What do you think?
Rate this book
Revealing Antiquity
Spartacus
Spartacus (109?-71 BCE), the slave who rebelled against Rome, has been a source of endless fascination, the subject of myth-making in his own time, and of movie-making in ours. Hard facts about the man have always yielded to romanticized tales and mystifications. In this riveting, compact account, Aldo Schiavone rescues Spartacus from the murky regions of legend and brings him squarely into the arena of serious history.
Schiavone transports us to Italy of the first century BCE, where the pervasive institution of slavery dominates all aspects of Roman life. In this historic landscape, carefully reconstructed by the author, we encounter Spartacus, who is enslaved after deserting from the Roman army to avoid fighting against his native Thrace. Imprisoned in Capua and trained as a gladiator, he leads an uprising that will shake the empire to its foundations.
While the grandeur of the Spartacus story has always been apparent, its political significance has been less clear. What were his ambitions? Often depicted as the leader of a class rebellion that was fierce in intent but ragtag in makeup and organization, Spartacus emerges here in a very different light: the commander of an army whose aim was to incite Italy to revolt against Rome and to strike at the very heart of the imperial system. Surprising, persuasive, and highly original, "Spartacus" challenges the lore and illuminates the reality of a figure whose achievements, and whose ultimate defeat, are more extraordinary and moving than the fictions we make from them."
Schiavone transports us to Italy of the first century BCE, where the pervasive institution of slavery dominates all aspects of Roman life. In this historic landscape, carefully reconstructed by the author, we encounter Spartacus, who is enslaved after deserting from the Roman army to avoid fighting against his native Thrace. Imprisoned in Capua and trained as a gladiator, he leads an uprising that will shake the empire to its foundations.
While the grandeur of the Spartacus story has always been apparent, its political significance has been less clear. What were his ambitions? Often depicted as the leader of a class rebellion that was fierce in intent but ragtag in makeup and organization, Spartacus emerges here in a very different light: the commander of an army whose aim was to incite Italy to revolt against Rome and to strike at the very heart of the imperial system. Surprising, persuasive, and highly original, "Spartacus" challenges the lore and illuminates the reality of a figure whose achievements, and whose ultimate defeat, are more extraordinary and moving than the fictions we make from them."
208 pages, Hardcover
First published February 8, 2011
16 people are currently reading
199 people want to read
About the author
Aldo Schiavone
51 books7 followersAldo Schiavone (1944) è uno degli storici italiani piú tradotti nel mondo: in inglese, francese, spagnolo, arabo, cinese. Ha insegnato nell'Università di Firenze, dove è stato preside della Facoltà di Giurisprudenza; nell'Istituto Italiano di Scienze Umane, di cui è stato fondatore e direttore; nella Scuola Normale Superiore. È membro dell'Institute for Advanced Study di Princeton e dell'American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Tra i suoi libri pubblicati per Einaudi: Italiani senza Italia (1998), Ius. L'invenzione del diritto in Occidente (2005, 2017), Storia e destino (2007), Spartaco. Le armi e l'uomo (2011, 2016), Ponzio Pilato. Un enigma tra storia e memoria (2016, 2017), Eguaglianza (2019) e La storia spezzata. Roma antica e Occidente moderno (2020).
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
September 18, 2021
Ricostruzione storiografica ben argomentata, ricca di dettagli, sempre ben scritta. L'epopea di Spartaco, privata dell'aura e delle distorsioni di secoli di interpretazioni, diventa ancora piu' interessante, anche alla luce della lettura che ne viene fatta, per me nuova.
March 17, 2013
Spartacus like Superman is a character hard to take seriously – at least for guys like me who first became acquainted with the character (along with the rest of my high school Latin class) by watching Kubrick's classic. Even at 14 I knew that Tony Curtis was suspiciously pretty. Compared to Antoninus, Spartacus was a wooden dolt.
Everything covert in 1960 becomes a cartoon in the Starz series, of which I'm ashamed to say I've seen every episode, awash in animated blood spray and softcore sex among callipygian comrades. I'd like to say I only watch it for the history except there isn't any.
Aldo Schiavone restores some dignity to the historical Spartacus, a slave turned military strategist and a warrior who earned even Caesar's respect. Schiavone sets aside two confusions that have obscured interpretation of the legend. One is ancient – "the slave anthropology of the masters" that dictated how well Spartacus could be understood. Caesar was somewhat unique in his appreciation. The other is modern, the anachronistic view of class consciousness among the oppressed: "no form of 'class consciousness' ever existed in the history of Rome – least of all among the slaves." In a passage that might be provocative to residual Marxists, Schiavone condemns the paradigm of "classes" as "one of the worst ways in which our knowledge of the past has been muddied by European culture since the nineteenth century."
Spartacus emerges (barely) as a fascinating figure who anticipated developments that did not occur in European politics for another millennium or more. This handsome little hardback is a mere 150 pages but goes as far as it can in rescuing him from "the irreparable destructiveness history reserves for the memory of the weak."
Everything covert in 1960 becomes a cartoon in the Starz series, of which I'm ashamed to say I've seen every episode, awash in animated blood spray and softcore sex among callipygian comrades. I'd like to say I only watch it for the history except there isn't any.
Aldo Schiavone restores some dignity to the historical Spartacus, a slave turned military strategist and a warrior who earned even Caesar's respect. Schiavone sets aside two confusions that have obscured interpretation of the legend. One is ancient – "the slave anthropology of the masters" that dictated how well Spartacus could be understood. Caesar was somewhat unique in his appreciation. The other is modern, the anachronistic view of class consciousness among the oppressed: "no form of 'class consciousness' ever existed in the history of Rome – least of all among the slaves." In a passage that might be provocative to residual Marxists, Schiavone condemns the paradigm of "classes" as "one of the worst ways in which our knowledge of the past has been muddied by European culture since the nineteenth century."
Spartacus emerges (barely) as a fascinating figure who anticipated developments that did not occur in European politics for another millennium or more. This handsome little hardback is a mere 150 pages but goes as far as it can in rescuing him from "the irreparable destructiveness history reserves for the memory of the weak."
August 26, 2014
this book is incredibly tiny! and yet, Schiavone manages to offer his own entirely plausible reading of Spartaus' life and goals through his thorough examination of primary sources. Impressive stuff.
He does (of course) make some leaps that leave me a bit unconvinced, for example, he says that Spartaus holding a grandiose funeral for Crixus is proof that there was no animosity between them... and all the political savvy stuff about fomenting aggravations from the social wars... But I suppose if you just say that everything is unknowable and could be explained by 500 things, that gets you nowhere. Schiavone's guesses in any case are mostly reasonable inferences.
He does (of course) make some leaps that leave me a bit unconvinced, for example, he says that Spartaus holding a grandiose funeral for Crixus is proof that there was no animosity between them... and all the political savvy stuff about fomenting aggravations from the social wars... But I suppose if you just say that everything is unknowable and could be explained by 500 things, that gets you nowhere. Schiavone's guesses in any case are mostly reasonable inferences.
August 16, 2016
Interessante volume che indaga, con prosa agile e piacevole, la figura di Spartaco, cercando di tornare ai fatti, eliminando quelle sovrastrutture ideologiche che hanno caratterizzato questo personaggio di grande fascino del I secolo a.C.
August 30, 2021
I am Spartacus!
now we have got that out of the way; Aldo Shiavone dissects the narrative of the most famous gladiator/slave revolt uprising in ancient history to look at this event beyond the narrative of the classic authors. The classical writers told the story of a slave who rose up and valiantly yet foolishly tried to destroy Rome, its slave economy and failing that tried to escape it's reach. This narrative, albeit gripping and moving, is according to Shiavone, a narrative that suited the time and elite society of Roman republic who wanted to turn the page of this uprising.
Shiavone attempts to do three things in his study; first the actual events of the spartacus uprising, secondly the wider context of the slave economy/gladiator spectacle/ the earlier servile wars in Sicily. Thirdly Shiavone goes on a speculative turn to construct an alternative to the fugitive blind revenge and justice narrative on Spartacus. Emphasizing the religious prophetic aspect of the surviving narrative via Spartacus Dionysian priestesses wife, the speed and focus of his campaign more akin to a general at command of an army then a leader of a desperate and internal conflict ridden rebellion and the inconsistencies with the on the run narrative. Refusing to leave Italy, splitting up his army into columns that were able to aid one and another. Crixus, not a leader of a splinter faction who disagreed with Spartacus but a trusted commander taking control of a segment of the army.
This new narrative cumulates in equating Spartacus with a mixture of Hannibal, Mithridates on a course to dismantle the Roman society via turning allies and clients of Rome against them via successful military campaigns against the Roman legions and symbolic actions such as the funeral games at Crixus's funeral with captured Roman soldiers in the role of the gladiator fighters. I am bit on the fence with all of this. I am wondering to what extent Spartacus and the population in general were aware of the aims of Historical figure hannibal and contemporary enemy of Rome Mithridates. This in effect is the ever troubling position of any historian to know more and less then the people at the time did. We know about what happens in the whole empire but how much and how fast did people at the time know about it? What did Spartacus know about the wider Mediterranean? We can only guess.
Having said that, it is interesting alternative take and Shiavone brings a valid point when he says that we simply can't assume that Spartacus wanted to liberate all the slaves but on the other hand Shiavone's argument about why is connected to a wider dissection of the 'non modernity of the classical age, their lack of class consciousness and disregard for labor as a value factor. this Marxist turn comes about quite late in the book but is not that surprising, talking about Spartacus is a Marxist classic and for good reason given Karl Marx quote in a letter; " Spartacus is revealed as the most splendid fellow in the whole of ancient history. Great general (no Garibaldi), noble character, real representative of the ancient proletariat."
Spartacus by Aldo Shiavone is one of those; I should read this twice books and pounder some more about the arguments to fully evaluate them. People looking to simply read the Spartacus narrative will be perhaps a bit floundered with the turn the book takes in the latter half, yet it is not a bad choice as springboard to take a deeper dive in more theoretical approach to history.
now we have got that out of the way; Aldo Shiavone dissects the narrative of the most famous gladiator/slave revolt uprising in ancient history to look at this event beyond the narrative of the classic authors. The classical writers told the story of a slave who rose up and valiantly yet foolishly tried to destroy Rome, its slave economy and failing that tried to escape it's reach. This narrative, albeit gripping and moving, is according to Shiavone, a narrative that suited the time and elite society of Roman republic who wanted to turn the page of this uprising.
Shiavone attempts to do three things in his study; first the actual events of the spartacus uprising, secondly the wider context of the slave economy/gladiator spectacle/ the earlier servile wars in Sicily. Thirdly Shiavone goes on a speculative turn to construct an alternative to the fugitive blind revenge and justice narrative on Spartacus. Emphasizing the religious prophetic aspect of the surviving narrative via Spartacus Dionysian priestesses wife, the speed and focus of his campaign more akin to a general at command of an army then a leader of a desperate and internal conflict ridden rebellion and the inconsistencies with the on the run narrative. Refusing to leave Italy, splitting up his army into columns that were able to aid one and another. Crixus, not a leader of a splinter faction who disagreed with Spartacus but a trusted commander taking control of a segment of the army.
This new narrative cumulates in equating Spartacus with a mixture of Hannibal, Mithridates on a course to dismantle the Roman society via turning allies and clients of Rome against them via successful military campaigns against the Roman legions and symbolic actions such as the funeral games at Crixus's funeral with captured Roman soldiers in the role of the gladiator fighters. I am bit on the fence with all of this. I am wondering to what extent Spartacus and the population in general were aware of the aims of Historical figure hannibal and contemporary enemy of Rome Mithridates. This in effect is the ever troubling position of any historian to know more and less then the people at the time did. We know about what happens in the whole empire but how much and how fast did people at the time know about it? What did Spartacus know about the wider Mediterranean? We can only guess.
Having said that, it is interesting alternative take and Shiavone brings a valid point when he says that we simply can't assume that Spartacus wanted to liberate all the slaves but on the other hand Shiavone's argument about why is connected to a wider dissection of the 'non modernity of the classical age, their lack of class consciousness and disregard for labor as a value factor. this Marxist turn comes about quite late in the book but is not that surprising, talking about Spartacus is a Marxist classic and for good reason given Karl Marx quote in a letter; " Spartacus is revealed as the most splendid fellow in the whole of ancient history. Great general (no Garibaldi), noble character, real representative of the ancient proletariat."
Spartacus by Aldo Shiavone is one of those; I should read this twice books and pounder some more about the arguments to fully evaluate them. People looking to simply read the Spartacus narrative will be perhaps a bit floundered with the turn the book takes in the latter half, yet it is not a bad choice as springboard to take a deeper dive in more theoretical approach to history.
December 26, 2021
Demasiado especulativo y fuerza los datos. Se puede utilizar el contexto para poder conocer algunos datos sobre la sociedad del momento en que vivía Espartaco, pero es un error aplicarlo a la vida de una persona específica, los datos que resultan entonces son disparatados.
October 3, 2024
"Le fiere che abitano l'Italia hanno ciascuna una tana; un covile su cui riposare; ma quelli che per l'Italia combattono e muoiono, non hanno che aria e la luce..."
April 9, 2026
Spartacus, the man Marx described as "the most capital fellow in the whole history of antiquity", is one of my heroes. So I can never resist buying any new book that comes out about him, even though I know that it is unlikely that any new facts will emerge beyond those contained in books I have already read. There is always the chance of an interesting new analysis of the known facts or of the old story being told in a well-written or inspiring way.
In this case I was disappointed on these counts. Firstly, although the book is not badly written overall, the author does at times slip into pretentious language. How about this for a sentence? "So there took shape an elastic and multiform space of cultural intertwinings, of social practices and power, of relations and exchanges, shared by the world of the free and by that of the slaves."
Secondly, the flow of the narrative of the slave revolt is frequently interrupted by Schiavone's social analysis of the Roman world at the time. In my view it would have been better to put the analysis and the narrative into separate sections.
Thirdly, the author constantly warns against going beyond the evidence and trying to get inside the mind of Spartacus. But he then goes straight ahead and gives his own interpretation of what he thinks Spartacus was trying to achieve.
Finally, and most importantly, Schiavone makes the ridiculous claim that we cannot talk about there having been "classes" in the ancient Roman world. He claims that classes only exist when a modern-style labour market exists. The definition of "class" that he uses is one which would only be applicable to a modern capitalist system.
But Karl Marx himself and modern writers such as G.E.M. de Ste Croix, in his masterpiece "The Class Struggle in the Ancient Greek World", show us that "class" is the key concept for understanding the ancient world and the medieval world, as well as modern capitalism.
Class is a social relationship based on exploitation. As Marx wrote: "The essential difference between the various economic forms of society (between, for example, a society based on slave labour and one based on wage labour) lies only in the mode in which surplus labour is in each case extracted from the actual producer..."
The slave revolt led by Spartacus was a class-based revolt. This does not mean that it was necessarily a "class-conscious" affair in the sense of the participants having a worked-out programme of aims for an alternative society. No Marxist would expect slaves in ancient Rome to have a fully-developed Bolshevik programme!
At that stage of development a classless society was not a material possibility. If the slaves had won, the only possible outcomes were either escape from the control of the Roman state or the slave leaders becoming a new ruling elite. Nevertheless, the Spartacus revolt was an inspiring example of an exploited class rising up against their rulers.
There are several books available on Spartacus that are better than this one. A good starting point is the one by Theresa Urbainczyk, also entitled "Spartacus". There is also a very interesting one entitled "Spartacus and the Slave Wars: A Brief History with Documents", edited by Brent D. Shaw, which mainly consists of extracts showing what the ancient writers themselves said about slavery and the slave revolts.
In this case I was disappointed on these counts. Firstly, although the book is not badly written overall, the author does at times slip into pretentious language. How about this for a sentence? "So there took shape an elastic and multiform space of cultural intertwinings, of social practices and power, of relations and exchanges, shared by the world of the free and by that of the slaves."
Secondly, the flow of the narrative of the slave revolt is frequently interrupted by Schiavone's social analysis of the Roman world at the time. In my view it would have been better to put the analysis and the narrative into separate sections.
Thirdly, the author constantly warns against going beyond the evidence and trying to get inside the mind of Spartacus. But he then goes straight ahead and gives his own interpretation of what he thinks Spartacus was trying to achieve.
Finally, and most importantly, Schiavone makes the ridiculous claim that we cannot talk about there having been "classes" in the ancient Roman world. He claims that classes only exist when a modern-style labour market exists. The definition of "class" that he uses is one which would only be applicable to a modern capitalist system.
But Karl Marx himself and modern writers such as G.E.M. de Ste Croix, in his masterpiece "The Class Struggle in the Ancient Greek World", show us that "class" is the key concept for understanding the ancient world and the medieval world, as well as modern capitalism.
Class is a social relationship based on exploitation. As Marx wrote: "The essential difference between the various economic forms of society (between, for example, a society based on slave labour and one based on wage labour) lies only in the mode in which surplus labour is in each case extracted from the actual producer..."
The slave revolt led by Spartacus was a class-based revolt. This does not mean that it was necessarily a "class-conscious" affair in the sense of the participants having a worked-out programme of aims for an alternative society. No Marxist would expect slaves in ancient Rome to have a fully-developed Bolshevik programme!
At that stage of development a classless society was not a material possibility. If the slaves had won, the only possible outcomes were either escape from the control of the Roman state or the slave leaders becoming a new ruling elite. Nevertheless, the Spartacus revolt was an inspiring example of an exploited class rising up against their rulers.
There are several books available on Spartacus that are better than this one. A good starting point is the one by Theresa Urbainczyk, also entitled "Spartacus". There is also a very interesting one entitled "Spartacus and the Slave Wars: A Brief History with Documents", edited by Brent D. Shaw, which mainly consists of extracts showing what the ancient writers themselves said about slavery and the slave revolts.
October 6, 2018
A short and lively work that engages in just enough plausible speculation and goes into surprising depth about Roman society in the late republic. With short chapters and a moderate pace, this is a great bedside read.
January 30, 2018
Fine, learned study.
August 9, 2021
Enjoyable narrative with interesting historical digging. Insightful.
Want to Read
November 30, 2023Sadly, this may be a DNF for the worst reason. At the very least I may have to get a digital copy as the print on the left side is too close to the spine of the book. I'll let my hands rest from prying it open far enough to read and give it another go another time. Otherwise, I'll have to see if the library has a digital copy.
I'm old, my hands hurt trying to read this copy. I will wait until I can get a digital copy. Back to my "to read" list. Future self, I hope you look at this.
I'm old, my hands hurt trying to read this copy. I will wait until I can get a digital copy. Back to my "to read" list. Future self, I hope you look at this.
October 21, 2016
We’ve probably all heard of the legend of Spartacus, the brave slave who stood up to the might of the Roman Empire and paid for his rebellion with his life. Schiavone’s book takes on that legend and instead presents us with the facts as they are known.
The meticulously-researched facts are as utterly compelling as the legend. Ingenious escapes, treacherous pirates and a female priestess companion are among the highlights. The book also provides a fascinating insight into the Roman view of those who opposed their Empire. As Schiavone points out, ‘everything we know about Spartacus comes to us from what was remembered of him by his mortal foes.’
The book is divided into the three phases of Spartacus’s known life: The Fugitive, The Commander and The Loser. This device, reminiscent of a three-act play, works very well. The two (differing) accounts of Spartacus’s death are very moving as is the aftermath of the failed rebellion.
Beautifully produced, the book is a translation by Jeremy Carden. Carden should be commended for English that is descriptive and evocative, yet still manages to invoke the flow and richness of Italian.
It is a little gem of non-fiction that will serve academics as well as those with a love of accessible Roman history. Highly recommended.
I received a free review copy of this book via the Historical Novel Society. This review (or an edited version) has appeared in the Historical Novels Review
The meticulously-researched facts are as utterly compelling as the legend. Ingenious escapes, treacherous pirates and a female priestess companion are among the highlights. The book also provides a fascinating insight into the Roman view of those who opposed their Empire. As Schiavone points out, ‘everything we know about Spartacus comes to us from what was remembered of him by his mortal foes.’
The book is divided into the three phases of Spartacus’s known life: The Fugitive, The Commander and The Loser. This device, reminiscent of a three-act play, works very well. The two (differing) accounts of Spartacus’s death are very moving as is the aftermath of the failed rebellion.
Beautifully produced, the book is a translation by Jeremy Carden. Carden should be commended for English that is descriptive and evocative, yet still manages to invoke the flow and richness of Italian.
It is a little gem of non-fiction that will serve academics as well as those with a love of accessible Roman history. Highly recommended.
I received a free review copy of this book via the Historical Novel Society. This review (or an edited version) has appeared in the Historical Novels Review
August 4, 2013
Spartacus, while a factual Thracian gladiator, has grown throughout history in to one of the greatest fictional superheroes ever born. Little is actually known about Spartacus beyond his historic leadership during the Third Servile War. While many books, movies, and even an in-depth television series can be found on Spartacus, much of what is portrayed is fictional or heavily exaggerated upon the little information about his life we do know.
Full Review can be read at http://www.musingwithcrayolakym.com/3...
Full Review can be read at http://www.musingwithcrayolakym.com/3...
May 30, 2013
I daresay that Aldo Schiavone has said more about Spartacus and his rebellion in just under 150 pages than many authors have in multiple hundreds. His thorough knowledge of the period and the sources inform his analysis; the excellent, fluent translation makes the book a pleasure to read (as does the excellent proofreading - other authors take note!). Very fulfilling reading. Those interested in Spartacus might also wish to check out Barry Strauss' The Spartacus War and Peter Stothard's Spartacus Road: A Journey Through Ancient Italy, both of which I've found enjoyable.
September 1, 2015
The author makes very cogent and convincing arguments for his reconstruction of Spartacus life and goals - from what is a highly fragmentary record. I would also add that this book addresses most major theories of slavery and class structure in the ancient world and with its extensive notes tackles some academic prejudices that weigh down antiquity with modernizing baggage. Also, the translation is excellent and seamless.
August 21, 2014
Short book about Spartacus the historical figure which spends most of its time explaining that not very much is known about Spartacus and then filling in the gaps with conjecture about what he might of been like extrapolating from what we do know of the Roman Empire at that time. Not as an interesting read as you might think.
July 7, 2014
A small, but dense, examination of the life of the famed gladiator. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that most of the stuff in the TV series is actually based on fact. I do have to say that it wasn't an easy read by any means, but it is based on a variety of primary sources. He definitely did his research.
--Leisa
--Leisa
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews