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Eunus
Eunus (died 132 BC) was a Roman slave from Apamea in Syria who became the leader and king of the slave uprising during the First Servile War (135 BC–132 BC) in the Roman province of Sicily. According to the historian Florus, his name is remembered due to the severe defeats he inflicted on the Romans.
Eunus rose to prominence in the movement through his reputation as a prophet and wonder-worker and ultimately declared himself king. He claimed to receive visions and communications from the goddess Atargatis, a prominent goddess in his homeland whom he identified with the Sicilian Demeter and the Roman Ceres.
Some of Eunus' prophecies, namely that the rebel slaves would successfully capture the city of Enna and that he would be a king some day, came true. Eunus and his revolt were successful for several years, repeatedly defeating praetorian armies and requiring consuls from 134–132 BC to be sent against him. He was eventually defeated, dying in captivity in 132 BC.
Most of the literary evidence for Eunus and the First Servile War comes from the writings of Diodorus Siculus, who used Posidonius as his primary source. Florus' Epitome, which provides excerpts from lost portions of Livy, is the most detailed account in Latin.
Diodorus, Posidonius, and especially Florus were anti-slave and thus sympathetic to the Romans. Since Eunus was a defeated enemy of Rome, their accounts of both the slave uprising and its leader were likely biased. Morton notes that ancient sources refer to him as "Eunus" while numismatic evidence suggests he called himself, and wanted his subjects to refer to him as, King Antiochus. Broadly, the negativity of the sources means "it is difficult to say anything definitive about [Eunus]".
Like Eunus, Posidonius was from the Syrian town of Apamea. He likely based his details about Eunus' worship of Atargatis in his personal knowledge of the goddess's priests. Despite all existing sources being negative, Urbainczyk notes that "the sources attributed to [Eunus] all the powers, abilities, wisdom, and cunning that challenges to the status quo had to have in order to succeed". However, Posidonius' writings are not to be taken at face-value, for as historian Philip Freeman puts it: "Posidonius was Greek to the core" and did not expressed any love for his native city in his writings but mocked its inhabitants.
Eunus' life prior to slavery is not known, besides the fact that he was born in Apamea, Syria. He was probably trafficked by pirates to Sicily, eventually being sold by his previous owner Pytho to a Greek man of Enna named Antigenes.
As a household slave with a wife, Eunus was in a privileged position compared to other slaves in Sicily. Eunus was reputed in Enna to be an oracle who received visions from the gods when he was both awake and asleep. He was so well regarded for this that Antigenes would introduce him to his guests to divine their fortune.
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Eunus
Eunus (died 132 BC) was a Roman slave from Apamea in Syria who became the leader and king of the slave uprising during the First Servile War (135 BC–132 BC) in the Roman province of Sicily. According to the historian Florus, his name is remembered due to the severe defeats he inflicted on the Romans.
Eunus rose to prominence in the movement through his reputation as a prophet and wonder-worker and ultimately declared himself king. He claimed to receive visions and communications from the goddess Atargatis, a prominent goddess in his homeland whom he identified with the Sicilian Demeter and the Roman Ceres.
Some of Eunus' prophecies, namely that the rebel slaves would successfully capture the city of Enna and that he would be a king some day, came true. Eunus and his revolt were successful for several years, repeatedly defeating praetorian armies and requiring consuls from 134–132 BC to be sent against him. He was eventually defeated, dying in captivity in 132 BC.
Most of the literary evidence for Eunus and the First Servile War comes from the writings of Diodorus Siculus, who used Posidonius as his primary source. Florus' Epitome, which provides excerpts from lost portions of Livy, is the most detailed account in Latin.
Diodorus, Posidonius, and especially Florus were anti-slave and thus sympathetic to the Romans. Since Eunus was a defeated enemy of Rome, their accounts of both the slave uprising and its leader were likely biased. Morton notes that ancient sources refer to him as "Eunus" while numismatic evidence suggests he called himself, and wanted his subjects to refer to him as, King Antiochus. Broadly, the negativity of the sources means "it is difficult to say anything definitive about [Eunus]".
Like Eunus, Posidonius was from the Syrian town of Apamea. He likely based his details about Eunus' worship of Atargatis in his personal knowledge of the goddess's priests. Despite all existing sources being negative, Urbainczyk notes that "the sources attributed to [Eunus] all the powers, abilities, wisdom, and cunning that challenges to the status quo had to have in order to succeed". However, Posidonius' writings are not to be taken at face-value, for as historian Philip Freeman puts it: "Posidonius was Greek to the core" and did not expressed any love for his native city in his writings but mocked its inhabitants.
Eunus' life prior to slavery is not known, besides the fact that he was born in Apamea, Syria. He was probably trafficked by pirates to Sicily, eventually being sold by his previous owner Pytho to a Greek man of Enna named Antigenes.
As a household slave with a wife, Eunus was in a privileged position compared to other slaves in Sicily. Eunus was reputed in Enna to be an oracle who received visions from the gods when he was both awake and asleep. He was so well regarded for this that Antigenes would introduce him to his guests to divine their fortune.