Historical accounts of his life come primarily fromPlutarch andAppian, who wrote more than a century after his death. Plutarch'sLife ofCrassus and Appian'sCivil Wars provide the most detailed accounts of the slave revolt. Although Spartacus is a significant figure in Roman history, no contemporary sources exist, and all accounts are written significantly later, by persons not directly involved, and without perspectives of slaves or eyewitnesses. Little is known about him beyond the events of the war, and the extant accounts are contradictory. All sources agree, however, that he was a former gladiator and accomplished military leader.
Spartacus is described as a Thracian by birth, possibly from theMaedi tribe. Before his enslavement and use as a gladiator, he served as a soldier with the Romans. His revolt began in 73 BC when, along with about 70 other gladiators, he escaped a gladiatorial school nearCapua. Despite their initially small numbers, Spartacus's forces were able to defeat several Roman military units and swell their ranks to an estimated 70,000 enslaved people and others. Spartacus proved himself a capable tactician despite the dearth of formal military training among his followers, who were a diverse mix.
The rebellion posed a significant challenge to Roman authority, prompting a series of military campaigns against it. Ultimately,Marcus Licinius Crassus was tasked with suppressing the revolt. Despite initial successes and attempts to negotiate and escape toSicily, Spartacus's forces were defeated in 71 BC. Spartacus was presumed killed in the final battle, although his body was never found. In the aftermath of the rebellion, 6,000 captured rebels werecrucified along theAppian Way.
Spartacus's motives remain a subject of debate. Some sources suggest he aimed to escape Italy, while others hint at broader social reform goals. His legacy has endured, inspiring cultural works and becoming a symbol of resistance and revolutionary movements, influencing such figures asKarl Marx andToussaint Louverture. The rebellion, interpreted as an example ofoppressed people fighting for their freedom against a slave-owningoligarchy, has been portrayed in literature, television, and film.[2] The philosopherVoltaire described the Third Servile War as "the only just war in history".[3] Although this interpretation is not specifically contradicted by classical historians, no historical account claims that the goal was to endslavery in the Republic.[4]
Sources
There are two main sources on Spartacus, both of which were written a century or more after his death:Plutarch of Chaeronea (46 AD - 119 AD) andAppian of Alexandria (95 AD – AD 165).[5] The specific works areLife of Crassus (early Second Century AD) by Plutarch andCivil Wars (early to mid Second Century AD) by Appian.[5] Out of all surviving sources on Spartacus, none was written by eyewitnesses and are all later reconstructions; nor were the sources written by slaves or former slaves, and the earliest source was at least a generation after the war.[6]
Early life
The Greek essayistPlutarch describes Spartacus as "a Thracian of Nomadic stock",[7] in a possible reference to theMaedi tribe.[8]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".[9]
Florus described him as one "who, from a Thracian mercenary, had become a Roman soldier, that had deserted and became enslaved, and afterward, from consideration of his strength, a gladiator".[10] The authors refer to theThracian tribe of theMaedi,[11][12][13] which occupied the area on the southwestern fringes ofThrace, along its border with theRoman province of Macedonia, in what is now south-westernBulgaria.[14] Plutarch also writes that Spartacus's wife, a prophetess of the Maedi tribe, was enslaved with him.
According to the differing sources and their interpretation, Spartacus was a captive taken by the legions.[20] Spartacus was trained at the gladiatorial school (ludus) nearCapua belonging toLentulus Batiatus. He was a heavyweight gladiator called amurmillo. These fighters carried a large oblong shield (scutum), and used a sword with a broad, straight blade (gladius), about 18 inches long.[21] In 73 BC, Spartacus was among a group of gladiators plotting an escape.[22]
About 70[23] slaves were part of the plot. Though few in number, they seized kitchen utensils, fought their way free from the school, and seized several wagons of gladiatorial weapons and armour.[22] The escaped slaves defeated soldiers sent after them, plundered the region surrounding Capua, recruited many other slaves into their ranks, and eventually retired to a more defensible position onMount Vesuvius.[24][25]
Once free, the escaped gladiators chose Spartacus and twoGallic slaves—Crixus andOenomaus—as their leaders. Although Roman authors assumed that the escaped slaves were a homogeneous group with Spartacus as their leader, they may have projected their own hierarchical view of military leadership onto the spontaneous organization, reducing other slave leaders to subordinate positions in their accounts.
The response of the Romans was hampered by the absence of the Roman legions, which were engaged in fighting arevolt in Hispania and theThird Mithridatic War. Furthermore, the Romans considered the rebellion more of a policing matter than a war. Rome dispatched militia under the command of thepraetorGaius Claudius Glaber, who besieged Spartacus and his camp on Mount Vesuvius, hoping that starvation would force Spartacus to surrender. They were taken by surprise when Spartacus used ropes made from vines to climb down the steep side of the volcano with his men and attacked the unfortified Roman camp in the rear, killing most of the militia.[26]
The rebels also defeated a second expedition against them, nearly capturing the praetor commander, killing his lieutenants, and seizing the military equipment.[27] Due to these successes, more and more slaves flocked to the Spartacan forces, as did many of theherdsmen andshepherds of the region, swelling their ranks to some 70,000.[28] At its height, Spartacus's army included many different peoples, including Celts, Gauls, and others. Due to the previousSocial War (91–87 BC), some of Spartacus's ranks were legion veterans.[29] Of the slaves that joined Spartacus ranks, many were from the countryside. Rural slaves lived a life that better prepared them to fight in Spartacus's army. In contrast, urban slaves were more used to city life and were considered "privileged" and "lazy."[30]
In these altercations, Spartacus proved to be an excellenttactician, suggesting that he may have had previous military experience. Though the rebels lackedmilitary training, they displayed skilful use of available local materials and unusual tactics against the disciplined Roman armies.[31] They spent the winter of 73–72 BC training, arming and equipping their new recruits, and expanding their raiding territory to include the towns ofNola,Nuceria,Thurii, andMetapontum.[32] The distance between these locations and the subsequent events indicate that the slaves operated in two groups commanded by Spartacus and Crixus.[citation needed]
In the spring of 72 BC, the rebels left their winter encampments and began to move northward. At the same time, theRoman Senate, alarmed by the defeat of thepraetorian forces, dispatched a pair ofconsularlegions under the command ofLucius Gellius andGnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Clodianus.[33] The two legions were initially successful—defeating a group of 30,000 rebels commanded byCrixus near Mount Garganus[34]—but then were defeated by Spartacus. These defeats are depicted in divergent ways by the two most comprehensive (extant) histories of the war by Appian and Plutarch.[35][36][37][38]
Alarmed at the continued threat posed by the slaves, the Senate chargedMarcus Licinius Crassus, the wealthiest man in Rome and the only volunteer for the position,[39] with ending the rebellion. Crassus was put in charge of eight legions, numbering upwards of 40,000 trained Roman soldiers;[39][40] he treated these with harsh discipline, reviving the punishment of "decimation", in which one-tenth of his men were slain to make them more afraid of him than their enemy.[39] When Spartacus and his followers, who for unclear reasons had retreated to the south ofItaly, moved northward again in early 71 BC, Crassus deployed six of his legions on the borders of the region and detached hislegate Mummius with two legions to maneuver behind Spartacus. Though ordered not to engage the rebels, Mummius attacked at a seemingly opportune moment but was routed.[41] After this, Crassus's legions were victorious in several engagements, forcing Spartacus farther south through Lucania as Crassus gained the upper hand. By the end of 71 BC, Spartacus was encamped in Rhegium (Reggio Calabria), near theStrait of Messina.
A 19th-century depiction of the fall of Spartacus by the ItalianNicola Sanesi (1818–1889)
According to Plutarch, Spartacus made a bargain withCilician pirates to transport him and some 2,000 of his men toSicily, where he intended to incite a slave revolt and gather reinforcements. However, he was betrayed by the pirates, who took payment and then abandoned the rebels.[41] Minor sources mention that there were some attempts at raft and shipbuilding by the rebels as a means to escape, but that Crassus took unspecified measures to ensure the rebels could not cross to Sicily, and their efforts were abandoned.[42] Spartacus's forces then retreated toward Rhegium. Crassus's legions followed and upon arrival built fortifications across the isthmus at Rhegium,[citation needed] despite harassing raids from the rebels. The rebels were now under siege and cut off from their supplies.[43]
At this time, the legions ofPompey returned from Hispania and were ordered by the Senate to head south to aid Crassus.[44] Crassus feared that Pompey's involvement would deprive him of credit for defeating Spartacus himself. Hearing of Pompey's involvement, Spartacus tried to make a truce with Crassus.[45] When Crassus refused, Spartacus and his army broke through the Roman fortifications and headed toBrundusium with Crassus's legions in pursuit.[46]
When the legions managed to catch a portion of the rebels separated from the main army,[47] discipline among Spartacus's forces broke down as small groups independently attacked the oncoming legions.[48] Spartacus now turned his forces around and brought his entire strength to bear on the legions in a last stand, in which the rebels were routed completely, with the vast majority of them being killed on the battlefield.[49]
Thefinal battle that saw the assumed defeat of Spartacus in 71 BC took place on the present territory ofSenerchia on the right bank of the riverSele in the area that includes the border with Oliveto Citra up to those of Calabritto, near the village of Quaglietta, in the High Sele Valley, which at that time was part of Lucania. In this area, since 1899, there have been finds of armour and swords of the Roman era.
Plutarch, Appian, and Florus all claim that Spartacus died during the battle, but Appian also reports that his body was never found.[50] Six thousand survivors of the revolt captured by the legions of Crassus werecrucified, lining theAppian Way from Rome to Capua, a distance of more than 100 miles.[51]
Objectives
Classical historians were divided as to the motives of Spartacus. None of Spartacus's actions overtly suggest that he aimed at reforming Roman society orabolishing slavery.
Plutarch writes that Spartacus wished to escape north intoCisalpine Gaul and disperse his men back to their homes.[52] If escaping the Italian peninsula was indeed his goal, it is not clear why Spartacus turned south after defeating the legions commanded by the consuls Lucius Publicola and Gnaeus Clodianus, which left his force a clear passage over theAlps.
Appian and Florus write that he intended to march on Rome itself.[53] Appian also states that he later abandoned that goal, which might have been no more than a reflection of Roman fears.
Based on the events in late 73 BC and early 72 BC, which suggest independently operating groups of escaped slaves[54] and a statement by Plutarch, it appears that some of the escaped slaves preferred to plunder Italy, rather than escape over the Alps.[52][clarification needed]
Legacy and recognition
Toussaint Louverture, a leader of the slave revolt that led to the independence ofHaiti, has been called the "Black Spartacus".[55][56]
Viva Spartaco,Spartaco a Rosarno: graffiti connecting Spartacus with2010 Rosarno riots between locals and migrant farm workers
In modern times, Spartacus became a hero and icon for communists and socialists.Karl Marx listed Spartacus as one of his heroes and described him as "the most splendid fellow in the whole of ancient history" and a "great general, noble character, real representative of the ancientproletariat".[58] Spartacus has been a great inspiration to left-wing revolutionaries, most notably the GermanSpartacus League (1915–18), a forerunner of theCommunist Party of Germany.[59] A January 1919 uprising by communists in Germany was called theSpartacist uprising.[56]Spartacus Books, one of the longest running collectively-run leftist book stores in North America, is also named in his honour. The village ofSpartak, in Donetsk Oblast,Ukraine, is also named after Spartacus.
The Italian writerRaffaello Giovagnoli wrote his historical novel,Spartacus, in 1874. His novel has been subsequently translated and published in many European countries.
Amal Donkol, the Egyptian modern poet wrote "The Last Words of Spartacus".
Max Gallo wrote the novelLes Romains.Spartacus. La Revolte des Esclaves, Librairie Artheme Fayard, 2006.
In theFate/Apocrypha light novel series by Yūichirō Higashide, Spartacus appears as a Berserker-class Servant summoned by the Red faction. In the anime adaptation of the novels, Spartacus is voiced by Satoshi Tsuruoka in Japanese and Josh Tomar in English. This version of Spartacus would also appear in the mobile RPGFate/Grand Order.
Ben Kane wrote the novelsSpartacus: The Gladiator andSpartacus: Rebellion, in 2012.
InGladihoppers, He appears as a playable character in the Spartacus War, if the player chose the Spartacus Rebellion mode. If the player names the character in Career Mode Spartacus, the player will receive Spartacus's sword.
Board games
In the expandable miniature wargaming systemHeroscape, Spartacus appears as a unique gladiator hero, having been rescued by the Archkyrie Einar before his death.
^Strauss 2009, p. 7 "We do not know if Spartacus wanted to abolish slavery, but if so, he aimed low. He and his men freed only gladiators, farmers, and shepherds. They avoided urban slaves, a softer and more elite group than rural workers. They rallied slaves to the cry not only of freedom but also to the themes of nationalism, religion, revenge, and riches. Another paradox: they might have been liberators but the rebels brought ruin. They devastated southern Italy in search of food and trouble."
^Shaw, Brent (2018).Spartacus and the Slave Wars: A Brief History with Documents. Boston: Bedford. p. 21.ISBN9781319094829.It is critical to bear in mind that not one of these documents was written by a slave or a former slave... The most important written sources for any reconstruction of the Spartacus slave war are the accounts by the Roman historian Sallust, the Greek biographer Plutarch, and the Greek historian Appian. Of these three, the account by Sallust is usually deemed to be the most important, since he was closest to the events. Sallust was writing in the generation after the war. The other two writers, Plutarch and Appian, not only came from a different culture (Greek), but they also composed their accounts about two centuries after the events occurred...When reading their accounts, readers must remember that these are not eyewitness reports but much later reconstructions.
^Appian,Civil Wars,1:116Archived 3 June 2020 at theWayback Machine; Plutarch,Crassus,8:2Archived 10 April 2020 at theWayback Machine. Note: Spartacus's status as anauxilia 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...".
^abPlutarch,Crassus,8:1–2Archived 10 April 2020 at theWayback Machine; Appian,Civil Wars,1:116Archived 3 June 2020 at theWayback Machine; Livy,Periochae,95:2Archived 7 November 2018 at theWayback Machine; Florus,Epitome,2.8. Plutarch claims 78 escaped, Livy claims 74, Appian "about seventy", and Florus says "thirty or rather more men". "Choppers and spits" is fromLife of Crassus.
^However, according to Cicero (Ad Atticum VI, ii, 8) at the beginning his followers were much less than 50.
^abDiken, Bulent (2012).Revolt, Revolution, Critique: The Paradox of Society. Routledge. p. 61.ISBN978-1134005642....like the 'black Spartacus' Toussaint–Louverture, the leader of the insurgent black slaves who escaped from plantations and defeated the Napoleonic forces in Haiti in 1796–1804, or like the 'Spartacist' leaders of the communist revolt in Germany in 1919.
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)
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,ISBN0-253-31259-0); 1998 (paperback,ISBN0-253-21169-7). [Chapter V] The Slave War of Spartacus, pp. 83–101.
Spartacus: Film and History, edited by Martin M. Winkler. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 2007 (hardcover,ISBN1-4051-3180-2; paperback,ISBN1-4051-3181-0).
Trow, M.J.Spartacus: The Myth and the Man. Stroud, United Kingdom: Sutton Publishing, 2006 (hardcover,ISBN0-7509-3907-9).
