Spartacus Road A Personal Journey Through Ancient Italy by Peter Stothard

This book is not what I thought.  It is a travelogue with history interwoven.  Enchanting none the less.  The author had suffered through cancer and made the journey as a result.  The journey picked him.  Interesting.  Having not gone through cancer, but another life changing illness, I can understand why he says this.  When faced with mortality, one looks at life with a more precious eye.  Wisdom perhaps?

The concept of a noble death is also dealt with in the book as a theme in ancient Rome.  How the gladiator faced death, because as a slave, he had to.  How the Romans embraced death.  How the author faced death via the cancer.  2000 years ago life was shorter.  With the absence of life saving drugs and hospitals as we know them today, things were different.  I can see, not understand, the fascination with a glorious death.  (Unless that death was in battle, than I can understand.)

P54 On the Via Appia...  the route in/out of Rome.
"There are no sign posts now, only irregular limestone blocks, with the marks of thoughts of chisels still on them, place it all at the beginning of the age of roads.  By climbing over fences into tomato fields, by vaulting over a rusted tractor and pushing down the barbed wire over the Valvoline grease guns in the grass, the traveler can get a small sense of how solidly menacingly it once stood."

Spartacus's would have traveled the Appian Way on his travels between 73 - 71 BC.  The quote lets the  traveler or the arm chair traveler (Hi, that's moi!)  gain the sense of what is off the beaten path.  Roman ruins still exist in farm fields, in this case tomato fields, in Italy and all over Europe.  This awes me.  A civilization can be still seen, understood and embraced 2000+ years later.  How small we really are.  How great our achievements.  

Gaius Claudius Glaber - Military Praetor during The Third Servile War.  Cornered Spartacus's troop on Mt. Vesuvius and Spartacus's troops than out flanked his troops and he lost.  All record ceases after this episode.  Glaber interests me, from the Spartacus series on Stars.  From researching this history, I know the writers of the show took much liberty with his character.  (My kids response, do you thinks so...)  Glaber, what to do with you?  Did you die a glorious death or just sulk off into the world?  Who is to know...

Publius Papinius Statius (Statius) - poet in first century Naples.  Wrote several narrative epic poetic novels that stayed popular through out the middle ages and influenced Chaucer and the development of allegory.  Statius.  I have a ton of info on you.  Stothard really likes your prose and refers to your writings frequently in the book.  Your lovely wife Claudia and your daughter, the musician.  Does she marry.  Does she become the successful musician in Rome?  You had a good life and a decent career.  Your writings survive today and are still studied.  Not bad.  Not bad.

Ok troops - Spent the night researching the Third Servile War!  Yes, I know, what fun!
130 BC - 1st slave rebellion - Sicily
100 BC - 2nd slave rebellion - Sicily
73 - 71 BC - 3rd slave rebellion - Capua - last slave rebellion in the Roman Empire

Spartacus, Crixus, Oenomaus (Doctore in the Stars version), and Gannicus existed - I'm so excited.  No one else in my house seems to care.  Sigh...

Anyway, on ward.
I.  Slaves, Gladiators, escape from the lodus of Lentulus Batiatus in Capua (Compania).  They hatch a plan that has to go off earlier than planned to avoid detection.  70 gladiators out of 200 escape.  They get armor from slain Capuain Army Guards and head up Mt. Vesuvius.  Taking shelter from Praetor Glaber.  Glaber decides to wait them out on Vesuvius.  He has 3,000 men.  Spartacus is smarter and repels down the opposite side of Vesuvius and takes Glaber's legion out.  No further mention is made of Glaber in the historical record.

II. Praetor Publius Varinius is sent from Rome.  He delegates command to 2 subordinates:  Furius and Cossinius.  The later is killed.

• Winter 73-72 BC Spartacus's troops stay in southern Italy plundering:  Nola, Murcia, Thurii and Metapontum
• 70,000 strong at this time
• Oneomaus dies during the winter of 73-72 BC
• Spartacus/Crixus in charge of slave army

III.  Lucius Gellis Publicola attacks Crixus's 30,000 men.  (Spartacus takes 40,000 men toward Cisalpine Gaul in search of freedom.)  Gellis and Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Clodianus team up to kill 2/3's of Crixus's men at Mt. Garganus, including Crixus himself.  Spartacus turns around to avenge Crixus's death and fight the Romans.  Spartacus turns around and meetings Lentulus's army and defeats them.  He executes 300 of Lentulus's legionnaires to avenge Crixus's death.  Spartacus starts moving north with 120,000 followers and engages troops near Picenum.

IV. Marcus Lucinius Crassus
Crassus has 32,000 - 40,000 troops.  Mummius is his legate.  Crassus engages Spartacus and defeats him on several occasions.  Spartacus retreats through Lucania to the straits of Messina (Sicily).  Crassus cuts him off here and he is forced to turn toward Rhegium.  Crassus cuts off Spartacus's supplies.

In the meantime, Pompey's troops are returning from Spain, Quintus Sertorius Rebillion, and joins us to fight with Crassus's troops.  Lucius Licinius Lucullus also is returning to from the Mithridatic War and lands in Brundisium.  Crassus wants all the glory for himself and doesn't want to share it with the other two men and prevent Spartacus from marching on Rome.  Crassus engages Spartacus at the Battle of Siler River and defeats Spartacus.  (Gannicus and Castus are co-leaders at this point and help lead the men.)  Spartacus dies in this battle and his body is never recovered.  6,000 survivors are crucified by Crasus and hung out for display on the Appian Way from Rome to Capua.  

Marcus Lucinius Crassus - a very interesting person in history.  A very wealth man who had a pivotal role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire.  Crassus started his military career under Lucius Cornelius Sulla during the Civil War.  The slave revolt described above lead him to greater visibility politically.  He shared a co-Consulship with Pompey Magnus, "The Great."  (I just like the way Pompey Magnus sounds ;)  Crassus also was a financier of Julius Caesar.  Together Caesar, Pompey and Crassus formed the First Triumviarate that dominated the Roman political system from 60 - 53 BC.  

Crassus was also appointed Governor of Syria during a second Consulship.  In a military campaign against the Parthian Empire on the eastern front, failure to successfully lead his troops lead to his defeat and death at the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BC.  After Crassus's death, the alliance between Caesar and Pompey falls apart.  Caesar crosses the Rubicon and civil war against Pompey results.


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Just had my moment...  [IV]  Stothard mentions Epicurean philosphy and On the Nature of Things by Lucretius on page 125.  Like Really???   Lucretius, Darlin', there is a God (or several -- very pagan of me...)  She dared drop me a line and let me know these unrelated books are related!  Now if I can just get my left side alignment back in order.  The world is atoms, particles and reverts to energy.  Dear Gods of Running, Biking, Golf, Kayaking...