Learning from Spartacus

Yesterday night, I watched the final episode of the new tv-series of Spartacus (Spartacus: Blood and Sand 2010, Spartacus: Gods of the Arena 2011, Spartacus: Vengeance 2012, and Spartacus: War of the Damned 2013), the gladiator that sparked the greatest slave rebellion in the history of the Roman Empire. First now, I realised his greatness.

The tv-show is gruesomely violent and gory, which might be off-putting to viewers with sensible stomachs, and to many it might appear that the show is all about the moviemakers having fun producing exaggeratedly bloody fight scenes with arms dropping off, heads and bodies cleaved in halves, and soldiers being slashed so hard they fly away. However, the mature viewer will value the battles as being metaphorical, as well as amazingly well done. (Actually, I love the battles because I appreciate both interpretations.)

Regardless, what I want to discuss here is one of the main philosophical messages in this show, which might not be apparent at first.

I am sure that most of the events in the three and a half seasons (Spartacus: Gods of the Arena is short and only counts as a mini-series) are speculative and have little factual support, since written records and archeological finds from that period are scarce, but I still want to discuss the fictional character Spartacus in the series (i.e. regardless of how it reflects the real person), because it is he who inspired my thoughts.

Spartacus, acted by Liam McIntyre in the final two seasons, develops into a much more epic

 character as the story evolves than I would ever have expected.

 Image from http://www.channelguidemagblog.com/index.php/2012/01/18/liam-mcintyre-takes-on-spartacus-role-with-a-vengeance/ 

My mom is not fond of the tale of Spartacus, because he suffers and struggles so much throughout his entire life, which bluntly ends in failure. In the tv-show, he is captured with his wife; she is enslaved and probably raped countless times until she finally dies, while Spartacus is sold as a gladiator, savagely drilled to fight and endure physical pain, and forced to kill his only friend by a whim of his arrogant and ambitious master.

Andy Whitfield played the role of Spartacus in the first season, but died of 

lymphoma (cancer in white blood cells). 

Image from http://buncheness.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/spartacus-loses-his-greatest-battle-rip.html

When learning that the master he has been bowing like a dog to was the one that had his wife murdered, Spartacus spurs a gladiator uprising, slaughters all Roman nobles within reach. Now craving revenge on the Roman praetor that captured him and his wife, he builds an army of fighting slaves (whose chaotic nature challenge his patience more than a few times) to match the Roman forces sent to destroy him. When victorious, Spartacus continues to swell his army, now with the unfeasible goal of crushing the Roman Empire. After years of fighting bloody battles and struggling to give his people what they need (food, shelter, etc.) and want (some desire only to fight endlessly, others dream of living their lives in freedom and peace), the rebels are defeated at the Siler River, and it turns out that all the pain and losses (on both sides) had been in vain.

Spartacus has all the reasons to be angry… Image from  

http://joseluisvidalblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/fueras-de-serie-noticias-frescas-por.html

The plot is indeed tragic, but that makes Spartacus the more admirable! What I thought of when I was watching the last episode, and the thing I want to emphasise here, is that throughout his time, Spartacus had ample opportunities to run away and settle down for a long, restful life, something he unquestionably earned for what he has sacrificed, but he never abandoned the fight for his ideal – that all have the right to live free.

Although he had many opportunities, Spartacus never took the easy 

way out, but stood persistently for his ideal that no 

man or woman should be a slave. 

Image from http://spartacus.wikia.com/wiki/Spartacus

Spartacus fights against the Roman people to free the slaves from oppression and injustice. He fights for the value and dignity of every human being, while many others fight because they are angry and enjoy killing Romans. (Spartacus appears to enjoy the slaughter, but I suspect that it is only to keep his much-needed companions keen and engaged.)

There seems to be no reason for Spartacus to pursue his struggle against the Roman Empire, other than that he believes so strongly that it is the right thing to do. He does not revel in pleasure of killing his hated enemies, he knows that no amount of slaughter will bring back the loved ones he already has lost, and he really has no moral obligation to devote himself to this campaign.

So, what I read into this is that Spartacus made it the purpose of his life to fight for the dignity of all men and women. He is a man who has lost everything, but instead of crying in a corner, he selflessly makes it his life’s quest to protect all others who have suffered similar fates. And, despite all instances where most people would give up and retreat to live in peace and comfort, he never fell to the temptation. This is the hallmark of a true hero.

For all he has suffered, Spartacus’ spirit was never broken. 

Image from http://uk.ign.com/articles/2012/04/05/spartacus-vengeance-season-review

This is the hallmark of a true hero. And such people do exist today. From this day on, I will respect them as I respect Spartacus, but more so because what they are doing for needing people is real.