As you can see, the slaves rebelled in Rome so often that there are not enough fingers to list all their performances, and this is not surprising. The critical mass of slaves grew and grew, and sooner or later, something like the uprising of Spartacus was bound to happen. Yes, but who was he, this Spartacus, and where did he come from? As is often the case, mythology is mixed up in the story here, which tells us that once a certain Cadmus arrived in Boeotia and built the main city of Thebes. There he met a dragon who guarded the water source dedicated to the god Ares, and killed him, and sowed his teeth on the advice of the goddess Athena. And it was from these teeth that the strong men grew, who received the name "Sparta", which in Greek means "sown". The power of the Sparts, according to myth, was so great that Cadmus was forced to wage a stubborn struggle with them. Moreover, the family of Cadmus even intermarried with the Spartas, but … they were also Cadmus, and his entire family was expelled from Thebes - such were the strange kinship relations between them.
"The Dying Gladiator" F. A. Yronnikov (1856).
And there are several such legends, and in all there is a certain indigenous tribe that grew out of dragon teeth. According to legend, this tribe lived in the north of Greece and fought with Cadmus, who was trying to seize their lands. This legend was transmitted by such historians as Pausanias and Ammianus Marcellinus, and the Greek historian Thucydides even reported the existence of a city in Macedonia, called Spartolus, on the Halkidiki peninsula. Stephen of Byzantium also named such a city as Spartakos in Thrace, just in the homeland of Spartacus. So, we can assume that under this legend about the Sparta some real historical fact is hidden. Perhaps there was a people of Sparta (not to be confused with the Spartans), and that cities such as Spartol and Spartakos were associated with its self-name, and that Spartacus himself got his name (or nickname?) In honor of the city or people.
Reconstruction of the duel of gladiators in Nimes.
Now a little about how Spartacus, originally from Thrace, ended up in Rome? The historian Appian in his "Civil Wars" writes about it this way: "Spartacus fought with the Romans, but then was captured by them."
"Roman gladiators". Rice. Angus McBride.
And they immediately sold him into slavery, and that's how he got to Rome, from where, for the extraordinary strength of Spartacus, he was sent to the gladiator school in Capua. Note that slaves in Rome were used not only as cheap labor, but also gladiators were recruited from them - "men of the sword" who fought first for ritual purposes at a funeral, and then just for the entertainment of the Roman public, which traditionally wanted "bread and spectacles. " According to legend, the Romans borrowed everything from the same Etruscans. For the first time such a battle was organized in 264 BC. NS. noble Romans Mark and Decius Brutus after the solemn funeral of their father. Well, and then they began to arrange them more and more often. At first, only a few pairs of gladiators fought. In 216, a duel of 22 pairs was arranged, in 200 - 25, in 183 - 60 pairs, but Julius Caesar decided to outshine all his predecessors and organized a battle in which as many as 320 pairs of gladiators participated. The Romans were very fond of gladiator fights, especially in those cases when they fought skillfully and bravely, and killed each other "beautifully". Announcements of gladiatorial performances were painted on the walls of houses and even on tombstones. So there even appeared such tombstones that they contained brief appeals to such "advertisers" with a request not to write messages about spectacles on this tombstone.
Tombstone to the gladiator, discovered in Ephesus. Ephesus Museum. Turkey.
A large number of advertisements for circus battles are found in ancient Pompeii. Here is one such announcement: “The gladiators of Aedil A. Svettiya Ceria will fight in Pompeii on May 31st. There will be a fight of animals and a canopy will be made. " The public could be promised "watering" the arena to reduce dust and heat. In addition to the fact that the Romans “just watched” the gladiator fights, they also made bets on them, that is, the tote existed even then. And some made good money on them, so it was not only "interesting" but also very profitable!
Pompeii Gladiator's Shoulderguard. British museum. London.
The owner of the school was Lentul Batiatus, and the conditions of detention in it were very difficult, but Spartak had good military training and in the gladiatorial school he learned everything that was required of a gladiator. And then, one dark night, he and his comrades escaped and took refuge on Mount Vesuvius. At the same time, Spartacus immediately had two faithful assistants - Crixus and Enomai, with whom he put together a small detachment and began to raid the estates of slaveholders and free slaves belonging to them. Appian says that his army consisted of escaped gladiators, slaves, and even "free citizens from the Italian fields." Flor, the author of the 2nd century, reports that Spartacus had accumulated in the end up to 10 thousand people, and the whole Campania was now in danger from them. They got their weapons from a detachment that was carrying military equipment for one of the gladiatorial schools. So at least some of Spartak's warriors were equipped, although somewhat specific, but quite high-quality and modern weapons for that time, and they could do something themselves.
Colchester Vase, c. 175 AD Colchester Castle Museum, England.
A close-up image of fighting gladiators on a Colchester vase. As you can see, the retiary gladiator has lost his trident and net, and is now in the complete power of the murmillon, who attacks him with a sword. All the details of their equipment are very clearly visible, and even the swastika on the shield of the Murmillon.
The first commander, who was sent against Spartacus at the head of a three-thousandth detachment, Plutarch calls Praetor Claudius; Flor informs about a certain Claudia Glabra, and other names are called. In general, who started first is unknown, and it is clear why. Great Rome simply considered it beneath its dignity to pay much attention to some rebellious slaves. The detachment of Claudius, equal to three-quarters of the legion's strength, was already serious. Although … these were not legionnaires, but something like a militia. Moreover, it is noted that Claudius acted boldly and decisively, and soon surrounded Spartacus at the top of Vesuvius. Spartacus, however, managed to get out of this trap: the slaves weaved stairs from the vines of wild grapes and at night descended from the mountain where no one expected this, and then unexpectedly attacked the Romans from the rear. Only one of the slaves fell off and crashed on the descent. Claudius was utterly defeated, and then the same fate befell the two quaestors of the commander Publius Varinius, and he himself was almost captured.
Thracian gladiator. Modern renovation. Carnunt Park. Austria.
A Thracian gladiator fights a murmillon gladiator. Carnunt Park. Austria.
Many Roman historians mention the descent of the stairs from the vine, so it apparently really took place, and the courage of the slaves and the military talent of Spartacus made a strong impression on his contemporaries. The historian Sallust notes that after this the Roman troops did not want to fight Spartacus. And Appian even says that among the legionnaires there were even defectors to the army of Spartacus. Although Spartacus was careful and did not take everyone into his army. As a result, Rome was forced to send both consuls against him. And both of them were defeated! Interestingly, Spartacus tried to prevent violence from his soldiers against the civilian population and even ordered a dignified burial of the Roman matron, who was subjected to violence and committed suicide. Moreover, her funeral was marked by a grandiose gladiatorial battle with the participation of 400 prisoners of war, organized by Spartacus, which at that time in history turned out to be the most massive, since no one had previously exhibited 200 pairs of gladiators at the same time. So its participants could be “proud” of themselves …
Ceramic vessel with gladiators from the museum in Zaragoza.
Interestingly, immediately after the victory over Clodius, Spartacus reorganized his "army" according to the Roman model: he started the cavalry and divided the soldiers into heavily and lightly armed. Since there were blacksmiths among the slaves, the production of weapons and armor, in particular, shields, began. It would be very interesting to imagine what kind of weapon the army of slaves was armed with, in addition to trophy and gladiator weapons. There is no doubt that if the slaves made armor, then they should have been simplified as much as possible.
Gladiator helmet from the British Museum.
Bronze helm of the murmillon gladiator. "New Museum", Berlin.
"Helmet with feathers". Reconstruction. Culkrais Museum and Park. Germany.
For example, helmets could have the appearance of a simple hemisphere with two visors. Armor for the torso (if the slaves made them) could be two anthropomorphic plates on the chest and on the back, tied at the sides with straps, and connected on top using semicircular shoulder pads with ties on the back and chest. Chain mail could be used, but only captured. It is possible that the shells were made of leather, again, like the Greek thorax. Shields could be round, wicker and rectangular - also wicker, as well as glued from shingles and also covered with leather. It would be easier and more reliable that way! Actually, the gladiatorial equipment was too specific and, perhaps, was somewhat altered. For example, the helmets of gladiators were too closed, which is inconvenient in a real battle, moreover, nothing was heard in them. Leggings of the "Thracians" were hardly used. It is uncomfortable to run in such leggings.
Figurine of the Samnite gladiator from the museum in Arles. France.
But then, as is always the case between people, disagreements began between Spartacus and Crixus. Spartacus offered to go to the Alps and, having crossed them, return the slaves to their homeland. Crixus demanded a campaign against Rome and the destruction of all Roman slave owners as such. Since the number of the rebels reached 120 thousand people, it was necessary to decide either on one thing or another. As a result, Crixus with a detachment of Germans separated from the troops of Spartacus, who went north, and remained in the south, where he was defeated by the consul Lucius Helly at Gargan Mountain. Spartacus, meanwhile, passed Rome and moved towards the Alps. Enomai (how exactly he died is unknown) also separated from the main forces and was also defeated.
Gladiator Equit. Modern renovation. Carnunt Park. Austria.
Gladiators provocateurs. Carnunt Park. Austria.
However, Spartacus somehow went south again and agreed with the Cilician pirates to transport his army to Sicily. However, they deceived him, and then the slaves, as Sallust describes it, began to build rafts in order to cross the narrow Messenian Strait. However, they were not lucky in this either. A storm broke out and carried the rafts out to sea. Meanwhile, it turned out that the army of slaves was blocked by the Romans under the command of Marcus Licinius Crassus. By the way, he began by subjecting his troops, who had previously lost a number of battles to slaves, decimation - that is, the execution of every tenth by lot. In total, according to Appian, 4000 people were executed in this way, which greatly raised the spirit of the legionnaires. They dug a deep ditch, more than 55 kilometers long, across the Regian Peninsula, where Spartak's army was located, and fortified it with ramparts and a palisade. But the slaves managed to break through these fortifications: the moat was filled with trees, brushwood and the bodies of prisoners, and the corpses of horses; and defeated the troops of Crassus. Now Spartacus went to Brundisium, a large seaport, in order to take out slaves to Greece through it, since it was very close to Brundisium, and it was possible to do this. But … it turned out that he could not take the city. In addition, two detachments, Gannicus and Casta, broke away from Spartacus again and were defeated by the Romans, and, in addition, Gnei Pompey landed with the troops of Crassus in Italy.
Spartacus in battle. As you can see, many of the fighting slaves are depicted in reconstructed defensive armor and homemade wicker shields. Rice. J. Rava.
Under these conditions, Spartacus was forced to engage in a decisive battle with Crassus, in which he himself died (his body was never found), and his army suffered a crushing defeat. The captured slaves were crucified along the road from Capua to Rome on crosses. Then both Crassus and Pompey finished off the remnants of Spartacus's army in southern Italy for some time, so the uprising, one might say, continued for some time after the death of Spartacus himself. There are several heroic descriptions of his death at once, but no one knows exactly how it all happened.
Gladiatorial battle: retiary against the Sector. Mosaic from Villa Borghese. Rome.
There is an image on the wall of a house in Pompeii depicting the moment when a Roman equestrian warrior wounds Spartacus in the thigh. In the book of the famous Soviet historian A. V. Mishulin on page 100 there is a reconstruction of this event. However, she can hardly be trusted, given the fact that the Roman horsemen used throwing spears, not shock! Interestingly, he also has another image of this moment on the splash screen on page 93.
Felix of Pompeii wounds Spartacus in the thigh. (See p. 100. A. V. Mishulin. Spartacus. M.: 1950)
This is also an image, more realistic if we take into account our knowledge of the Roman army of this period. (See p. 93. A. V. Mishulin. Spartacus. M.: 1950)
And now it is much more reliable and appropriate. However, if we believe him, then we will have to admit that the Roman horseman somehow ended up in battle behind Spartacus, and this does not quite fit with the descriptions of the last battle of the leader of the army of slaves. Whatever it was, but this fresco with the inscription "Spartacus" is his only image! Above the head of the second horseman there is an inscription: "Felix of Pompeii", although it is difficult to understand it. Interestingly, it was made in the ancient Oka language, and then this fresco was once again covered with plaster during the time of the Empire, and was only opened in 1927. From this we can conclude that this drawing was made by Felix himself (or someone on his order) in memory of perpetuating such a significant event as his victory over such a famous and dangerous enemy! By the way, Plutarch reports that in the campaigns Spartacus was accompanied by his wife, a Thracian woman who possessed the gift of divination and a fan of the cult of the god Dionysus. But where and when he managed to get hold of it is unknown, and then other historians do not mention its existence.
