Castus (rebel slave)

Castus was a Gallic^[1][2][3] slave, who together with the Thracian Spartacus, the fellow Gauls Crixus and Gannicus, alongside Oenomaus, was one of the leaders of rebellious slaves during the Third Servile War (73-71 BC). He was killed along with his co-commander Gannicus and their Gallic and Germanic followers by Roman forces under Marcus Licinius Crassus at the Battle of Cantenna in Lucania in 71 BC.

In popular culture

• Castus is portrayed by Blessing Mokgohloa in the Starz television series Spartacus: War of the Damned. He is reimagined as a Numidian and depicted as part of a crew of Cilician Pirates. Following his comrades betrayal, he later joins Spartacus' rebellion and goes on to become a prominent member.

See also

References

Ancient sources

• Plutarch, Crassus 11, 2–3.

Secondary literature

• Bury, John Bagnell (1994). The Cambridge Ancient History , Volum 9. Cambridge University Press.
• Strauss, Barry (2009). The Spartacus War. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 1-4165-3205-6.
• Winkler, Martin M. (2008). Spartacus: Film and History. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-4707-7726-5.