From Etruscans and Romans to Modern Times - The Wise World Traveler: Becoming a Part of All that You Meet - page 55

Figure 5.3. William T. Walters commissioned this painting in 1863
Gladiators honed their skills by specializing. One group, the samnites , worked with the
most common Roman weapons: large shield and short sword. Another group used a curved
dagger. A third group fought with a net (to entangle the opponent) and killed with a trident.
Successful gladiators had devoted fans and appropriate rewards, such as special food and
money. And for those who survived repeated battles, their reward was sometimes discharge
from the ranks of the gladiators.
History's most famous gladiator was Spartacus, a deserter from Rome's legions. In 73
CE he and seventy companions broke out of their gladiator school and battled their way
to freedom, using kitchen knives as weapons. They routed a pursuing Roman army, and
Spartacus, a born leader and brilliant tactician, gathered an army of slaves, dirt-poor farm-
ers, and legion-deserters. His plan was to clear a road and escape the country (Italy) by
traveling through the Alpine passes. Spartacus's army was successful for three years, de-
feating nine Roman commanders, but was finally crushed in 72 CE by the massed military
power of ten Roman legions. As befitting a commanding general, Spartacus died a warri-
or's death, sword in hand.
As a grisly warning to those who might be tempted to challenge Rome's authority,
6,000 of Spartacus's followers were crucified, and their bodies hung along 130 miles of the
Apian Way. The Howard Fast novel Spartacus served as the basis for a 1960 movie of the
same name, with superb cast and spectacular battle scenes. The more recent movie Gla-
diator , starring Russell Crowe, is a story of a gladiator's suffering and revenge. It depicts
a gladiator's training, his combat, and his ultimate triumph. The realistic swordplay and