Why was spartacus considered a hero?

Answer 1

Spartacus was a slave who was a gladiator. He was among gladiators who escaped from their gladiatorial schools and sparked a slave rebellion. Up to 20,000 slaves gathered into bands which ravaged the countryside, looted some cities, and defeated Roman army contingents and local militias for two years. Spartacus was one of the leaders of these bands. The rebellion was eventually suppressed with the deployment of eight legions (army corps). This was the third slave rebellion in Roman history and historians call it the Third Servile War (73-71 BC).

Both Spartacus and the slave rebellion have been mythologized in fiction. The rebelling slaves are portrayed as freedom fighters fighting against the establishment and to end slavery. However, no account by ancient historians says that the aim of the rebellion was to fight the system or end slavery. They were probably marauding escapees. An ancient historian speculated that they wanted to flee to Gaul. The rebels and their leaders committed many atrocities. As for Spartacus being the champion of liberty who led all of the rebels as portrayed in fiction, this was not the case. He was one of the various leaders of the various bands and we have absolutely minimal information about him.

Answer 2

Spartacus could be considered a hero to some because of the fact that he started a slave revolt and convinced others to join. His foolishness and lack of good judgement have tarnished his "heroic" reputation.