Castus (rebel slave)

Castus was a Gallic slave, who together with the Thracian Spartacus, the fellow Gauls Crixus and Gannicus, alongside the Nubian 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.

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.