In
the first century BC, a slave named Spartacus threatened the might of
Rome. Spartacus (c. 109 BC-71 BC) was the leader (or possibly one of
several leaders) of the massive slave uprising known as the Third
Servile War. Under his leadership, a tiny band of rebel gladiators grew
into a huge revolutionary army, numbering about 100,000. In the end the
full force of the Roman army was needed to crush the revolt.

Despite his well-deserved fame as a great revolutionary leader and
one of the most outstanding generals of antiquity, not much is known
about Spartacus the man. It is always the victors who write history and
the voice of the slaves throughout the centuries can be heard only
through the accounts of the oppressors. What little information we have
is from accounts written by his mortal enemies. The surviving historical
records are all written by Roman historians and therefore hostile. They
are often contradictory. /p>