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Daniel Sainz
HIST 1500
Spartacus
The 1960 film Spartacus tells the story of a slave and gladiator by the same name.
Spartacus, born into slavery, grows up a defiant slave dreaming of his chance at freedom. He is
purchased by Lentulus Batiatus to be trained as a gladiator. During his training he meets and
eventually falls in love with Varinia, a slave girl. Batiatus’ training school is visited by Senator
Crassus who, with some friends, desires to see two sets of gladiators battle to the death. During
the battles, of which one of the contestants is Spartacus, Crassus arranges with Batiatus the sale
of Varinia. When Spartacus learns of her sale, he is taunted by a guard, and begins to fight. All
the other gladiators join in and their rebellion is born. The slave army continues to grow and
rallies around Mt. Vesuvius. They destroy the garrison of Rome at Vesuvius, and arrange with
pirates their passage out of Rome. When they arrive at the coast, they learn that Crassus has
bought off the pirates and they have no passage out of Rome. With no other options, they are
forced to face Crassus in battle. Overwhelmed and outnumbered by unexpected Roman
reinforcements, the slave rebellion is defeated. Six thousand men survive the battle and upon
being told they can have their freedom for turning over their hero, all the men call out “I’m
Spartacus!” The six thousand are then crucified. The movie ends with Spartacus seeing Varinia
escape with their newborn son, who were both freed, while Spartacus faces his death upon the
cross.
The film was loosely based upon a book of the same name by Howard Fast, written in
1951. Fast wrote the book as a reaction to his imprisonment for being involved with the US
Communist Party. While the book does follow the main points of the history fairly accurately, it
does deviate into unknowns, speculations, and fabrications.
As far as historical records show, Spartacus, for the first period of his life, was a free
man. He was a Thracian and at some point served in the Roman army. Some time after he served
in the Roman army, he fell into slavery. How Spartacus became a slave is not exactly known, but
it is likely that he had picked up work as a criminal and was sold into slavery as punishment.
Eventually he became a gladiator and was trained at the school of Cnaeus Cornelius Lentulus
Vatia. At such gladiatorial schools, it was not uncommon for gladiators to be allowed the
companionship of a woman. In some cases, gladiators even had wives. We do know that
Spartacus had such a relationship. While the woman’s name is not known, she is referred to in
Barry Strauss’ The Spartacus War simply as “The Thracian Lady.” She was a prophetess of the
god Dionysus and had prophesied of her lover that he would be surrounded by a great and fearful
power. This prophecy does offer some insight as to why slaves would so quickly rise up in
rebellion in support of Spartacus.
In the film, the slave rebellion occurs quickly and unanimously with no planning. Given
the circumstances, it is very unlikely that no planning had gone into the revolt. Spartacus’ army
would have been composed of many different nationalities, particularly Thracians, Celts, and
Germans. Spartacus was not the sole commander, but shared command with Crixus and
Oenomaus, neither of which are mentioned in the film.
The film is fairly accurate in its portrayal of the battle at Vesuvius. At the battle,
Spartacus and his army were able to defeat the Romans at night by simply sneaking into the
camp. The Romans had neglected to erect a proper stockade to defend their camp and
underestimated the coordination of the slave army.
Spartacus did, in fact arrange a deal with pirates. But the deal was much different in
reality. They had arranged for two-thousand men to be transported to Sicily to free slaves on the
island to reinforce Spartacus’ army. The pirates did betray the deal, but whether they were
bought out by Crassus or were simply being pirates is unknown.
The film of course depicts a glorious end for Spartacus, showing him as a man that
thousands of men would gladly die in place of. Spartacus’ rebellion ultimately failed at the
hands of a Roman army lead by Crassus. Historical records show that Spartacus fought on foot,
and was in the front line and fought towards Crassus. There are two accounts of his death,
neither of which agrees with the film’s account. In one account, Spartacus’ closest friends
abandon him in battle and, standing alone, he dies. In the other account, his friends stand by him
as he is wounded by a javelin to the leg, and is killed by a Roman infantryman.
The textbook, Worlds Together, Worlds Apart makes hardly any reference to Spartacus.
Saying simply of him that his rebellion was “among the greatest slave wars in world history” and
“the political repercussions of the [war] had a fundamental impact in the subsequent political
crises that transformed the Roman state.” Spartacus’ rebellion lasted over two years. He defeated
nine Roman armies. What began as a rebellion of 74 slaves would leave a name and legacy that
spread across history. Spartacus defied the greatest power in the world in his quest for his right to
freedom. The film did an excellent job in honoring the historical character and legacy of
Spartacus, even with straying from the historical account.
Bibliography
Strauss, Barry The Spartacus War Simon & Schuster, 2009
Various Authors Worlds Together, Worlds Apart; A History of the World: Beginnings Through
the Fifteenth Century Third Edition Volume 1,W.W. Norton Norton & Company