ACI Toys ~ Gladiator of Rome 2 : Spartacus.

 

 

 

 

"I'm Spartacus!"

 

Spartacus was a Thracian who served in an army. He was later sold as slave and was trained to be a gladiator. The inhuman treatment at training school drove Spartacus and other gladiators to rebel. Huge number of runaway slaves joined him to fight against the Roman Republic and to fight for their freedom. Led by Spartacus, the Slave Army defeated several Roman Legions and threatened the Roman Government. Spartacus was finally killed by the army of Crassus in the Battle at the River Silarus. The Third Silarus War, also named as War of Spartacus, ended in 71BC. According to Wikipedia, little is known about Spartacus beyond the events of the war, and surviving historical accounts are sometimes contradictory and may not always be reliable. All sources agree that he was a former gladiator and an accomplished military leader.

Spartacus' struggle, interpreted by some as an example of oppressed people fighting for their freedom against a slave-owning oligarchy, has been an inspiration to many political thinkers. It has also has been featured in literature, television, and film.

The final battle that saw the defeat of Spartacus took place on the present territory of Senerchia on the right bank of the river Sele in the area that includes the border with Oliveto Citra up to those of Calabritto, near the village of Quaglietta, in High Sele Valley, which at that time was part of Lucania. In this area, in the past decades, there have been finds of armor and swords of the Roman era. On the battle, Spartacus was killed but his body was never found. Six thousand survivors of the revolt captured by the legions of Crassus were crucified, lining the Appian Way from Rome to Capua.

 

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One of the most memorable rebels from the ancient Roman era, I remembered watching the 1960 American epic historical drama film directed by Stanley Kubrick and based on the novel of the same name by Howard Fast. The life story of the historical figure Spartacus and the events of the Third Servile War were adapted by Dalton Trumbo as a screenplay. The film stars Kirk Douglas as rebellious slave Spartacus and Laurence Olivier as his foe, the Roman general and politician Marcus Licinius Crassus. This figure, by ACI Toys, is based on the 2010 first season of Starz subscription channel mini-series Spartacus : Blood and Sands, which starred the late actor and based on his likeness, Andy Whitfield  whom died of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in Sydney, Australia, on 11 September 2011, 18 months after his initial cancer diagnosis. His role is replaced by Liam McIntyre for the second season, Spartacus : Vengence which premieres in 2012. The figure itself is good, articulation and all, except that it is a pain in the **** for putting on the feather duster like thingy on the helmet. I actually have had to glue the left one onto the helm as it couldn't, just couldn't slot into the eeny, meeny, miny, moe, tiny little hole. And again, I have had to watch out for the wrist peg as the hands are difficult to swap but ACI Toys are smart bunch and they include a little note - hairdryer time. Which works well. And seasoned collectors would have gone that route. Now, where's Maximus?