His story or reputation were often shaped according to the author’s genre and motivations. The important factor to remember when consulting the primary material is that there was not a unified approach to Spartacus. On a grislier note, Appian’s Spartacus executes all prisoners and pack animals to expediate the movement of his army when they had decided to march on Rome (App. Spartacus is recorded ordering his followers to manufacture weapons and armour. 1.5.21 Florus, 2.8.3-4 Orosius, 5.24.1) and the second escape in which the slaves tricked the Romans into believing corpses were their sentries shows that they were taking precautions in setting up proper camps (Sallust, Histories, 3.96 Frontinus, 1.5.22). The legendary escape/ambush via vine ropes from Mt Vesuvius can be found in multiple accounts (Plutarch’s Life of Crassus, 9.1-3 Frontinus’ The Stratagems and the Aqueducts of Rome. Within the various traditions, there are episodes that show Spartacus striving to be an effective leader and forge an army out of rebels and runaways. The historian Sallust ( Histories, 3.91) describes him as a leader possessed with great strength and courage and Plutarch ( Life of Crassus, 8.2) paints him as a wise leader. This can be difficult, as some sources present a negative view of Spartacus, whereas others are unexpectedly positive.
#SPARTACUS THE GLADIATOR PATCH#
Scholars over the years have attempted to reconcile these sources and patch them together to form as complete a picture as possible. Some references, such as those in Cicero’s speeches, are brief and serve mostly to show that Spartacus’ name could be used as an insult or to inspire fear. The earliest accounts, written by men such as Varro and Sallust who lived through the conflict itself, are sadly very fragmentary. Many of the events shown in the video can be found in these sources. There are a number of references to Spartacus in pro-Roman sources, including two lengthier accounts from Appian (Civil Wars, 1.116-120) and Plutarch (Life of Crassus, 8-11), both written in the 1 st and 2 nd centuries AD and therefore between one or two hundred years after the revolt. It is based on material from the Roman point-of-view, which means that the perspective is generally also that of an upper-class male. However, even as an exception to the rule, there are no sources from Spartacus or the slave perspective for the events depicted in the video.
Spartacus’ revolt understandably made him well-known and a person of interest to the Romans, and often a figure of fear. Because of this, there is often little information about the individuals that made up these groups. In the Roman world, slaves and gladiators were at the bottom of the social ladder.