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Photo Credit: Thracian-born gladiator Spartacus falls in battle against the Romans at Apulia, Italy, in 71 bc. His body was so hacked to pieces that it was never recovered.
By Eric Niderost
In the spring of 73 bc, Thracian gladiator Spartacus decided that the time was right to attempt an escape. He was a virtual captive at the gladiatorial school of Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Batiatus, located at Capua in the Campania region of southern Italy. Like most gladiatorial schools, the House of Batiatus was a combination barracks, fortress, and prison. There, gladiators such as Spartacus perfected a savage craft of hand-to-hand combat designed to entertain their Roman masters. The gladiators took their names from the short sword, or gladius, favored by many of the combatants. Some, like Spartacus, wielded curved scimitars called sica; others used long swords or tridents. All fought in gladiatorial “games” where life and death were decided by the direction of the crowd’s thumbs. Few expected mercy—most of the thumbs turned down, for death, at the end of a contest.
Spartacus wasn’t afraid of dying—as a warrior he scorned death—but he had grown tired of fighting and probably dying for the amusement of his casually brutal Roman captors. Spartacus was a Thracian, a member of the wild tribes that inhabited the region that is now Bulgaria. His real name was Spardakos, which translated as “famous for his spear.” He was about 30 years of age, and some have speculated he was of noble or aristocratic blood.
Spartacus was not born into slavery, but rather started his career as an auxiliary in the Roman Army. The legionary foot soldier was the b
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A quick comment about gladiators.
Gladiators were paid fighters, a combination of slaves, prisoners, and volunteers who agreed to a contractual term of service. They were not generally expected to die in the arena, they were too valuable. Julius Caesar, at one point, owned a school of some 300 gladiators. Spectators bet on the fights, and owners of schools made a lot of money.
Gladiators who were especially good fighters were sometimes pardoned or freed at the end of the fight. Gladiators were generally freed at the end of their contract, usually 30-35 fights. Many of them became guards for public figures and, what we might call bouncers or police, guarding public places, They were widely respected as proven fighters.
There are lot of myths and legends about gladiators, mostly hearsay. There is only one written account of a gladiatorial match, that of Varus and Priscus is AD 80. They fought to a draw with such gallantry and skill that they were both pardoned at the end. A unique result.
A bit of an aside. Contrary to the movie Ben Hur, Romans did not have galley slaves. Again, in the roman system slaves were too valuable to be wasted as cheap labor. Roman soldiers rowed their own ships. In one account, Julius Caesar needed to race back to Rome from Spain for an election. He, along with every other man on the ship, rowed constantly for eight days in 4-hour shifts. They made it in time.
I generally find real history to be more fascinating than the myths and legends.