I have just finished a most interesting study into one of Histories earliest and most contraversial figures.
The Ancient World resounds with the name of one man that almost brought the mighty Roman Empire to it’s knees and a man I would call a Hero.
Indeed the topic has been so researched that literaly whole forests have contributed to the mass of litrature and reels of Hollywood films and dozens of stage plays and iconic stories and legends have grown up around the man the World came to know as Spartacus.
Here on GS after my own research into the man I think I should open up my findings and share with you all the most interesting character in the History of the Roman Republic.
Indeed despite the masses of information on the man, few people know his story and I think I will help you all as you join me in a journey back in time once again to find out about this man History came to know as Spartacus. Who was he? What did he do? How he did it?
Perhaps most importantly, what possible relevance does this figure of the ancient World have to do with us today, is also one of the many interesting points I will pick up as I reveal to you all in the course of this thread, the real Spartacus.
Firstly what do you guys know of his story and is there anything that you think I caould help you understand?
Yes Spartacus could be seen as the first serious Revolutionary that the Romans had to face... He not only took Gladiators to fight the Romans he was a Gladiator himself and most of his comrades were either Gladaitors or ex-slaves.
Yess...I was watching the whole series Spartacus...I love it..awesome...love anything to do with Spartans....but Spartacus was not his real name...that is what they all called him as a gladiator...
^yea but Gods of the Arena doesn’t have Spartacus much…coz I heard the guy who plays the character is going through cancer treatment that is why they are showing Gods of the Arena instead…
Before discussing the Historical character we know as Spartacus we must first understand the History of Gladiators and how they came to be.
Most people will be fammiliar with Gladiators as they have been so glamourised not only in modern times but even over two millenia ago... however the origins of this brutal bloodsport are much older and far less glamorous.
In Ancient Rome early gladiatorial combats were performed for sacrificial purposes. When a nobleman died they often killed a slave in his honour and this developed in time to a ritual combat between slaves. Offcourse this evolved over many centuries and instead of human sacrifice Aztec style the Romans introduced the concept of holding games in honour of the dead... this aspect was common in Ancient Greece and even in the Dark Ages when we hear of Saxons and Vikings taking up this grisly ritual as well. The Pagan sacrafice soon became more stylised as the slaves were at first armed with daggers and fought to appease the Gods and as a sacrafice for the departed... but then over time it developed into a spectator sport.
The early gladiators would have fought with daggers or short Roman swords but by 200BC the first proffesionals emerged. These combatants fought with a new twist as both slaves used daggers but also had one hand tied to a rope or chain stretched between them, coincidentally this dueling style continued in Spain until very recent times and is almost considered a Spanish Martial art.
Officially by 100BC Gladiators had the same social status as Prostitutes and other low classes, this is a far cry from the Imperial Roman age which took place much later when Romans came to see Gladiators the way we see modern sports icons... but in Spartacus's day 73-71 BC they still were emerging.
By Spartacus's day many noblemen hired slaves and trained them in specialist fighting styles as Gladiator schools and there these slaves were taught the very best and diverse combat styles known... the training was rigorous and the objective was to create fighting men that would make a arena fight "entertaining". Not only were combat games now being held regurlarly to celebrate festivals and as sacrifice but the Stadiums had been made to house mass audiences that would on a weekly basis come to watch these matches in honour of various ceremonies.
I was surprised to discover the interesting History of Gladiatorial combat and how it represented a whole society and way of thinking from the lowliest peasant to the highest nobleman in Roman society and how Gladiators rose from thier humble origins to become a massive icon of the age.
Along the way I also discovered some really facsinating insights into the era and also drew parralels with our own contemporary society and how throughout human history there seems to be a mass appeal to bloodsport that in this day and age would seem utterly repulsive.
Spartacus was a real figure and his History is one of the most moving stories of the Ancient world.
Aaliya, Gods of the Arena is a prequel to Sands, but it is just as good. Most of the other characters are all in it with some new pretty awesome ones as well. As usual Lucy Lawless and John Hannah totally knock it out of the park. Yeah, and it was a pity about Andy Whitfield’s cancer
that is why they are showing Gods of the Arena instead…
now it makes him sound like a sissy