Who helped Spartacus in the 73 BC slave revolt against Rome?

Answer 1

It cannot be said that Spartacus was helped by by someone. This is because, contrary to what is often believed, he was one of the leaders (not the sole leader) of the gladiators who escaped from the gladiatorial school in Capua (near Naples), which was the biggest one in Italy. The other leaders were Crixus and Oemanus. Thus, there was a collaboration between three thee leaders, rather than men helping Spartacus. When these three leaders defeated the first Roman force which was sent against them, they were joined by many slaves. Thus, an escape by a limited number of Gladiators (who themselves were slaves) turned into a large scale slave rebellion. The rebels were also joined by poor herdsmen and shepherds.

It is most unlikely that the rebels formed a single compact force. It seems that Spartacus and Crixus led two separate groups and it is possible that there were more than two groups.

Oemanus fell in battle early during the revolt while the rebels were plundering fields and towns in the south of Italy. Crixus also fell in battle. This was when the rebels were attacked by the troops of the Roman consul Lucius Gellius Publicola. It was only after the death of these two men that Spartacus became the sole leader. When Crassus attacked the rebels, Castus and Gannicus also became leaders. They led a separate group of rebels. They were the first ones who were defeated. by Crassus. Spartacus was defeated later.

There is also the misconception that the rebels were freedom fighters. The original men were simply men who managed to escape and did not want to be captured. They avoided being captured because they defeated the first Roman force sent against them. The other slaves and the herdsmen and shepherds joined the rebellion out of disaffection, rather than because of a plan to fight for freedom. The behaviour of the rebels indicates that their concerns were plundering to procure food and riches and moving about to avoid the Romans armies. They fought when they were confronted by these armies.

Answer 2

Spartacus was helped by a slave from Gaul, Crixus, at the beginning of the slave revolt against ancient Rome. Both men had escaped a gladiator training camp.