Our navigation bar is loading . . . . . .


Advertise on JCSM - Hear JCSM's Weekly Devotions via Podcast/RSS Feed! - Skip These Ads

You can advertise your site right here!Third Day, Switchfoot, and Jars of Clay - MercyMe and David CrowderClick here to learn more!

 10,000 Wise Quotes and Spiritual Sayings by Jason Gastrich, Ph.D.

 JCSM's Top 1000 Christian Sites - Free Traffic Sharing Service! Join the Online Christ-Centered Ministries!

-
Jesus Christ Saves Ministries

Click here and add this page to your favorites!

Return to the JCSM Study Center!

Encyclopedia Britannica



SPARTACUS

This article appears in Volume V25, Page 615 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: SOU-STE
SPARTACUS , leader in the Slave or Gladiatorial War against Rome (7371 B.C.), a Thracian by birth. He served in the Roman army, but seems to have deserted, for we are told that he was taken prisoner and sold as a slave. Destined for the arena, he, with a band of his fellow-
gladiators
 , broke out of a training school at
Capua
  and took
refuge
  on Mt Vesuvius (73). Here he maintained himself as a captain of brigands, his lieutenants being two Celts named Crixus and Oenomaus, who like himself had been
gladiators
 . A hastily collected force of 3000 men under C. Claudius Pulcher endeavoured to starve out the rebels, but the latter clambered down the precipices and put the Romans to flight. Swarms of
hardy
  and desperate men now joined the rebels, and when the praetor Publius Varinius took the field against them he found them entrenched like a regular army on the plain. But they gave him the slip, and when he advanced to storm their lines he found them deserted. From Campania the rebels marched into Lucania, a country better suited Tor guerrilla warfare. Varinius followed, but was defeated in several engagements and narrowly escaped being taken prisoner. The insurgents reoccupied Campania, and by the defeat of C. Thoranius, the quaestor of Varinius, obtained possession of nearly the whole of southern Italy. Nola and Nuceria in Campania, Thurii and Metapontum in Lucania were sacked. The senate at last despatched both consuls against the rebels (72). The German slaves under Crixus were defeated at Mt Garganus in Apulia by the praetor Q. Arrius. But Spartacus overthrew both consuls, one after the other, and then pressed towards the Alps. Gains
Cassius
 ,
governor
  of Cisalpine Gaul, and the praetor Gnaeus Manlius, who attempted to stop him, were defeated at Mutina. Freedom was within sight, but with fatal infatuation the slaves refused to abandon Italy. Spartacus led them against Rome, but their hearts seem to have failed them; and instead of attacking the
capital
 , he passed on again to Lucania. The conduct of the war was now entrusted to the praetor Marcus Licinius Crassus. In the next battle Spartacus was worsted and retreated towards the straits of Messina, intending to cross into Sicily, where he would have been welcomed by fresh hordes of slaves; but the pirates who had agreed to transport his army proved faithless. Crassus endeavoured to shut in the rebels by carrying a ditch and rampart right across the peninsula, but Spartacus forced the lines, and once more Italy lay at his feet. Disunion, however, was at work in the rebel camp. The Gauls and Germans, who had withdrawn from the main
body
 , were attacked and destroyed. Spartacus now took up a strong position in the mountainous country of Petelia (near Strongoli in Calabria) and inflicted a severe defeat on the vanguard of the pursuing army. But his men refused to retreat farther, and in a pitched battle which followed soon afterwards the rebel army was annihilated. Spartacus, who had stabbed his horse before the battle, fell sword in hand. A
body
  of the rebels which had escaped from the field was met and cut to pieces at the foot of the Alps by Pompey (the Great), who was returning from Spain. Pompey claimed the credit of finishing the war, and received the honour of a
triumph
 , while only a simple ovation was decreed to Crassus. Spartacus was a capable and energetic leader; he did his best to check the excesses of the lawless bands which he commanded, and treated his prisoners with humanity. His character has been misrepresented by Roman writers, whom his name inspired with terror down to the times of the empire.
The story has to be pieced together from the vague and some-what discrepant accounts of Plutarch (Crassus, 811; Pompey, 21), Appian (Bell. civ. i. 116120), Florus, (ii. 8), Livy (Epic. 9597), and the fragments of the Histories of Sallust, whose account seems to have been full and graphic.
House
 ; he puts every question and declares the determination thereon. As " mouth of the
House
  " he communicates its resolutions to others, conveys its thanks, and expresses its censure, its reprimands or its admonitions. He issues warrants for executing the orders of the House, as the commitment of offenders, the issue of writs, the attendance of witnesses or prisoners in custody, &c. The symbol of his authority is the mace, which is borne before him by the serjeant-at-arms when he enters or leaves the House; it reposes on the table when he is in the chair, and it accompanies him on all state occasions. The Speaker takes precedence of all commoners in the kingdom both by ancient custom and by legislative declaration (I Will. & Mary c. 21). His salary is 5000 a year. It is usual to create a retiring Speaker a peer of the realm, generally with the rank of viscount. The office is of great antiquity, and in the various conflicts between the Commons and the Crown was one of considerable difficulty, especially when, as mouthpiece of the House, he had to read petitions or addresses or deliver in the presence of the sovereign speeches on their behalf. The first to whom the title was definitely given was Sir Thomas Hungerford (d. 1398).


End of Article: SPARTACUS


If you wish, you can link directly to this article.
<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/SOU_STE/SPARTACUS.html">
SPARTACUS
</a>
(Previous)
SPARTA (Gr. Eirapril or AaKe5atycav) 		(Next)
SPARTANBURG

 


 

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries

The JCSM Study CenterAmerica's Christian FoundationSkeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and ExplainedNKJV Web Hosting and Services
JCSM's Sermons, Debates and the Bible on MP3The Online Christ-Centered MinistriesDo You Have A Web Site?  Your Ad Could Be Here!Seminary Notes and PapersThe Picturesque Photo Albums


Jesus Christ Saves Ministries, P.O. Box 70696, Pasadena, CA 91117

JCSM is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization. Copyright © 1997-present.


Kingdom Debt Solutions - Be Debt Free! Sport Logos - Quality Athletic Equipment The JCSM Study Center Your Ad Could Be Here! Launch A Successful Internet Organization or Business! Learn Guitar, Bass, or Piano in San Diego county!

You can advertise your site right here!

Free & Cheap Cell Phones  |  Cheap Long Distance Phone Service Carriers  |  Talk America Local Phone Service  |  Ztel & MCI - Unlimited Long Distance
Compare Cell Phone Plans & Companies  |  International Calling Cards & Prepaid Phone Cards  |  Voice Over IP Broadband Internet Phone Service  |  Wireless Phone Plans & Cheap Cell Phones

Dr. Jason Gastrich

Jason Gastrich, Ph.D.

 

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries is directed by Dr. Jason Gastrich.  It was founded in 1997 and it exists to bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ.  JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, discussion boards, weekly html and mp3 devotionals, free email accounts, and much more.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA  92169
1-877-850-3878 or Email

JCSM is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization. Copyright © 1997-2008.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Online First Aid and CPR Certification  .  The Online Christ Centered Ministries  .  The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained  .  The Inerrancy Discussion Board  .  Free Email Accounts  .  Home Equity Loans  .  JasonGastrich.com  .  The Missions, Apologetics, and Creation Bible Conference  .  Young Earth Creation Science  .  San Diego Music Lessons  .  10,000 Wise Quotes and Spiritual Sayings  .  Gastrich.net  .  Maximizing the Internet: 12 Keys to Success  .  Louisiana Baptist University  .  NKJV Web Hosting and Services  .  Michael Newdow  .  San Diego Soccer Training  . Christian Guitar Lessons  .  Jesus Christ Saves Ministries  .  Eternal Security