Page 54 - All About History - Issue 19-14

Spartacus: How a Slave Defied a Republic

acommonsightandsobytheyear73BCE,the Spartacus breaks free from his quarters, frees
atmosphere among the serving class was growing Crixus and Oenomaus and together they unlock
tenserwitheverypassingmoment.Theyhadgone as many of the cages as they can before the
to war with their masters twice before and failed, school’s privately employed guards realise what’s
butwiththeRomanlegionsstretchedthinacross happening. Soon the arena is filled with screams
the Republic, if such an uprising were to rise again, and shouts and the familiar noises of men fighting
theslavesmightjusthaveachancetochangethe to the death as Spartacus breaks into the eating
very face of the civilised world. quarters and uses the knives and forks in there
AstheRomansummerdrawstoaclose,aplot as weapons. Some of the gladiators refuse to join
isformingwithinthecrampedconfinesofthe the escape, too indoctrinated by their servitude
gladiatorialschoolinCapua,themaincityofthe to even contemplate such an act. In under half
Campania region in southern Italy. While its owner, an hour the arena is theirs, a cart carrying new
Lentulus Batiatus, dreams gladiatorial weapons ripped
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to the capital, entertaining uprising. Now armed with the
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crop with his slave warriors, f f f front line, had once been symbolic of
his most popular fighter is S Spartacus leads their enslavement, the defiant
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hatchingaplantoescape. gladiators escape the school
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Over the many years he’s t the charge where they had been taught
fought and lived at the i into the not just how to kill, but how to
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amphitheatre, Spartacus has kill to ensure the Roman mob
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grown close to two other l l legionnaires” were entertained.
slaves, Crixus and Oenomaus. As the uprising sweeps
The three know that gladiators have escaped before, across the region, it swallows settlement after
but their brands make their true nature undeniable settlement. With more and more slaves joining
As a former soldier,
Spartacus adapted – if they were to escape, it had to be part of a united their cause the numbers of the rebels swells from
well to the tactics force that couldn’t be easily hunted down. less than 100 to almost 5,000. Slaves from all over
and brutality of life
in the gladiatorial However, Spartacus’s plan to escape had been the region were suddenly upping and leaving their
arenas and became a compromised and the plan had leaked out. There masters, buoyed by a confidence that they could
popular warrior was no time for planning; they had to act now. seek a life free of servitude in Spartacus’s defiant
Discover eight different classes of deadly fighters
Thracian Murmillo Retiarius Secutor
» WEAPONS: SHORT SWORD, TRIANGULAR SHIELD » WEAPONS: SWORD, SQUARE SHIELD » WEAPONS: RETE (WEIGHTED NET), FUSCINA » WEAPONS: GLADIUS, DAGGER

» STRENGTHS: AGILE WARRIOR » STRENGTHS: WELL EQUIPPED WITH A LARGE (TRIDENT) » STRENGTHS: HEAVILY ARMOURED

» WEAKNESSES: RANGED ATTACKS SWORD AND SHIELD » STRENGTHS: AGILITY, RANGED ATTACKS » WEAKNESSES: SLOWER THAN MANY OTHER

» MOST LIKELY TO WIN AGAINST: LAQUERIUS, VELITUS » WEAKNESSES: SUSCEPTIBLE TO AGILE ATTACKS » WEAKNESSES: LITTLE TO NO ARMOUR CLASSES

» WOULD STRUGGLE AGAINST: MURMILLO » MOST LIKELY TO WIN AGAINST: LAQUERIUS, VELITUS » MOST LIKELY TO WIN AGAINST: SECUTOR, MURMILLO » MOST LIKELY TO WIN AGAINST: SAMNITE

» WOULD STRUGGLE AGAINST: DIMACHAERUS » WOULD STRUGGLE AGAINST: SAMNITE, THRACIAN » WOULD STRUGGLE AGAINST: RETIARIUS

Did you know?
The Thracian’s sica was a smaller version Did you know? Did you know? Did you know?
of the falx. It would often be used to swing The Murmillo class was introduced to replace Due to their lack of armour – some wore Secutor, with its anti-trident and anti-net
into an opponent’s unprotected back, which the similarly slow and powerful Gallus nothing but a loincloth – many viewed them armour, was a class designed to fight the
would often end the contest there and then. discipline. It favoured strong warriors. as the lowliest of classes. more agile Retiarius class.
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