As Spartacus himself states – especially the last aspect – this is an inevitable element of war and if he did not allow runaway slaves to plunder, rape and murder, he would not listen and the uprising would collapse. What draws the atmosphere of the book from the beginning is the general rivalry among the insurgents, divisions and brutality towards civilians. The surprised soldiers fled, despite the huge advantage – 3000 men. Subsequent clashes between Spartacus and other refugees were described, including the famous surprise of the Roman army at Vesuvius, when 70 gladiators descended on ropes from vines along the cliff at night and attacked the Roman camp. Certainly, the fight with the guards was hard, because only 70 gladiators survived and escaped. To this end, he conducts talks and incites other groups – Gauls, Thracians, Germans. It is also on his initiative that the idea of escaping from school comes out. The hero gradually builds up his group and is one of the most important characters. The author, in my opinion, very interestingly showed the past, the arrival of Spartacus to the ludus and the struggle to build a position in the school. We meet his chosen one – the priestess of Dionysus Ariadne (by the way, Spartacus was supposed to have a real wife) the young rebellious Roman Carbo, who hates Crassus Crixus, Oenomaus, Castus or Gannicus, who are group leaders in the gladiator school and join Spartacus. Any lack of information in the sources is supplemented by interesting characters and events. The author sticks to the facts whenever he can. Of course, all inaccuracies and “embellishments” are presented at the end of the song. His books – taking place in ancient times – are known for their fast-paced plot, interesting characters and attempts to stick to historical realities. This small amount of facts is a great field for fantasizing for the author of the novel.īen Kane is known in many countries around the world. Over time, he was captured and sold to one of the gladiator schools in Capua.

We know that he was probably of Thracian origin and was recruited to the auxiliary troops of the Romans. Mentions about the beginning of his life have been preserved in Plutarch or Florus. The very topic of the plot is interesting because we do not know too many details about the life of Spartacus. Gladiator” by Ben Kane is a historical novel about the leader of the slave uprising (73-71 BCE) – Spartacus, who for two years stood up to the power of the Roman Republic and won clashes with the Roman legions. Rome’s contacts with Africa and Far East.

Spartacus gladiator in ancient rome