Spartacus is Defeated
While the slaves escaped certain death, it did nothing for internal harmony as once again they fought amongst themselves. Cestus and Gannicus, a pair of Gauls, broke from the main army and began plundering villages and towns. They were surrounded by Crassus at Lucanian Lake, and approximately 12,000 rebels died before Spartacus came to rescue the remaining men.
The end was drawing near for the depleted rebels, and they retreated to Petelia and sought to hide in the mountains. Spartacus managed one more victory over the Romans that followed him. Two of Crassus’ lieutenants, Scrophas and Quintus, attacked the rear of the rebels. Spartacus’ men quickly turned around and routed their opponents. By now, the slaves heard that Lucullus and Pompey were on their way, so Spartacus recommended a retreat through the mountains. However, a number of his officers wanted to travel to a seaport called Brundisium where they could steal ships and sail to safety.
The rebels opted for the latter option which was a mistake as Crassus pursued them relentlessly and caught up to the stragglers in the group. The Roman knew the conflict was about to come to an end when he heard that Lucullus had landed at Brundisium; the slaves had nowhere to go.
Spartacus realized that his army was trapped, so he elected to stay and fight. He reportedly killed his horse to show his men that it was now a case of victory or death. The rebel leader decreed that Crassus was the weaker of the two armies, so he chose to face him in combat. The slaves charged at the enemy and Spartacus tried to find and kill Crassus but was wounded, surrounded and ultimately, killed by the Romans. His body was never recovered; he was probably dressed in ordinary armor and buried in a mass grave without the Romans realizing who he was. The majority of the rebel army was slaughtered with a handful of survivors fleeing to the hills. Although Crassus did all the hard work, Pompey arrived on the scene, and his men tracked down and killed up to 5,000 escaped slaves. According to Appian, 6,000 slaves were captured by Crassus and crucified on the road from Capua to Rome.