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Revolutionary tale
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A documentary on Australia Network brings alive the epic events in the story of Spartacus
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History retold Coming alive
The legend of Spartacus has inspired generations of writers, artists, activists and revolutionaries. At the conclusion of his celebrated novel on the life of the Roman slave and gladiator, Howard Fast writes:
“And so long as men laboured, and other men took and used the fruit of those who laboured, the name of Spartacus would be remembered, whispered sometimes and shouted loud and clear at other times.”
Fast’s novel inspired Hollywood star and producer Kirk Douglas to make an award-winning film directed by Stanley Kubrick. Douglas played the lead along with Laurence Olivier, Tony Curtis, Jean Simmons, Charles Laughton, Peter Ustinov and others. Spartacus’ story of how he was born in Thrace, sold as a slave, trained as a gladiator in Capua, southern Italy, before escaping and leading his army of thousands of fugitive slaves to take on the mighty Roman army in the year 73 BC is well-known.
It is also believed that his army was eventually surrounded by Romans and Spartacus was killed in 70 BC, although his body was never found. In its programme titled “Spartacus - Behind The Myth”, Australia Network promises to “uncover the truth about how one man led a band of slaves in a guerrilla war that came close to toppling Rome.”
The documentary reveals “how after escaping from a Gladiator training school with some seventy others and armed only with kitchen knives and roasting spits, Spartacus went on to forge an army strong enough to threaten the destruction of Rome.”
Spartacus - Behind The Myth will be telecast on Australia Network at 6 p.m. on February 16; repeat telecast at 10 p.m. on February 16 and 9 a.m. on February 17.
GIRIDHAR KHASNIS
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Mangalore
Puducherry
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
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