Why was Spartacus's slave revolt so successful?

[Count of Montesano]

Mods, I apologize if this should be part of the Spartacus: Blood and Sand discussion. I'm a fan of the show too, but I wanted to ask from a historical perspective - why was Spartacus so successful? Hollywood would have you believe that gladiators are walking gods that can easily break 20 regular men. But I find that a little fanciful. I'm sure the average Roman legionnaire was in equal shape and equally skilled at combat, albeit perhaps not as fanatical. So how was Spartacus able to trounce several Roman armies so easily? Was it element of surprise? Did the Roman generals completely underestimate him? I seem to recall in one case his men slipped into the Roman camp because they didn't properly place sentries and night fortications.

I know that some of the best Roman troops were not in Italy at the time, so I'm wondering if Spartacus and the gladiators really were that legendary or if they were facing essentially the ancient world's version of the junior varsity squad.

[conon394]

Actually he was comparatively less successful than some other slave revolts in Sicily.

In general the basis for success was that the late republic was vastly corrupt - slaves were be imported on an unprecedented scale and being exploited in ways that crossed the norm if you will of how they should be treated. At the same time large numbers of others - peasants, Roman allies or subjects were also being exploited in ways that crossed the line from past expectations.

Overall then there was a large pool of people discontented with the way things were and were ready to take up arms. Spartacus was a able, charismatic and effective leader so it was fairly easy to find men who would fight .

[torongill]

AFAIK it was due to a massive case of underestimation on the part of the roman military, the fact that there weren't really armies in Italy, massive numbers for Spartacus and a lot of ingenuity on the part of the gladiators. Gladiators were experts on single combat - since they usually fought quite unarmed, they had to rely on skill for defence. The roman military were soldiers, trained to fight in units.