The Gladiator Spartacus, written in 1951 by Howard Fast, is the story of a gladiator, named Spartacus. Spartacus is a slave who is bought by a lanista, a person who owns, sells, and fights gladiators, whose name is Batiatus. Batiatus trains Spartacus to be a gladiator at a gladitorial school in Capua. Because Spartacus is brave, loves life, and has leadership he breaks out of the school and leads a four-year long slave revolt against Rome. …showed first 75 words of 582 total…

…showed last 75 words of 582 total…knows the essential secret of slaves. It is a desire...it is a desire to endure...there is a reason too. It is just that Spartacus does not know the reason”(74). Spartacus’s love of life, leadership, and bravery all lead to his leading the most successful slave revolt in the Roman empire. For four years he and his men fight, but unfortunately no one group of slaves no matter how large can defeat Rome.