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==Introduction==
The historical epic Spartacus (1960) is one of the best-known movies in cinema history. It caused a sensation on its release and was one of the most successful pictures of the 1960s. The movie was not only a commercial success it was a critical success and it received several Academy Awards. Spartacus was directed by the cinematic genius Stanley Kubrick. It had an all-star cast with Kirk Douglas playing Spartacus. The supporting cast was made up of great actors such as Laurence Olivier, Peter Ustinov, Jean Simmons and Tony Curtis. The movie was scripted by the blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo. Spartacus is a great movie and still a great favorite but how accurate was it. Spartacus was a historical figure who led a slave revolt in the first century BC. This is known as the Third Servile War. Did the Hollywood Epic stay true to the facts or did it distort the truth? Did the makers of Spartacus give us a historically accurate record of the life of this remarkable man or merely gave us a great fictionalized account of his life. Below is a discussion of the historical accuracy of Spartacus the movie.
[[File: Spartacus - 1960 - poster.png|200px|thumb|left|A 19th century painting of Crassus execution of poster from 1960 advertising Spartacus ex-slaves]]
==Early life of Spartacus==