Marcus Licinius Crassus
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"My taste includes both snails and oysters"--Laurence Olivier (Marcus Licinius Crassus to his slave Antoninus (Tony Curtis) in Spartacus as an example of queer coding. |
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Marcus Licinius Crassus (Latin: M·LICINIVS·P·F·P·N·CRASSVS) (ca. 115 BC – 53 BC) was a Roman general and politician who commanded the left wing of Sulla's army at the Battle of the Colline Gate, suppressed the slave revolt led by Spartacus and entered into the political alliance known as the First Triumvirate, with Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus and Gaius Julius Caesar. He allegedly owned more than 200,000,000 sestertii at the height of his fortune. One of the richest men of the era and still ranked in the top 10 List of most wealthy historical figures, Crassus still desired recognition for military victories in the shape of a triumph. This desire for a triumph led him into Syria, where he was defeated and killed in the Roman defeat at Carrhae which was fought with the Parthian Spahbod Surena.
Crassus' significance in world history, however, stems from his financial and political support of the impoverished young Julius Caesar, which allowed Caesar to embark upon his own political career.
