Spartacus

“Separate[s] the man from the myth. . . . Both the newcomer and the experienced Roman historian will find a wealth of entertainment and information.” (Publishers Weekly)

Spartacus (109?–71 bce) has been a source of endless fascination, the subject of myth-making in his own time, and of movie-making in ours. In this riveting, compact account, Aldo Schiavone rescues Spartacus from the murky regions of legend and brings him squarely into the arena of serious history.

Schiavone transports us to Italy of the first century bce, where we encounter Spartacus, who is enslaved after deserting from the Roman army to avoid fighting against his native Thrace. Imprisoned in Capua and trained as a gladiator, he leads an uprising that will shake the empire to its foundations.

While the grandeur of the Spartacus story has always been apparent, its political significance has been less clear. Often depicted as the leader of a class rebellion, Spartacus emerges here in a very different light: the commander of an army whose aim was to incite Italy to revolt against Rome and to strike at the very heart of the imperial system. Surprising, persuasive, and highly original, Spartacus challenges the lore and illuminates the reality of a figure whose achievements, and whose ultimate defeat, are more extraordinary and moving than the fictions we make from them.

“A highly readable, interesting inquiry into a man and a movement.” —Booklist

“You've seen the movie: now get the straight dope.” —Maclean’s magazine

“[A] thought-provoking discussion of Spartacus and of first-century slavery.” —The Wall Street Journal

“An intelligent, learned, and challenging account.” —New York Review of Books