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The movie accurately shows how Spartacus and the other gladiators made their escape and set up camp on Mount Vesuvius. Here they are joined by other slaves who escaped from their masters. This is also found in the sources. In the movie, the Romans send a small army to destroy the escaped slaves. Spartacus defeated the Roman force led by the Roman praetor Clodius in the movie and this is accurate. In Kubrick’s work, Spartacus takes Clodius by surprise and overruns the Roman camps. In reality, Spartacus defeated the praetor on the slopes of Vesuvius by cleverly ordering his men to abseil down the side of the Volcano and thereby outflanking the Romans.<ref> Shaw, p. 112</ref> This caused confusion and the Romans were forced to retreat. Subsequently, the freed slaves attacked and raided the man rich villas and estates in the area and they are shown as freeing slaves. This is recounted in the histories and it appears that Spartacus and his army caused great devastation so much so that it took the region several decades to recover.
In general, the battles in the movie are very accurate. Spartacus was considered by the Romans to be a brilliant general and strategist. This is borne out in the movie. The Thracian developed unorthodox tactics and employed guerrilla tactics very successfully. The Roman sources also indicate that Spartacus cleverly used the skills of the freed gladiators to turn the tables on the Romans and this fact is mentioned by the Ancient Greek historian Plutarch.<ref> Plutarch, <i>The Life of Crassus</i>. Vii</ref> The picture also accurately reflects how the gladiators formed the nucleus of the freed slave’s army.
Kubrick’s feature shows how Spartacus was betrayed by Cicilian pirates at a crucial stage in the revolt. The Romans send several legions to crush Spartacus and his revolt and this forced him and his by now an army of ex-slaves into a small area of southern Italy. To escape the Romans, the rebels tried to secure passage to Sicily. The pirates as in the motion picture did not keep their side of the bargain. This left Spartacus and his rebels cornered in southern Italy and here they were to be defeated. The movie is very accurate on the final stages of the rebellion led by Spartacus. However, the movie does not show other very important aspects of the revolt. Spartacus and his fellow rebels made their way to the Alps after defeating a large Roman force and could easily have escaped Italy and the Romans. It seems that the army of rebellious slaves turned back and returned to the south of Italy. Why they turned back is not really known?
