History of Spartacus, his hidden life before he was a gladiator

Who was spartacus?

Spartacus (Spartacus,113-71 a.C. ) is a historical character on which an American film of 1960 (based on the historical novel of the same name by Howard Fast) and directed by Stanley Kubrick, with Kirk Douglas as lead actor, What does Spartacus do in the movie?. Certainly the Spartacus movie is based on real events and tells the story of Spartacus since he was made a slave, but in senderismoeuropa.com we wanted to know more, Who really was spartacus?, Where was he born?, Did you have family?, These are questions that the film does not clarify and that we have tried to document.

Film “Spartacus” of 1960.

Origin of Spartacus.

The first thing was to know its origin, The story of Spartacus begins in Thrace (current territory of Bulgaria), where he was born in the year 113 a.C. Thrace it was a powerful nation that existed as such since around the year 4.000 a.C. until the 700 a.C. although there are those who date its origin even further back, at 6.000 a.C. based on the oldest treasure of gold pieces found in the world dating from those dates and found in Thrace, specifically near the Black Sea coast belonging to present-day Bulgaria. After 700 a.C. the nation divided, but The Thracians continued to occupy these lands but separated into different tribes and clans.

The Thracians lived in the territory that is now Bulgaria, and parts of present-day Greece, Romania, Macedonia and Turkey. After surviving invasions from the Persians, Greek, Macedonians, Visigoths and Celts, they were finally conquered by Rome in the year 46 d.C. and after the romanization of the region they lose track. They are considered one of the first civilizations in Europe and one of the most culturally and socially advanced of their time., In a future article we will delve into this unjustly unknown civilization that has had a great influence on the development of Europe., Asia and even North Africa…

Tesoro Tracio (s. IV a.C.) of 6,164 kilos of pure gold, found in bulgaria. National Museum of History of Sofia.

Spartacus statue in Sandanski (Bulgaria)

three Traciae.

Thrace was made up of different tribes (until 40 different) in different territories of the aforementioned geographical area, Specifically, Spartacus was born within the Thracian tribe of the “Maedi” who lived along the banks of the Struma and Mesta rivers, Southwest of present-day Bulgaria, close to the current Bulgarian cities of Sandanski and Gotse Delchev , although other documents place him within the tribe “Iron” which occupied a territory within the Rhodope Mountains, a little more east of the previous. The name of “Spartacus” it was not a common name at that time, It was used only by the nobility of various Thracian dynasties, in fact there is 5 Thracian kings with that name among the 480 and the 180 a.C. Today, names can be used indiscriminately, but in ancient times it was not like that, certain anthroponyms were reserved only for the noble class. Such is the case with the name of Spartacus. possibly he was the son of the king of the tribe, or at least one relative.

Thracian warrior

Thrace and its area of ​​influence.

An additional indication that Spartacus belonged to a royal family is his ability as a strategist.. He managed to make the slaves and peasants an army to successfully oppose the Roman legions for three years in his native Thrace., before being captured. Being a member of the royal family he could be trained in war from childhood, therefore his training as a gladiator was only a complement to know the weapons and dynamics of the show because he was already an experienced and intelligent warrior before.

Proof that Spartacus was already a warrior before he was made a slave, is that as the leader of his tribe, fought alongside the Thracian king Mithridates VI and his exploits led them east, until conquering the Bosphorus Kingdom, Asia Minor (current Turkish Anatolia) and Colchis (actual Georgia).

Your arrival in Rome.

Then, back to his Rhodope Mountains he faced the Roman invasion formed by some 100.000 soldiers to protect the capital Bessi Besapara (located somewhere between the present-day Bulgarian cities of Pazardzhik and Plovdiv) and the Temple in honor of Dionysus (the God of Wine who the Thracians worshiped and who was later taken over by Greek mythology, the romans call it “Baco”). But it was unsuccessful, the city was razed, the demolished temple and the captured Spartacus himself. Spartacus' wife was a priestess in this temple, when Spartacus was captured by the Romans, tried to free him by paying the ransom with all the family's wealth, but the romans didn't keep the deal, they kept the riches without liberating Spartacus who was sent to Rome and even captured his wife and sister. All known sources, very fragmentary, coincide in describing Spartacus as a cultured man. From the writings of Plutarch we know that his wife was the prophetess of his people,Normally the positions of the oracles were typical of the high social strata, another sign of the high social position of his wife and of Spartacus himself.

After quelling the Thracian revolts, the leader of the Roman soldiers in Thrace, Lucullus, ordered to cut off the right hand of all the Thracians who had resisted the Roman occupation and many women, old men and children had to flee to live in the caves of the Rhodope Mountains until the end of their days, skeletal remains of them have been found in these caves. Many other Thracians from this tribe were forced to migrate to the North.

Mosaic representing the God of Wine, Dionisio.

Antigua Capua, with its amphitheater for gladiatorial fighting

Another theory of his arrival in Rome.

Another theory of the history of Spartacus about his arrival in the Italian peninsula is that Spartacus being the son of the king of the Medes, called Tipas, who ruled between 119-90 a.C. he offered the friendship of his tribe to Rome, then, it would be very natural that by virtue of the contract concluded with the Romans he would have given his son as a hostage and a guarantee of fulfillment of the agreement, something that was done in those times, having to live Spartacus in one of the cities of the Roman Empire. That would explain why during his stay at the Capua gladiator school, Spartacus was accompanied by his wife, which is a proven fact that movies or series about this character do not reflect. Such a privilege would be unthinkable for an ordinary slave. However, as the years go by, the relations between Rome and the Maedi tribe are muddied, then Spartacus can no longer move freely and is made a slave and gladiator…

Glacial lakes of the Pirin Mountains (Bulgaria).

Spartacus family.

In any case, the true history of Spartacus shows that he came to the Italian peninsula from Thrace, did not pass through Lebanon before as reflected in the movie Spartacus , although he certainly collected from the gladiator school of Capua. There we find new evidence of its noble origin, some of his fellow gladiators left records of what he told them, told them that in their land, Thrace. He was the leader of his tribe, had a great house, flocks of sheep, oxen, horses, he was rich and happy with his family, rode his horses enjoying freedom through the mountains of Pirin (National Park in present-day Bulgaria). Had a wife, a son and a sister, called Maritsa who later was a famous songwriter and singer, known as “Rhodope”. By the way Maritsa is the current name of the longest river that crosses Bulgaria passing through the city of Plovdiv and empties into the Aegean Sea.

And not only the sister of Spartacus had a talent for music, Spartacus himself could be a singer… During the uprising against Rome between the year 74 and 71 d.C. he himself created a musical band of gladiators that gave rise to the anthem of the gladiators. After being captured, Spartacus never found out about his son's fate again. Spartacus sister, also participated in the rebellion, even fell in love with a gladiator, called Artoriks, leading a section of the rebel army, when he died in battle, Spartacus' sister committed suicide for love, but that's another forgotten story…

The legacy of the hero.

All this history of Spartacus makes us understand better why he enlisted the support of other gladiators and slaves of Rome to rebel and escape from the Romans. Spartacus as we mentioned above, he was not a simple slave; in his homeland, Thrace, before being captured, He was already a leader of his tribe and had extensive warrior experience, against the Romans themselves and against other armies. His leadership and experience was what allowed him to emerge victorious from up to 100 fighting against other gladiators in the shows organized by the Romans and then leading the rebellion. It was not a coincidence if we understand its noble origin… The rest of the story is known to all: after rebelling against Rome and forming an army of up to 70.000 men who came to threaten the supremacy of Rome. Became a legend, inspiration for poets, artists, musicians who extolled his figure as the slave liberator who was.

Did he really die at the hands of the Romans?

In the Senate of Rome a senator came to pronounce these words: “Our land is in danger, Spartacus is at the gates of Rome”. Nevertheless, he was finally defeated and died heroically as the movies show, or maybe not, maybe he got away, but we will reveal that theory in a future article about the stage of his life since he became a gladiator, so there are still many more hidden truths of the history of Spartacus to discover…

Representation of Spartacus fighting the Romans

If you want to know more about Espartaco stepping on the same territory that he stepped on, don't miss our trip with a Spanish-speaking guide “Searching for Spartacus in Thrace“.

Also discover the origin of another great mythical hero in the article “Achilles and the Trojan War: the truth about the origin of a myth”.