Spartacus and the Effects of Ancient Roman Slavery

The movie Spartacus and the works of Publius Cornelius Tacitus and Joseph Vogt display the interaction of Roman social classes with emphasis on the mistreatment of slaves and gladiators and how it eventually led to Rome’s moral decline and fallen Republic. In the film Spartacus a slave by the name of Spartacus from Thrace was sold to the gladiatorial school of Batiatus in Capua. He would later become one of the most famous gladiators, who led a slave revolt that defeated seven Roman armies. At the end of the movie, Spartacus is crucified beside 6,000 of his men to show the consequences of participating in slave rebellions. Through the various works of Tacitus and Vogt the reader can sense the brutality and injustices afflicting the slaves of this time period and visualize the slave’s escalating resentment towards their immoral masters. The decline of the one of the greatest civilizations in history was a result of the cruel and inhuman treatment of slaves, the immoral vices of the ...