Spartacus

Spartacus (Greek: Σπάρτακος, Spártakos; Latin: Spartacus^[1]) (c. 109–71 BC) was a Thracian gladiator, who along with the Gauls Crixus and Oenomaus, a Roman Castus, and a Celt Gannicus, was one of the slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprising against the Roman Republic. Little is known about Spartacus beyond the events of the war, and surviving historical accounts are sometimes contradictory and may not always be reliable. All sources agree that he was a former gladiator and an accomplished military leader.
The gladiator rebellion, interpreted by some as an example of oppressed people fighting for their freedom against a slave-owning oligarchy, has been an inspiration to many political thinkers, and has been featured in literature, television, and film. Although not contradicted by classical historians, no historical account mentions that the goal of the rebel slaves was to end slavery in the Republic, nor do any of the actions of rebel leaders, who themselves committed numerous atrocities, seem specifically aimed at ending slavery.[2

Origins

 

The ancient sources agree that Spartacus was a Thracian. Plutarch describes him as "a Thracian of Nomadic stock".^[3] Appian says he was "a Thracian by birth, who had once served as a soldier with the Romans, but had since been a prisoner and sold for a Gladiator".^[4]
Florus (2.8.8) described him as one "who from Thracian mercenary, had become a Roman soldier, of a soldier a deserter and robber, and afterward, from consideration of his strength, a gladiator".^[5] The Thracian tribe of the Maedi,^[6][7][8] which occupied the area on the southwestern fringes of Thrace, along its border with the Roman Macedonia - present day south-western Bulgaria.^[9][10] Plutarch also writes that Spartacus' wife, a prophetess of the Maedi tribe, was enslaved with him.
The name Spartacus is otherwise attested in the Black Sea region: kings of the Thracian dynasty of the Cimmerian Bosporus^[11] and Pontus^[12] are known to have borne it, and a Thracian "Sparta" "Spardacus"^[13] or "Sparadokos",^[14] father of Seuthes I of the Odrysae, is also known.