Mapping Spartacus: Using Pleiades in the Classroom

Spartacus is a historical figure that has captured the imagination of millions since he escaped from that gladiatorial school in Capua over two millennia ago. Not only has the Thracian received numerous scholarly treatments, he has been the focus of a recent Cable show and served as the symbol of resistance in more than one modern popular revolt. Much like the pop icon treatment given to Che Guevera, Spartacus continues to be manipulated and used for new purposes with the historical context often being forgotten. 

This semester, my Honors Seminar at the University of Iowa has focused on ancient financial crises. The unit last week attempted to explore the impact of the servile wars of the last two centuries BCE on the land and livestock of the Italian countryside. It is difficult to grasp the economic and social devastation of warfare without understanding the overall topography of the conflict, and so I asked students to bring their laptops to class so that they could deal with it digitally. I gave them a list of the places that needed to be mapped as an excel sheet, asked them to make a login, and then sign into the Antiquity À-la-carte tool. Once they clicked on the map and entered the program, they could use the 'Search for Features' button in order to look for each of the places listed (see full list, below). After the places are added to the map, I had students go back and trace the various routes taken by Spartacus' troops through the Italian peninsula using the 'Draw Feature' tool found in the toolbar under 'Map Tools'. Following these exercises, students can download the places they mapped as a kml, json, or csv file, and continue to work with it in other platforms, such as Google Earth. I had them all take screenshots of their finished maps and send them to me, but a number of them will be making their own maps for an upcoming poster project. 

Here are examples of the maps produced with AAlaC, as well as a link to an example KML file (click to expand or open, as appropriate):

As teachers, we know that visuals are effective; however, simply showing students a map can often be less effective than having them construct it themselves. Asking our students to engage with antique locations, to ask questions about these places, and to recognize the various challenges they might have presented (e.g. Amphipolis during the Peloponnesian War) is made much easier through Pleiades and the Antiquity À-la-carte tool. Moreover, having students make their own maps introduces students to another way that historians, archaeologists, and classicists are able to understand the ancient Mediterranean. 

Figure 1: