Spartacus is a gladiator who led the Third Servile War (Gladiatorial Wars) (73-71 BC).
The guy who inspired thousands for the slave rebellion in the 1st century BC and inspired millions for hitting the gym for a jacked body in the 21st century due to its portrayal in a fictional TV show. After his death, he still left a question unanswered: Can you really get that ripped and have the chest for a good 225 lbs. bench with just bodyweight training and swinging swords? While it remains a mystery to attain such a sculpted physique without hitting the gym and taking supplements, we will be focusing on non-6-pack related parts of Spartacus’ story in this article.
Despite the TV show portraying his story across 3 seasons and 34 episodes as a TV show; in reality, very little has been known when it comes to this historical figure, Spartacus. There are too many contradictory accounts regarding his life, such that all the historical narratives regarding his life starts with “The accounts differ, but...”. Besides the fact that he was a Thracian-origin Roman gladiator, his life remains a blank canvas; maybe due to the fact that about 6000 people who may potentially have known more about him were crucified along the Appian way stretching from Rome to Capua. For that reason, what is known about him primarily comes from the Roman perspective and the ancient historians and authors such as Appian (“Civil Wars”), Florus (“Epitome of Roman History”), Plutarch, and Orosius.
Who is Spartacus?
Spartacus (c. 111–71 BC) was born in Thrace, a region that encompasses parts of present-day Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey. He served in the Roman auxiliary as a mercenary. At that time, Thracians were highly considered as mercenaries due to their reputation as fierce fighters and skilled horsemen.
Legend has it that one day Spartacus woke up with a red snake coiled around his neck. His wife regarded this ominous event as a good omen, interpreting it as a sign of great power that would lead Spartacus to either glory or debacle. If I were her in her shoes, I would interpret the snake as an omen of “time to move”. But jokes aside, this is just a legend. In reality, his wife's name was unknown to historical records, let alone her interpretations of events.
"According to some accounts, Spartacus deserted the Roman army while serving as a soldier. Subsequently, he was captured and sold into slavery, possibly to a man named Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Batiatus, also known as Vatia. Vatia was the owner of a gladiatorial school in Capua, located in Southern Italy, where Spartacus underwent training as a gladiator."
Slaves in Ancient Rome
To gain a better insight into Spartacus’ story and his life as a slave, it is important to understand the context of the time. During that period, slavery was rarely questioned, even by scholars. So, in ancient Rome, if your neighbor had a couple of slaves working in his nice, big villa, you didn't file a complaint; you asked for their decorator's number. One’s social status was believed to be one’s fate and was inherently passed down. Therefore, despite the harsh circumstances slaves were forced to live, these social circumstances were hardly questioned at the time. Slave rebellion was not really a popular idea in Ancient Rome, no slave woke up one day, “I am gonna rebel today.” In that respect, Spartacus truly defied the norms and set a precedent for others. Most likely, one of the reasons Spartacus questioned the status quo is because he was not born into slavery, but he was instead converted into one - for unknown reasons. Therefore, such a sudden fall from being a mercenary to a status of a slave may have profoundly affected Spartacus and led him to choose the path he did.
Escape and the beginning of the Third Servile War
In 73 BC, Spartacus was among the gladiators who organized the escape of over 70 gladiators, including him, all armed with kitchen tools such as choppers and spits. Romans must have been really confused when they saw Spartacus and 70 other slaves armed with kitchen tools, like a very organized and well-prepared culinary school. “Are we being invaded or catered to?” After Spartacus told them “Surprise bitch, today's secret ingredient is justice!”, they captured several wagons of gladiatorial weapons and armors. This incident marked the beginning of the Third Servile War.
The reason why this war was called as third was because it was the third systematical slave rebellion in the Roman history. Unlike many trilogies, however, the third installment in this series proved to be the most popular and influential. While the First Servile War (135-132 BC) led by Eunus, and the Second Servile War (104-100 BC) led by Athenion and Tryphon failed to capture Hollywood's attention, Spartacus earned a blockbuster movie, a TV series, and an enduring place in history. And what did the first guy get? if he witnessed Spartacus's legacy, he would undoubtedly have trademarked whatever this is.
According to some records, Spartacus’ wife also escaped along with him. Once free, the runaway slaves sought refuge in Mount Vesuvius. Along the way, they acquired gladiatorial weapons from a passing cart and recruited more fellow slaves into their band. Upon reaching Vesuvius, the fugitives elected three leaders; Spartacus, Crixus, and Oenomaus.
First encounter with Rome
Initially, Rome did not take action against these fugitives, since they were preoccupied with different expeditions outside the Italian Peninsula, such as the war against Sertorius in Hispania and the Third Mithridatic War. A band of fugitive slaves hardly seemed significant on Rome’s agenda, especially since they lacked sufficient Roman legions to dispatch to Mount Vesuvius. Thus, Rome wasn't too bothered by Spartacus' rebellion. It was like, “Can someone please tell Spartacus we have a Colosseum for a reason?”
Yet, with the rapid growth in the number of followers, the Roman government decided to step in. Underestimating the strength of Spartacus and his followers at Vesuvius, Rome sent an army of about 3000 soldiers led by praetor (a title given to either commander of an army or an elected magistrate by the government of Ancient Rome) Gaius Claudius Glaber. According to the historian Appian, the army was hastily conscripted without proper training.
The army under the command of Glaber did not attempt to attack slaves directly; instead, they besieged the mountain to cut off their food supplies and force them to surrender. However, Spartacus used the branches of vines in the mountain as rope ladders, allowing his band to escape to an unguarded spot on the mountainside. Under the cover of night, Spartacus’ forces made a sneak attack to the Roman camp and captured it easily. Many Romans were killed, and the remaining soldiers fled. The gladiators looted what remained in the camp. Eventually, this victory against the Romans attracted more recruits to the band of gladiators, not only from among slaves but also from free men like shepherds and herdsmen. Spartacus's policy of sharing the spoils equally, unlike any Roman commander, played a significant role in this recruitment drive. The slave rebellion now appeared to be a profitable side hustle.
Second Expedition from Rome
Before any major encounter between Rome and Spartacus’ forces, Spartacus and the rebels carried on their attacks to the Roman soldiers, liberating more slaves in the process. In response to these attacks, the Senate dispatched a Roman auxiliary led by praetor Publius Varinius. At a certain point during his attacks, Varinius divided his units, leading Spartacus' forces to easily defeat them. Additionally, they captured the fasces of the Roman army, a symbol of Rome's authority and power. This was a significant humiliation for Varinius and the army under his command, as such a symbolic object was now in the hands of the slaves, paraded through the streets. According to the Roman author Publius Annius Florus, this victory attracted more followers to the Spartacus’ force. Subsequently, Spartacus started to employ cavalry into his band.
These successive failures and the increasing number of rebels left the Senate restless and alarmed, fearing that the situation might eventually reach Rome.
(Spoiler Alert) The Death of Crixus
The historian Appian recorded that by 72 BC, Spartacus was commanding more than 70.000 people. This unabated increase in the numbers of slaves joining Spartacus's band began to hit home for those senators in the senate who owned slaves themselves. Furthermore, from the winter of 73 BC to 72 BC, Spartacus’ forces trained and equipped themselves with new arms, expanding their raids to the towns of Metapontum, Nola, Nuceria, and Thurii. The senate finally grew impatient and sent a pair of consular legions, each consisting of 10.000 men, led by Lucius Gellius Publicola and Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Clodianus.
Heading towards the rebels, each consul took a different route since the rebel forces had divided into two columns. According to some records, it is said that Spartacus' ultimate aim was to cross the Apennine Mountains so that they could all return to their homelands. However, due to the logistical challenges of relocating such large numbers of people, they had to move in two separate groups.
The legion under Consul Publicola attacked the group led by Crixus near Mount Gargano and killed most of the people, including Crixus himself. The remaining soldiers, led by Consul Publicola, later joined forces with the legion under the command of Consul Lentulus and engaged Spartacus's forces. However, Spartacus defeated both armies. According to the chronicler Plutarch, following his victory, Spartacus sacrificed 300 Roman captives in honor of Crixus.
Consuls Publicola and Lentulus were not completely defeated. They withdrew their forces to Rome to cover their tracks from Spartacus. After regrouping and gathering their strength, they followed Spartacus's trail along the road to the Alps and launched a counterattack. However, once again, Spartacus emerged victorious.
From the very beginning, Spartacus's main motive was to march towards the Alps and allow every runaway slave to return to their own homelands once they were outside Italy. However, after his victories, Spartacus decided not to cross the Alps but instead returned to Italy – turns out, he preferred Italian mozzarella over Swiss cheese fondue. The real reason behind this decision is still unknown. Yet, according to some accounts, the people under Spartacus' command did not want to cross the Alps; they were confident enough that they wanted to march back to Italy to seek revenge. For that reason, Spartacus put his dreams aside for the moment, followed his men's demands, and led his army back to Italy.
Commander Crassus
Meanwhile, in Rome, a new commander was appointed to pursue Spartacus and his army: Marcus Licinius Crassus. Known as the richest man in Rome, Crassus was able to raise a formidable army. Another trait that he was known for was his cruelty. He had randomly punished one-tenth of the defeated soldiers from two consular legions by death. The execution of every tenth soldier was a practice known as decimation, kind of a Roman roulette. This method was very rarely employed by the Roman army as a punishment, but Crassus was so ruthless that he did not refrain from using this brutal method on the army under his control, in order to restore the discipline and prevent any potential runaways. Because nothing says 'team-building exercise' in ancient Rome like randomly executing one in ten soldiers. So, he was definitely not the type of manager you’d want.
Towards the end of 72 BC, Spartacus arrived in the south of Italy and captured Thurii, a city situated on the Gulf of Taranto. There, Spartacus made an agreement with Cilician pirates, to acquire boats and sailors to deploy his army across the strait. However, the pirates deceived Spartacus; after accepting his gifts, they sailed away without returning anything back.
Spartacus vs Crassus
After consolidating his army of 32,000 men, Crassus advanced south to confront Spartacus. However, instead of engaging in an open battle, he aimed to trap Spartacus's forces in a specific area and starve them during the harsh winter months. As a result, he ordered his troops to construct large walls across Bruttium, centered around the Melia Ridge.
Spartacus’ army launched an attack on the Roman legions. However, according to accounts, 6000 gladiators were reportedly killed in exchange for just three Roman soldiers. I mean... how? Did someone forget to give those gladiators some weapons? Those numbers just don't add up, unless the Roman legions were using some sort of cheat code or Spartacus’ army was made up of NPC characters with the HP stat of a baby mosquito, you’d kill for 1 XP. Spartacus' gladiators must have skipped all the tutorials and missions and went straight into a dragon boss fight. Roman legions, on the other hand, had clearly done all the side quests. Maybe the historians just tried to make the Roman legions look good, but they should have made up more believable numbers.
Upon this defeat, Spartacus sought to reinforce the unity of his army by crucifying a Roman prisoner and displaying him to his troops. This was intended to serve as a stark reminder of the fate awaiting them should they fail to emerge victorious in this war.
In the beginning, Crassus wanted to carry on this successful strategy. However, upon receiving news from Rome that Pompey had concluded the war in Hispania and could now join him in the south to end the conflict with Spartacus, Crassus was compelled to take action. In the meantime, Spartacus and his troops were running out of supplies. As a result, the legions under Crassus clashed with Spartacus’ army once again, leading to Spartacus’ forces breaking through the walls. Yet, only one third of his men were with Spartacus now, since many of them had died and the others split from the main force to go on their own way. Here, once again, the famous adage “Never split the party” proved to be true. The dissident group that was led by Castus and Gannicus, decided to separate from Spartacus’ force, only to be defeated by Crassus’ army at the Battle of Cantenna.
Meanwhile, Spartacus advanced to the “toe” of Italy, to Petelia, but Crassus’ army was after him. As a final victory, the gladiators managed to defeat two of Crassus’ lieutenants: Gnaeus Tremellius Scrofa and Quintis Marcius Rufus. However, this victory fostered overconfidence among the gladiators, and despite Spartacus’ orders, they wanted to stop running away and decided to counterattack the Romans.
The Last Battle
In April 71 BC, somewhere in the Upper Silarus Valley, two armies engaged in a full-scale battle. Plutarch states that, just before the battle, Spartacus killed his own horse and turned to his men, declaring that if he won that battle, he would capture better horses that belonged to the Romans, but if he lost, he would no longer need a horse. Despite this stirring battle speech, the outcome of the war was an anticlimactic disappointment.
Accounts differ on how Spartacus died, but most agree on the narrative where he was surrounded by Roman soldiers and killed right on the battlefield. Therefore, it is very likely that Spartacus had already died long before any “I’m Spartacus” scene took place, as depicted in the 1960 movie directed by Stanley Kubrick. So, there was no Spartacus left by that time to say “I’m Spartacus” for. Nevertheless, since this was such a memorable scene in movie history, such historical inaccuracies were overlooked.
Nevertheless, oddly enough, Spartacus’ body has never been found. In one account, it is suggested that since he did not embellish his armor his body may have appeared like just another runaway gladiator dressed in ordinary armor. Therefore, he might have been buried with the rest of his troops, unidentified.
As for the six thousand gladiator captives, as foreshadowed by Spartacus months before, they were all crucified every thirty meters along the Appian Way (also called as Via Appia, the road between Capua and Rome). For years, their bodies were displayed on that road as a cautionary tale. So, war and ethics weren't exactly a great couple back then. But aside from it being gross, I mean who really has time for that? When you think about it, it’s a very ambitious plan to crucify 6k people, it would take more time than the war itself. Which also shows you that the Roman army really didn’t have much else going on for them at the time. Imagine being the Roman soldier there: you’ve already got your job done, and just when you are about to celebrate your victory, now your manager tells you to do overtime for that useless task. You haven’t been paid for that.
Beyond Defeat: Timeless Legacy
After reading the Spartacus's story and the somber conclusion, where his dreams of freedom clashed with the might of the Roman Empire, one might naturally question: Did Spartacus truly make any lasting difference, given his ultimate defeat? To this, I can say, the answer does not merely lie in the immediate consequences. Examining the impact of his rebellion reveals an enduring legacy that transcends the battlefield. While the immediate changes (questioning of the morality of slavery and social inequality in Roman society) may have been limited, his courage to defy mighty Rome against overwhelming odds inspired many ahead of its time. Spartacus became a symbol of resistance against oppression, sparking flames of rebellion and influencing leaders in subsequent slave rebellions, inspiring abolitionists and civil rights activists advocating for freedom, equality, and justice.
Ironically, very few people now know the name of the commander that defeated Spartacus, yet Spartacus’ name lived on for centuries as an iconic leader. Therefore, he is not merely told as a defeated gladiator, but emerges as a victor in the pages of history. The victories he won against a large organized Roman auxiliary, attest to his tactical genius. The guerilla tactics he employed, coupled with his ability to use whatever resources in hand also influenced the military commanders for centuries to come. From Africa to Asia, leaders invoked his legacy as a testament to the resilience of the human spirit against seemingly insurmountable odds.
Spartacus, far from being a mere historical figure, stands as an embodiment of courage, inspiring ongoing struggles for freedom, equality, and justice. His legacy reminds us that the fight for liberty is a flame that, once ignited, can never truly be extinguished.