Spartacus

:This article refers to the Roman slave. For other uses see Spartacus (disambiguation).

Spartacus in modern times

Spartacus has been a great inspiration to revolutionaries in modern times, most notably the Spartacist League of Weimar Germany.

Related Topics:
Revolutionaries - Spartacist League - Weimar Germany

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• Howard Fast wrote the historical novel Spartacus. He was hired to adapt his novel as a screenplay, but experienced difficulty working in a screenplay format. Dalton Trumbo (working under the pseudonym "Sam Jackson" due to being on the Hollywood blacklist), was hired to replace Fast. In 2004, Fast's novel was adapted as a made-for-TV movie by the USA Network.
• Arthur Koestler also wrote a novel about Spartacus called The Gladiators.
• There is also a novel Spartacus by the Scottish writer Lewis Grassic Gibbon.
• The Italian writer Rafaello Giovagnoli wrote his historical novel, Spartacus, in 1874. His novel has been subsequently translated and published in many European countries.
• In Trumbo's screenplay, Spartacus is depicted as a sort of early communist, who fights against the wealthy Roman establishment, by liberating the slaves. Stanley Kubrick directed the film Spartacus in 1960, starring executive producer Kirk Douglas in the title role.
• The movie was re-released in 1967 and again in 1991, with "restored" scenes that had been cut for being too "racy" in 1960.
• In a scene near the end of the film, where all the slaves declare "I am Spartacus!" is a phrase which has passed into popular culture to refer to people agreeing with someone, though unlike in the film, without much thought. An example of such use is found in the 2001 film Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.
• Spartacus was also a ballet written by composer Aram Khachaturian.
• The Spartakiad was a competition similar to the Olympic games for countries of the Soviet bloc.
• Adam Weishaupt, Freemason and supposed founder of the Illuminati, used "Spartacus" as a nom de plume.
• Karl Marx said Spartacus was his hero.
• In the 2003 movie, The Recruit, James Clayton (played by Colin Farrell), creates a webcast software program called "Spartacus", that can gain control of all webcast devices in a particular area. The students who created the program in the film say it was named for "the slave revolt."
• Spartacus is the name of a musical by Jeff Wayne from 1992.
• During 2004, the miniseries "Spartacus" was released, with Goran Vi?nji? at main role.