"I Am Spartacus!"

"I Am Spartacus!"

Gladiator And Rebel

These days, a lot of people have at least a vague idea of who Spartacus was because of the TV show, or possibly the old movie. (“I am Spartacus!”) The TV show, however, is shot in the style of 300 and highly fantasized, with lots of slow-motion action and strange colors and textures. It doesn't look anything like reality, so I'm not sure a lot of the viewers connect this fictional treatment with a real man who suffered and fought against real injustices.

 

Spartacus was a Thracian gladiator who was one of the leaders of a slave rebellion now known as the “Third Servile War.” Because many of the slaves were escaped gladiators, Spartacus led an army of experts at hand-to-hand combat, easily capable of thrashing the professional Roman army- which they did on several occasions.

There's no reason to assume that Spartacus was a political revolutionary in the modern sense. The movements of his gladiator army were not focused on victory, but escape from Italy. Spartacus and the other Thracian, Gaulish and German gladiators were just fighting to get home.

 

They never made it. After the Roman legions finally defeated Spartacus in battle, the gladiators were crucified along the road in a gruesome display that stretched for miles and miles. As for Spartacus himself, his body was never found, perhaps because his loyal followers were unwilling to identify him. He either fell in battle or perished on the cross, a symbol of heroic resistance from that day on.