On arrival at a palatial country villa where they are to spend the night, the trio meet with other guests, both historical and fictional, who either played key roles in the events just finished or who have sufficient perception to analyze the significance of slavery as an institution within the Roman Republic. The road is lined by 'tokens of punishment' - slaves crucified in the immediate aftermath of the revolt.ĭuring the first day of their travel the party encounter several representative individuals a minor politician, a prosperous businessman of the equestrian class, an eastern trader and a young officer of the legions all of whom give their respective perspectives on the rising.

Spartacus begins with three young Roman patricians - Caius, his sister Helena and her friend Claudia, beginning a journey from Rome to Capua along the Via Appia a few weeks after the final suppression of the slave revolt. The book inspired the 1960 film directed by Stanley Kubrick and the 2004 TV adaptation by Robert Dornhelm. It is about the historic slave revolt led by Spartacus around 71 BCE. Spartacus is a 1951 historical novel by American writer Howard Fast.

Spartacus by Howard Fast