Peter Kirby

I wonder what historical-Spartacus advocates here consider historical in the accounts of Spartacus -- and what they consider unhistorical. And why they come to those conclusions.

I ask because most of my knowledge of Spartacus comes from Stanley Kubrick's film. For example, who first came up with the whole "I am Spartacus" bit? Is that in any way historical?

regards,
Peter Kirby

No Robots

From here:

Contrary to the celebrated sequence in Stanley Kubrick's 1960 film, Spartacus, the survivors of the battle were never asked to identify Spartacus; he had died on the battlefield. The subsequent mass crucifixion scene, however, is historically accurate: Crassus had 6,000 men crucified along the Appian Way between Capua and Rome – a distance of about 200 kilometres

Kosh

Well, I see the following points:

- All the places mentioned in the movie actually existed in the Roman Empire
- The Romans DID use crucifixtion
- Spartacus' storyline must be true, why else would you make the "hero" of the story a poor slave who ends up dying at the end... it's just too embarrassing.
- We have ZERO published attempts to discredit the Spartacas story by Roman authorities
- Why would so many slaves have given their lives for him if he wasn't such a great leader?
- There are millions of copies of the Spartacas movie in circulation!

So there you have it, true history. :devil1:

(there is one unhistorical part though. That whole bit where Tony Curtis' "master" is coming on to him? I'm not sure he would have actually run away... )

No Robots

Nah, it was all a myth based on the uprising of Titus Curtisius in 139 BC, which is described by Tacitus. Some claim, however, that the passage in Tacitus is an interpolation made by Spartacists to lend credence to the idea that Roman slaves were prone to revolt.

Toto

Well, it appears that you want to compare Jesus to Sparticus historically.

Plutarch on Spartacus is pretty thin on personal details.

Spartacus was discussed by both Plutarch and Appian. . . unlike Jesus who was overlooked by the major historical figures of his day.

The Third Servile War was a major event, hard to miss. Whatever movement Jesus was involved with, however, escaped notice from the historians and commentators of the day.

But this stands out as a major commonality between Jesus and Spartacus: I think that Jesus has similarly been turned into an ancient/modern folk hero, whether he existed or not. He is depicted as a wandering hippie who stood up to religious orthodoxy. If there is any major stumbling block for the mythicist school, it is the position of that folk hero in modern mythology.

Boro Nut

My memory may be tricking me, but as I see it in my mind's eye I'm pretty sure it was Tony Curtis. It completely threw me off I can tell you. I'd thought it was Kirk Douglas up until then. I don't think Kubrick quite understood the whole Agatha Christie twist thing.

Hitchcock would have done a much better job. He would have had the slave woman turning out to be Spartacus, and she’d have been eaten by crows in her rocking chair after slashing everyone, not crucified.

Boro Nut

yummyfur

I believe the Script was based off of Howard Fast's Novel "Spartacus". So the line could be from Fast's novel, but I haven't read it. Also the script writer Dalton Trumbo could have written it. The Criterion collection DVD is supposed to have commentary by Trumbo based on his extensive notes, so you might find the answer there.

Kosh

Do we have any internal evidence that Fast wrote it? Or is his name just ascribed to it by the publisher?

rlogan

I'd like to know what he is really getting at, because this OP can be anything from humorous contempt for either "side" (I can see it both ways) or a sincere attempt at asking the perennial question of some other figure to see how the esteemed IIDB heavyweights and persons of high density approach the problem.

I think he had a couple of beers before he posted.

Kosh

Is Peter finally old enough to drink?