Every generation produces human demigods, larger-than-life figures who tower over their eras. Sometimes, this is nothing more than a consequence of the vicissitudes of time; the accounts of one hero are preserved while accounts of another are ashed in the inferno of a monastery fire now lost to us. But sometimes, the plight of these historical giants resonate with us from across millennia, their stories made allegories which speak to universal, human truths. Spartacus is one such figure.
Dr. Strauss, a professor of history at Cornell University, has pulled from the mists of time all the available facts about Spartacus' difficult life and assembled them into a mostly coherent picture. He was probably born in Thrace (now Bulgaria) and he was almost definitely a Roman soldier prior to deserting his post. Thereafter, he was captured -- Romans frowned upon deserters as much as we do today -- and enslaved, interned in a school for gladiators. There, Spartacus would have coupled his talent for war with celebrity and charisma, for it's clear that he was popular with his Roman audiences. A famous, charismatic warrior... familiar with Roman tactics... If that's not a recipe for revolt...
The rest is history. Spartacus broke free of his gladiator school, rallied an army that numbered in the tens of thousands, defeated nine different Roman armies that opposed him, and humiliated the greatest empire of its day by running roughshod over the Italian countryside for two years before a series of reversals, culminating in a betrayal by pirates, lead to his downfall. Dr. Strauss tells the tale enviable clarity and admirable self-restraint. There's much here that can only be guessed at, or teased out by inference. Dr. Strauss is careful not to assume too much about what we cannot know for certain.
Perhaps the Romans never learned the lesson Spartacus has taught the subsequent generations who have heard his name and learned his story, that no one wishes to be, or deserves to be, a slave; that the natural disposition of every human soul is to live, free to pursue his or her self-interest; that the inevitable outcome of enslaving someone for the captor's gain is rebellion. Given that the last 2,000 years of history has been, in some form or another, a struggle towards universal freedom, it's no wonder that Spartacus' heroic fight has a hold over us. It is an example of what results from tyranny. (3/5 Stars)
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