ROMSO Cyprus Knowledge Base

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La Colère de Spartacus is the second installment of the novel The Fortune's Favourites, written by Colleen McCullough in 1995. It was published in French at Éditions L'Archipel in 1997. The first part is called The Favorite of the Gods and was published in 1996. The sequel to La Colère de Spartacus is Julius Caesar, violence and passion.

This is the fourth novel of the historical fresco The Masters of Rome.

Executive summary
The novel recounts the ten years after Sylla's death in the Roman Republic, from 79 to 69 BC. He focused on the careers of Pompey and Julius Caesar. Pompey is an ambitious general who only goes up in Rome. He is not a senator, but he has a certain influence in the Senate and can use it, even if he is not 30 years old. He could thus obtain the command of two legions against the rebellion of Lepidus in 77 B.C. Then he obtained the conduct of the war against Sertorus in Hispania. Sertorius was a cousin of Marius and was fighting Rome from Sylla. Pompey thought he could easily defeat him but a first defeat showed him that the campaign would be harder than expected. In fact, it will take him a few years, with the help of Metellus Pius, to watch him completely.

Caesar, who is not yet old enough to undertake an Honorum course, spends his time travelling and learning: Bithynia, Cilicia, Rhodes, Cyprus. It is during one of these expeditions that he is attacked and kidnapped by pirates. 50 gold talents are required. Caesar promises the pirate chief to capture him as soon as he is released. Free, he goes to Rhodes, raises a fleet, finds the pirates' den and takes them all prisoner. Then, without receiving permission from the governor, he made them all crucify. After returning to Rome, he was elected to the College of Pontiffs.

In 73 BC, the revolt of Spartacus broke out. 70 gladiators began her, but hundreds and then thousands of slaves joined them. The Roman armies sent to meet them are beaten one after the other. Spartacus travels with impunity throughout Italy and even thinks of joining Sertorus' forces for a moment. Having learned that Sertorus was dead, he set out for Sicily. The Senate, discouraged, gave the command of eight legions to the rich Marcus Licinius Crassus in order to beat him. Caesar, as a military tribune, participated in the expedition. In six months, Crassus crushed Spartacus' army of gladiators. Spartacus disappeared, but some of his men headed north with forced marches. They fell nose to nose with Pompey's army returning from Hispania, which cut them into pieces.

Crassus and Pompey are now face to face with their armies near Rome. They ask to be elected consuls - which is unconstitutional for Pompey who did not do the course honorum. The Senate refuses them. Thanks to Caesar, they end up allying