that formed in 1969 in Cologne, Germany. The founding members were: keyboardist/composer Hans-J?rgen Fritz , drummer/lyricist Hans Bathelt, and bassist Werner Frangenberg....
released the album Spartacus
Spartacus (Triumvirat album)

Spartacus is an album by the Germany group Triumvirat. Spartacus is a concept album based on the Spartacus who led the 3rd slavery uprising in 73–71 BC....
in 1975.

Jeff Wayne
Jeff Wayne

Jeffrey "Jeff" Wayne is a musician mostly known for Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds of H. G. Wells' The War of the Worlds ....
released his musical retelling, Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of Spartacus
Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of Spartacus

Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of Spartacus was a 1992 concept album by Jeff Wayne and others, telling the story of Ancient Rome gladiator, Spartacus....
in 1992.
Phantom Regiment, a World Class (formerly Division 1) drum corps of Drum Corps International
Drum Corps International

Drum Corps International , formed in 1972, is the non-profit governing body operating the North American Drum and bugle corps circuit for junior corps, whose members are between the ages of 13 and 21....
, 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.

Videogames

Spartacus is a character in the real-time strategy
Real-time strategy

Real-time strategy games are a genre of computer wargames which do not progress incrementally in turn-based game.Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
game Rome: Total War
Rome: Total War

Rome: Total War is a critically acclaimed strategy game composed of both turn-based strategy and real-time tactics, in which the player fights historical and fictitious battles set during late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire ....
.
Sparda is a character in the Devil May Cry universe, whose name has been supposedly inspired by Spartacus. As the legend says, he was a demon that rebelled against his own kind for the sake of the human world. He defeated countless demons and their Emperor, Mundus, before sealing the gateway to the demon world.

Sport

FC Spartak Moscow
FC Spartak Moscow

FC Spartak Moscow is a football club from Moscow, Russia. They are nicknamed "Meat" because in Soviet era the club was owned by the Collective Production Farms ....
and Spartak sport society
Spartak (sports society)

Spartak was the first and the largest All-Union Voluntary Sports Societies of the USSR of workers of state trade, producers' cooperation, light industry, civil aviation, education, culture, health service etc....
are named in honor of Spartacus.
The Spartakiad
Spartakiad

Spartakiad initially was the name of an international sports event that the Soviet Union attempted to use to both oppose and supplement the Olympic Games....
was a competition similar to the Olympic games
Olympic Games

The Olympic Games are an international multi-sport event established for both summer and winter sports. There have been two generations of the Olympic Games; the first were the Ancient Olympic Games held at Olympia, Greece, Greece....
for countries of the Soviet bloc.,
Swiss Professional Cyclist Fabian Cancellara
Fabian Cancellara

Fabian Cancellara is a Swiss professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam Team Saxo Bank. A time trial specialist, he has been two time UCI Road World Championships, Men and is the current Gold medalist....
has been given the nickname 'Spartacus'

Other

Spartacus Peak
Spartacus Peak

Spartacus Peak is a 650m peak in Delchev Ridge, Tangra Mountains, eastern Livingston Island, Antarctica. The peak overlooks Sopot Ice Piedmont to the N and Strandzha Glacier to the E and SE....
on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands
South Shetland Islands

The South Shetland Islands are a group of List of antarctic and sub-antarctic islands, lying about 120 kilometres north of the Antarctic Peninsula....
, Antarctica
Antarctica

Antarctica is Earth's southernmost continent, overlying the South Pole. It is situated in the Antarctica of the southern hemisphere, almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle, and is surrounded by the Southern Ocean....
is named for Spartacus.

Bibliography

Classical authors

Appian
Appian

Appianus , of Alexandria was a Ancient Rome historian who flourished during the reigns of Trajan, Hadrian and Antoninus Pius. He is commonly referred to by the anglicised form of his name, Appian....
. Civil Wars. Translated by J. Carter. (Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1996)
Florus
Florus

Florus, Roman Empire historian, lived in the time of Trajan and Hadrian.He compiled, chiefly from Livy, a brief sketch of the history of Rome from the foundation of the city to the closing of the temple of Janus by Augustus Caesar ....
. Epitome of Roman History. (London: W. Heinemann, 1947)
Orosius
Orosius

Paulus Orosius was a Christianity historian, theology and disciple of Augustine of Hippo who came from Gallaecia , probably from the capital city Bracara Augusta....
. The Seven Books of History Against the Pagans. Translated by Roy J. Deferrari. (Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 1964).
Plutarch
Plutarch

Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. AD 46 ? 120 ? commonly known in English as Plutarch ? was a Ancient Rome historian , biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonism....
. 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
Sallust

For the philosopher, see Sallustius; for other uses, see Sallust .Gaius Sallustius Crispus, generally known simply as Sallust, , a Roman Republic historian, belonged to a well-known plebeian family, and was born at Amiternum in the country of the Sabines....
. Conspiracy of Catiline and the War of Jugurtha. (London: Constable, 1924)

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 0-253-31259-0); 1998 (paperback, ISBN 0-253-21169-7). [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 0-9511243-1-5).
Spartacus: Film and History, edited by Martin M. Winkler. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 2007 (hardcover, ISBN 1405131802; paperback, ISBN 1405131810).
Trow, M.J. Spartacus: The Myth and the Man. Stroud, United Kingdom: Sutton Publishing, 2006 (hardcover, ISBN 0-7509-3907-9).
Genner, Michael. "Spartakus. Eine Gegengeschichte des Altertums nach den Legenden der Zigeuner". Two volumes. Paperback. Trikont Verlag, Munchen 1979/1980. Vol 1 ISBN 3-88167-053-X Vol 2 ISBN 3-88167-0

External links

Article and full text of the Roman and Greek sources.
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