Hollywood's Gladiators closer to fact than fiction

Long before Russell Crowe became a major Oscar contender by fighting for his life in Gladiator, Kirk Douglas combined sandals and swordplay in the epic Spartacus. Has Hollywood's accuracy in depicting slavery in ancient Rome improved since the 50s or is the difference just digital effects? Roman historian Dr. Keith Bradley will examine Hollywood's treatment of Roman slavery and slaves in the upcoming Provost's UVic Faculty Series presentation "Gladiator, Spartacus, and the Slaves of Ancient Rome" on March 29 at 7:30 p.m. in the Centre for Innovative Teaching, room 105. The lecture is free and open to the public.

"Movies are going to exaggerate the truth, but the portrayal of slavery is historically accurate. The filmmakers captured the spectacular nature of gladiatorial fighting," says Bradley, who was chief advisor to PBS for its upcoming four-part series on the Roman Empire in the first century.

While Spartacus was a real figure who may have had a wife, there is no evidence that he had a child, says Bradley, so those touching scenes involving Jean Simmons are just the product of the imagination of novelist Howard Foot, whose book inspired the screenplay. Russell Crowe's fallen general Maximus is a fictitious character but his movie fate is entirely possible.

"This could have happened in antiquity. What isn't accurate is the length of time Maximus would have stayed in slavery once his true identity was known," says Bradley. "The survival rate of gladiators was quite low but many were treated like movie stars. They won prize money and women regarded them as heart-throbs."

Perhaps Roman gladiators and Hollywood stars have something in common after all.

-- 30 --