Third Servile War[]
Through the times in Roman history, it has been known that there had been slaves in past. During the peak of Roman history, Rome had conquered much of the European hemisphere. With this in mind, people of these conquered cities were taken in as slaves. They were used for either entertainment or servitude. These slaves ranged from gladiators to prostitutes. The slaves that probably got the most recognition were the gladiators because they would fight for the entertainment of the people. In a way, they were like the pro wrestlers of our time. Though they were the most recognizable people, they were still slaves and still treated as such. With this in mind, there have been efforts on the slaves parts to rebel against the Romans. For example, slaves started the First and Second Servile Wars in an effort to free themselves, but they had no success. The Third Servile War (73-71 BCE) on the other hand was the closets to freedom that Roman slaves had at their chance of freedom. Lead by Spartacus, a previous slave that gained his freedom through an uprising in a part of Roman territory. In the article "The Legendary Spartacus: Gladiator and Leader of slaves against the Romans- The Final Stand," Ryan Stone writes that because of Spartacus's upheaval of these slaves, the Romans considered him and his and of slaves a big threat. Because of this, Marcus Crassus was given the challenge of taking down the rebels. Spartacus started with a small following of people but as the new free slaves began their journey, their following became bigger as they went from city to city. their following had gained men, women, and children. Of course the Romans did not like this, and sent Crassus to deal with these former slaves. Because Spartacus was a former gladiator, he had some experience with fighting, the slaves surprisingly were able to hold their own against the Roman soldiers. In the end though, the Roman soldiers proved their strength by trapping them and destroying the slaves enforces. According to Stone, he writes that the final battle was fought by the River Sele. Spartacus was at a disadvantage at this point in was because half of his army was either dead or were captrured by Crassus. Stone also points out that in his article that Spartacus's life most likely ended on the battlefield that day. The remains slave were sent to be crucified. Though the slaves did not win the war, they left there mark in history as one of the biggest slave revolts in history.
Film Adaptations[]
There have been many film adaptations of what happened during the time of the Third Servile War, most notably about Spartacus. It is also convenient that all of these movies are named after the fearless slave. The movie that is probably the most authentic to the actual events of the actual war is probably the movie Spartacus (1960) starring Kirk Douglas. Authentic to the point of how and where the events took place. The movie is not over exaggerated, but it does add unnecessary elements to the film. For example, in order for the audience to have a connection with the main character (Spartacus), they give him a love interest. This is not a bad thing because it gives the character more depth and gives the audience a moment to sympathize for the character. Another way the filmmakers added emotion to the film is how they killed off the main character. For example, Spartacus dies after being crucified in the film, but according to history, Spartacus died during battle.
Another film interpretation would be Spartacus: Blood and Sand (2010-2013). This is actually a Television show that aired on Starz. This adaptation is fairly recent and probably the least authentic of the adaptations. Though the series had high ratings to be watched on IMBD, the show is most known for its action, sex, and gore sequences. This plays up to how times have changed since the 1960s. Though the characters have depth and are able to engage the audience, it remains untrue to the actual events that occurred during the Third Servile War. This show is true to the sense that it is about a group of if slaves that try to escape the Roman authority by starting an uprising, but Spartacus only starts his quest because he sets out a path of vengeance to save his wife from slavery.
References
Stone, Ryan. "The Legendary Spartacus: Gladiator and Leader of Slaves against the Romans – The Final Stand (Part 2)." Ancient Origins. N.p., 16 Nov. 2014. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.