Spartacus And The Servile Wars

From the famed bravery and sacrifice of the Spartans, we now move on to the story of one warrior in particular, who also won the hearts and minds of people for generations after he lived: Spartacus. Here too we find themes of freedom triumphing over slavery, of heroic bravery, and of finding glorious victory in the face of considerable adversity. To cut a long and fascinating story short, Spartacus escaped slavery along with about 70 other gladiators. He then went on to raise an army of about 100,000 and defeat the greatest military establishment ever known – a full 6 times over 4 years. His efforts have easily made him one of history’s favorite underdogs and the man who did the most when he had nothing to lose.

Let’s start at the beginning of his story. Spartacus was born in Thrace, which in the ancient world was an area including the countries of Turkey, Bulgaria, and Greece today. The ancient world was one few of us can imagine, and slavery, poverty, and war were a part of life. There are theories that Spartacus first served in the Roman army, but, perhaps because he rebelled against them, he was sold off into slavery and then sent in 73 B.B to “gladiator school” (ludus) in Capua.

Here, he was a kind of heavyweight gladiator called a murmillo and was made to carry a scutum (a large shield) and a gladius (a broad, straight sword around 18 inches in length). Ancient Rome was a bloodthirsty and brutal civilization, where slaves were forced to fight to the death for the amusement of the elites and the public in general. Sometimes, unwilling gladiators were pitted against wild animals, violent criminals, or even each other. Gladiators were seen as disposable and worthless; some were indeed famous and rich, but none were free, and all could be sentenced to death at the whim of the emperor.

Spartacus, along with dozens of other slaves and captives in the ludus, plotted to escape to freedom. Using stolen kitchen utensils, they seized wagons, armor, and weapons and used them to defeat the troops sent after them. They went on to plunder the area around Capua, and as they went, their message of hope, bravery, and insurrection inspired other slaves, who joined them. Followers soon gathered the cause, likely taken in by Spartacus’ inspiring tale and wanting to mete out justice and retaliation on the Romans who had enslaved them.

In total, Spartacus’ original 70 or so gladiators had gathered around 100,000 men, using innovative guerrilla tactics to keep the pursuing Romans at bay, and eventually gathering on the iconic Mount Vesuvius. A year in, they had organized themselves to march to Gaul (France today) to stage a revolution, and their efforts would be called the Servile War, or the Gladiator’s War. At first, this rag-tag bunch of rebels was not taken very seriously, but with each victory, the growing army began to worry Rome.

died during the battle, while: 6000

League was a social group in: 1916

Not much is known about Spartacus’ early life, but by many accounts, as an adult, he was a strong, capable, and principled leader that coordinated a hoard of vastly different individuals towards one common cause – their freedom. Though it’s true that historians now understand that Spartacus was not actually attempting social revolution or the complete abolition of slavery in the Republic, he was nevertheless an inspiring figure that proved to generations afterwards that even a man who has nothing can be a powerful force to be reckoned with.

In fact, there had already been two unsuccessful servile wars (Rome had a bit of slave problem), and the third one led by Spartacus was really a complex series of many separate battles and skirmishes, most of which have not been comprehensively documented. It would take many more years for the brutality of the gladiator era finally to come to end – the last game was held in January in 404 AD, hundreds of years after Spartacus’ time. The practice finally fell out of favor, not primarily because of its brutality, but rather because Christian critics at the time objected to the use of pagan ritual during the games.

Plutarch claimed that Spartacus killed his own horse in front of his army, saying, “If we win, I will have no need of this horse because we will have thousands of Roman horses, and if we lose, I will have no use of a horse.” Though we don’t know much about Spartacus as a man, we can glean a lot from this quote and the determination it showed. For decades after his death (and his body was not found), Spartacus was forgotten, and there were no written records from Spartacus or his army. Considering that “history is written by the victors” and that many of his troops would have been illiterate and uneducated slaves, this is not surprising.

It was only in France in the: 1760

Even without the details, we can learn a lot from Spartacus. Picture a group of miscellaneous slaves, convicts, and captives, all from different regions and with different languages and intentions. Somehow, Spartacus managed to speak to and inspire tens of thousands of such people into one powerful, cohesive group. This was a man who had very little military training, but he knew how to speak to the hearts of the men he’d eventually win over. He was generous with the spoils of their battles and divided the bounty equally amongst the men, no matter who they were. This sense of fair play likely won the loyalty of men who might have been enslaved and abused all their lives.

We can also infer a few more things about Spartacus’ strategy overall. After one battle, where the gathered slave army defeated Romans led by both Gellius and Lentulus, Spartacus captured 400 Roman soldiers and forced them to fight one another – just like gladiators. Why? We can imagine that Spartacus did this for two reasons: he wanted to give his men a visceral feeling of their victory, knowing that the sight of this justice (or, to be frank, plain old revenge) would give them enormous confidence and motivation to continue. There’s a darker side to this, too: Spartacus is also said to have crucified a Roman soldier one day, so that his troops could see what would await them should the Romans capture him.

Spartacus also knew that the story of the fate of these Roman soldiers would travel the grapevine and reach the ears of those in power in Rome.

It’s likely that Spartacus knew that the uprising could not continue on forever, and that he would at some point lose his life. Even understanding the risk and the eventual outcome, he did what he could to motivate and encourage his troops. This kind of vision teaches us that our resilience is not just for ourselves – when we are disciplined, strong, and determined, we can inspire others. We are worthy of leading others.

Spartacus knew that his men had been trained to use a sword, but instead of fighting as gladiators for the amusement of cruel Romans, they would reclaim these skills and use them for their own liberation. Spartacus also knew that there were incredible depths of hatred bubbling in the hearts of the freed slaves – and he would do his best to channel that energy into something noble. His men must have recognized what we still see in Spartacus today: he was, for the downtrodden, a symbol of spirited resistance against oppression and a victor in the eternal fight between just and unjust.

We don’t have to have lived through such adversity or orchestrated a slave uprising to practice some of Spartacus’ principled courage in our own lives. Spartacus teaches us that, if we are mistreated or subjugated, we don’t have to take it lying down! And sometimes, starting from absolute zero is an advantageous position to be in. There is a brilliant irony here – in the gladiatorial ring, the Romans had taught Spartacus to fight for his life. So he did! But this time, on his own terms.

Spartacus is believed to have said, “I am no martyr upon a cross, yet I will gladly risk life so those deserving can live.” For him, as it was for the Spartans, he saw only two options: freedom or death. He would not submit. If your cause is greater than your own life, then you are never too weak or too subjugated to fight. Dignity, virtue, and honor are there in abundance for those who would anchor themselves in what they know to be right and just. We can imagine that not only did Spartacus understand this, but he was able to communicate his passion to those who fought alongside him.

Few of us in the developed Western world have to face injustices of the scale that Spartacus and his men did. But perhaps his story can give us courage to live a little larger anyway, to take risks, and to speak up against injustice when we see it. If you are facing adversity in life, or if you feel like you’ve been dealt an unfair hand, take heart and remind yourself that you always have the power to decide how you will respond.

Spartacus had nothing. He was stripped of any military honors, sold like a piece of meat, and forced to do the Roman’s bidding under threat of death. He would have owned very little, had no contact with his family, and even if he befriended a fellow gladiator, he might be forced to kill him at the whim of his captors. Yet still he did not lose courage. In fact, we can imagine that his sense of rage and indignation became a powerful source of energy that, channeled and focused, allowed him to pull off the military feats that made even Rome look up and pay attention.

If you are feeling beaten down by people who are stronger, richer, more powerful, or simply crueler than you, make a promise to yourself that you will not allow them to conquer your spirit, too. Seek out others in your predicament and find strength and purpose with them. Don’t rage quietly about something you know isn’t right – get up and do something about it. Use what you can. Remember that Spartacus began his epic journey with the theft of kitchen implements! If you need to start small, then do that. But do something – therein lies your salvation and sense of strength and resilience.

Sometimes, when we hear the word “resilience,” it can conjure up feelings of having to endure awful things. We might look at a gladiator in the ring and call him resilient because he effectively bears his own servitude and works hard not to let his own suffering break him. His strength in this context is certainly noble, but Spartacus shows us that there is also resilience in our refusal to tolerate what we cannot accept.

Is there something in your life that you’re quietly enduring because you think that resisting it would be hopeless? Only you can say whether your continued tolerance is a sign of wise forbearance or simply evidence of being cowardly. Many of us will read the story of Spartacus and think, “Well that’s fine for him, but I’m not like that. I could never do anything remotely like that.”

But in a way, isn’t this deliberate “playing small” a form of enslavement? If we are trapped in our own limiting beliefs and convinced that we can never genuinely change our lot in life, aren’t we even more enslaved than the captives in Spartacus’ army? These are big questions and require big answers from us. But Spartacus was a man who saw the size of the challenge and didn’t balk. Taking on the Roman republic was a staggering feat – few would even have the courage to dare.

But Spartacus did. And he did so with far fewer resources than many of us take for granted today.

In your own life, consider where you may have taken the coward’s road and tolerated injustice or servitude where you knew it was wrong. Have there been times when you were silent when you should have spoken up? What would be possible if you connected passionately with others and made a stand against something you cared about, rather than shrugging your shoulders and saying, “Well, that’s just the way it is”?

If you can begin to answer these questions for yourself, and act on them, then you will begin to understand what leadership is and exactly what was at stake all those thousands of years ago when the man named Spartacus decided to take matters into his own hands.

Everyday example

Few battles are as ambitious as Spartacus’. Most are small, but they still matter. Jade is working a new job that is extremely high pressured. She gradually becomes aware, however, of certain ways that the company does business that leave her feeling uneasy. One day, she learns of a colleague being dismissed for raising a sexual harassment complaint against a superior. Though the staff seems content to brush it all under the rug, Jade’s conscience won’t let her rest.

One day, she speaks up about her concerns, fully accepting that, as a newcomer, her job is in danger. To her surprise, she learns many others feel the same way and thus begins a slow but steady process of change in her company work culture that she never could have imagined. In time, she becomes respected and valued for her integrity.

Spartacus’ lessons:

• Spartacus was able to do what he did because he was exquisitely focused on his goal – justice. Freedom is being outside of the control and dominion of any other being except yourself. Even if you are enslaved, you can emancipate yourself first by refusing to submit to injustice.

• It may feel like you have nothing but use what you do have, reach out to others, and do whatever it takes to get where you want to be.

• Finally, there is no virtue in tolerating something you cannot bear, instead of summoning up the courage to fight against it. Whether you succeed or not is beside the point – you assert your own autonomy and dignity in merely taking a stand.

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