Summary
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the life of Spartacus, the gladiator who led a major slave rebellion against the Roman Republic in the 1st century BC. He was an accomplished military leader, and the campaign he led contributed significantly to the instability of the Roman state in this period. Spartacus was celebrated by some ancient historians and reviled by others, and became a hero to revolutionaries in 19th-century Europe. Modern perceptions of his character have been influenced by Stanley Kubrick's 1960 film - but ancient sources give a rather more complex picture of Spartacus and the aims of his rebellion.
With:
Mary Beard Professor of Classics at the University of Cambridge
Maria Wyke Professor of Latin at University College, London
Theresa Urbainczyk Associate Professor of Classics at University College, Dublin.
Producer: Victoria Brignell.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know. |
| 0:04.7 | My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds. |
| 0:08.5 | As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable experts and genuinely engaging voices. |
| 0:18.0 | What you may not know is that the BBC makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars, |
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| 0:36.0 | Thank you for downloading this episode of In Our Time. |
| 0:38.7 | For more details about in our time and for our terms of use please go to BBC.co. UK slash radio 4. I hope you enjoy |
| 0:45.9 | the program. Hello in 1960 the American director Stanley Kubrick made a film starring |
| 0:51.5 | Kirk Douglas which was widely acclaimed by the critics and |
| 0:54.4 | won numerous awards. Spartacus was based on the story of an enslaved |
| 0:58.7 | gladiator who mounted a rebellion against the Romans in the first century BC. During the course of this slavery |
| 1:04.9 | vote he managed to defeat the mighty Roman legions on several occasions before Rome was |
| 1:09.4 | finally victorious. Much of Spartacus life is contested and the ancient texts that give accounts of Israel |
| 1:16.0 | are often contradictory, but a coherent figure does seem to emerge and is one of the few figures |
| 1:21.2 | from the ancient world who could be named by most people in Britain today. |
| 1:25.0 | Over the last few centuries, Spartacus has provided inspiration for those trying to escape oppression, |
| 1:30.0 | whether slavery or the existing political order, and has become an icon for many people in the modern world in capitalist and in communist societies. |
| 1:38.0 | With me to discuss Spartacus and Mary Beard, Professor of Classics at the University of Cambridge, Maria Weik, Professor of Latin at University |
| 1:45.9 | College London, and Theresa Urban Schick, Associate Professor of Classics at University College Dublin. |
| 1:52.4 | Mary Beard, Spartacus Reville began in 73 BC. |
| 1:56.0 | It's also known as the Third Servile War. |
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