Spartacus Gladiator & Slave   Spartacus was born a freeman. He joined the army, but he ran away. When he was caught, he was sold into slavery to work as a gladiator.  Some gladiators were freemen. But most, like Spartacus, were slaves, who had been sold to a gladiator school. When these men were not fighting, they were locked up in the gladiator school, to make sure they did not escape.   One day, in 73 BCE, Spartacus did just that - he escaped. Around 70 other gladiators escaped with him. They armed themselves with knives from the cook's shop. They found a wagon full of gladiator weapons. They stole those, too. They camped on Mount Vesuvius.  Rome sent an army of 3000 soldiers to capture the runaway slaves. Spartacus attacked from the rear. The Roman army was defeated. Rome tried again. This time they sent 6000 men. Spartacus won that battle as well.  When other slaves first heard that Spartacus had escaped, some ran away and joined Spartacus. But when Spartacus and his men defeated the Roman army, many slaves ran away to join him. The people knew Spartacus. He was a gladiator. He was famous. Rome's slaves felt if they could reach Spartacus, Spartacus would keep them safe. In a very short amount of time, Spartacus and his followers had swelled from 70 to over 100,000 people.   The Roman way of life for the wealthy was dependant upon slaves. The use of slave labor was one of the main reasons so many poor Roman citizens were out of work. Slave labor was free. About 1/3 of the people in the Roman Empire were slaves. Wealthy citizens could not allow this revolt to succeed, not if they wanted to keep their lifestyle.  Catching Spartacus was not easy. Spartacus and his followers spent their first winter with plenty of good food that they stole from the surrounding countryside. They prepared for battle. They made weapons. They drilled. The gladiators taught others how to fight like a gladiator.  Spartacus and his followers were hunted for two years. They defeated every effort to capture them. When Rome finally caught up with him, they killed Spartacus and everyone with him.     The Real Story of Spartacus  Gladiators  Explore Ancient Rome Free Powerpoints  Free Games Free Video Clips  Free Clip Art Return to Ancient Rome for Kids Main Menu  All Rights Reserved    Clip Art Credit: Phillip Martin Have a great year!