Spartacus: Enslaved ancient Roman gladiator turned revolt leader

Spartacus led a 70,000-strong slave army that defeated Roman forces

After escaping a gladiator school in Capua, Spartacus led the largest slave revolt in Roman history, routing Roman armies before being crushed by forces under the command of Crassus and Pompey. Later generations recast him as a symbol of resistance.

Read how Roman writers described gladiators

This article, drawn from an older classical dictionary, synthesizes the views of ancient Roman authors on gladiators. While archaeological knowledge has advanced, the core textual evidence remains the same, with links to translations of the sources.

Spartans could be both brave and cowardly, contrary to popular belief

Though the militant city-state of ancient Sparta had its fair share of heroic warriors, it wasn't all glorious battle. Contrary to depictions in films like "300," the city-state consisted of land-owning aristocrats not so willing to die for their peninsular polis.

Emperor Commodus fought as a gladiator while ruling Rome

Commodus, who reigned from 180–192 CE, scandalized Rome’s elite by appearing in the arena despite being the son of Marcus Aurelius. The ancient biography—though partly fictional—captures the shock his gladiatorial performances provoked.

The story of Sporus, the castrated boy who married Emperor Nero

Ancient Romans’ views of homosexuality are quite different from Western understandings. Nero was an emperor is infamous for his cruelty, and appears to have heaped that cruelty upon Sporus, a boy he fell for and married in a public ceremony. As a slave, Sporus was held captive at the whims of Nero and subject to the class-based rules on same-sex relationships in ancient times.

Ancient Romans were registered in lists of citizens to confirm their identity

Falsely claiming to be a Roman citizen was a capital offense, but taking up another identity was one way people could change their lot. Several accounts report how escaped enslaved people sought freedom by pretending to be citizens, and multiple "Neros" appeared after the real emperor died in 68 CE.

Retired gladiators often became trainers, referees, or exhibition fighters

Few gladiators survived to retirement, but those who did rarely left the arena behind. Many returned for high-pay exhibition bouts, trained new fighters, served as referees, or leveraged their fame into unexpected careers, including local politics.

A day in the life of a Roman soldier

In 15 CE, Roman legionary Servius Felix was eight years into a 25-year career as a warrior for the Empire. Born to a poor farmer who hoped to retire and receive several acres of land, Servius served amid fights with Germanic tribes from the north. He hopes to marry a woman back home and mourns the loss of his fallen friends.

Pompeii’s ruins expose the brutal realities of Rome’s sex trade

Drawing on graffiti, slave collars, brothel art, and the story of “Eutychis, a Greek lass with sweet ways,” this piece reconstructs the violent, coercive world of Pompeii’s enslaved prostitutes—and how their owners controlled, renamed, and exploited them.

A day in the life of an ancient Athenian during the Peloponnesian War

In 427 BCE, Athens was at war with Sparta and losing badly, and now its inhabitants had to decide the fate of another city that had revolted against Athenian rule. Follow along with the fictional Archias, Dexileia, and their three children as they live through the tumult of a city in conflict in this five-minute animation.

Wealthy patricians and poorer plebeians struggled for power for centuries

During the Roman Republic, the plebs sought political protection, more access to power, and freedom, while the patricians looked to protect their elite status and wealth. Plebeians regularly "seceded," or effectively went on strike and did not fight for the patricians.

Trans-Atlantic and intra-American slavery: a visual database

This interactive database provides insight into the trading of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic. This database offers maps, articles, timelapses, videos of 3D slave ship models, and searchable databases on enslavers and the enslaved. According...

A prisoner at the haunted Corvin Castle in Romania helped inspire Dracula

The dungeon in Corvin Castle has hosted numerous ill-fated prisoners and many unsettling occurrences. One of its most famous former residents is the cruel ruler Vlad III, the inspiration for the character of Dracula. Listen to the eerie tales of the dungeon where psychological torture and extreme violence took place.

Plato's allegory of the cave is a metaphor for the value of learning

In the story, which comes from the Socratic dialogue, "The Republic," a group of prisoners are confined in a cave since birth—chained and facing a wall with a fire behind them, so any glimpses of life were rendered by shadows. One prisoner escapes and lands in a strange and unfamiliar world, an analogy for the role of the philosopher.

Tattoos were once used to identify status

Around 450 BCE, Scythians inhabiting what is now southern Siberia were recorded as wearing tattoos of swirling mythical beasts to signify nobility. At the same time, tattoos have identified lower-status and enslaved people.

After gaining her freedom, Truth successfully went to court to free her son

When her son Peter was illegally sold into slavery in Alabama, Truth took the matter to court—becoming one of the first Black women to successfully sue a white man and win, and securing her son's return.

How a 19th-century aristocrat scammed the rich to buy fake Caribbean land

Nearly 200 years ago, Gregor MacGregor pulled off one of the most brazen real estate scams in history. A disgraced military leader, MacGregor sold plots of land in what is today Honduras, touting the country of Poyais as a new major region in South America. But no building was taking place, and instead of investing the proceeds of bond sales in construction, MacGregor was lining his pockets. Read the unbelievable story of MacGregor's exploits here.

Explore a podcast devoted to uncovering different conspiracy theories

Hear stories of controversial events from all around the world and come to your own conclusions about why they happened—and if someone shaped the narrative around them. From art fraud to the death of a Roman emperor, this Spotify podcast covers it all.

The history of the Caesar salad

Despite what you might guess from its name, the Caesar salad wasn't invented in ancient Rome. The popular dish was created in the 1920s by two Italian brothers who'd emigrated to the United States and opened a popular restaurant in Tijuana called Caesar's Palace. This history of the popular entrée digs into that history and unpacks how it became a restaurant staple.

Feudal landholding organized medieval Europe’s economy without relying on slavery

From the 10th to 13th centuries, Europe’s agricultural system relied on localized hierarchies. Lords granted land to knights for defense, who in turn mainly oversaw free peasants paying rents in labor, goods, or money rather than living under slavery.

Why Orwell fought in the Spanish civil war

Orwell wanted to volunteer for the International Brigades, a loose conglomerate of leftists fighting against Franco's Nationalists, in order to participate in what he saw as a struggle against fascism. The group rejected him, though Orwell still made his way to Barcelona to fight with a smaller sect, an experience that's laid out in this history from William Chislett.

The expedition included Clark’s enslaved servant, York

York, Clark’s enslaved servant, played a full role in the expedition—hunting, scouting, and aiding diplomacy with Native nations who were fascinated by his appearance. Despite his contributions, York remained enslaved for some time after the journey, though its uncertain if he remained so for the rest of his life. Explore every member of the Corps of Discovery here.

The American Revolution became a template for a colonized world

The robust and radical transformation during the American Revolution created a template for dozens of future independence movements. Its key ideas of republicanism, individualism, and equality inspired revolutions in France, Haiti, Ireland, and more, paving the way for the broadly democratic world we know today.

The devil went down to Georgia

For years, a mysterious figure preyed on gay men in Atlanta. People on the streets called him the Handcuff Man, but the police knew his real name. It wasn't until a dogged local news reporter interviewed the underground community of male sex workers that local officials were prompted to intervene in the killer's reign of terror.

Watch the history of human migration that led to civilizations

Starting in Africa where they hunted with spears and fires, humans would gradually move out of the continent over thousands of years as they navigated crossing deserts, rivers, uneven terrain, and shifting climates. Development of technology, language, farming, and other societal structures helped build up the first civilizations.

Stanford built a Google Maps for the Roman Empire, revealing how much it cost to travel in the ancient world

The American cockroach is actually from Africa, an apparent hitchhiker aboard ships carrying enslaved people, with evidence suggesting the bug may have arrived in the New World as early as the 1600s.

Explore an interactive map of battles from the American Revolution, along with detailed summaries of each engagement

The first line of 'immortal' human cells, which can divide indefinitely and are used in scientific research, was nonconsensually taken from a Black woman.

Volcanic activity may have triggered the Black Death by spewing gases that led to crop failures in Europe, thus forcing the import of grain ships with plague-infested fleas.

In 2018, 26-year-old missionary John Allen Chau was killed by tribesmen after attempting to reach and evangelize on India's isolated North Sentinel Island

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is the largest ground war in Europe since World War II in casualties, forces mobilized, and displacement of civilians.

Read a deep dive on the 'all-purpose healing' peptide BPC-157.

The concept of phantom limbs, the perception that amputated limbs are still present, dates back to a French military surgeon in the 16th century.

In 2025, four executives from large tech companies were given positions in the US Army Reserves—including Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar, which reinforced Palantir's ties with the US military and its role as a leading defense partner.

The Brothers Grimm were lawyers before they were storytellers, but became interested in fairy tales as they began investigating how rules and customs had been passed down through cultures.

See 33 images that became central to huge scandals, including a young Charles and Camilla, Michael Jackson's baby on a hotel balcony, and Hugh Grant's mugshot.

American dance legend Martha Graham, sometimes called 'the Picasso of dance,' refused to perform at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and conceived the piece 'Chronicle' in response to the experience.

SpongeBob exemplifies Aristotle's philosophy for living well because he understands that happiness doesn't come from external factors like money, recognition, or power.

Before humans, the Soviet Union and the United States sent animals—including apes, dogs, and cats—to space during the Space Race.

'Saturday Night Fever,' the 1977 film that introduced disco to the mainstream, was based on a fabricated magazine story.

During the French Revolution, a botanist's letter asking about "dear Rhus" (poison ivy) was intercepted, leading authorities to suspect he was conspiring with the Russians.

The term 'algorithm' originated from the Latinized name of al-Khwārizmī, a 9th-century mathematician whose works introduced Arabic numerals and the decimal-based numeral system to Europe and whose treatise 'Al-Jabr' gave algebra its name.

After the Boston Tea Party, colonists switched to coffee, which became the main morning drink for revolutionaries.

The animatronic shark from Steven Spielberg's 'Jaws,' the first modern blockbuster, was a complex underwater apparatus called 'Bruce.'

Play the role of a student in a game where you try to navigate college and remain debt-free, selecting different income levels, high school experience, race, ethnicity, and more.

See how Budweiser's famous Clydesdales spend their days at Warm Springs Ranch, where roughly 70 to 80 of the beer brand's giant horses can be found at any given time.

The US Constitution is widely regarded as the longest-standing written national constitution still in force—see how it has influenced rights worldwide.

See photos of Meteora, a mountainous site in central Greece, home to 14th-century monasteries perched atop soaring outcroppings.

Search a massive database of over 4 decades of clues from the TV quiz show 'Jeopardy!'