Spartacus

• Spartacus is a ballet written in 1954 based on the heroic figure from ancient Rome. The following year, Khachaturian arranged four orchestral suites from the ballet:
  • Spartacus Suite No.1
    • Introduction – Dance of the Nymphs
    • Adagio of Aegina and Harmodius
    • Variation of Aegina and Bacchanalia
    • Scene and Dance with Crotala
    • Dance of the Gaditanae – Victory of Spartacus
  • Spartacus Suite No.2
    • Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia*
    • Entrance of the Merchants – Dance of a Roman Courtesan – General Dance
    • Entrance of Spartacus – Quarrel – Treachery of Harmodius
    • Dance of the Pirates
  • Spartacus Suite No.3
    • Dance of a Greek Slave
    • Dance of an Egyptian Girl
    • Night Incident
    • Dance of Phrygia – Parting Scene
    • At the Circus
  • Spartacus Suite No.4
    • Bacchante’s Melancholy Dance
    • Spartacus Procession
    • Death of the Gladiator
    • Call to Arms – Spartacus’ Uprising¹
• *”Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia” from Suite No. 2 is by far the most popular movement from any of the four suites and has been used many times in popular culture.

“I thought of Spartacus as a monumental fresco describing the mighty avalanche of the antique rebellion of slaves on behalf of human rights…. When I composed the score of the ballet and tried to capture the atmosphere of ancient Rome in order to bring to life the images of the remote past, I never ceased to feel the spiritual affinity of Spartacus to our own time.”

Aram Khachaturian²

1. Wikipedia contributors, “Spartacus (ballet),” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia (2025), accessed August 22, 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spartacus_(ballet).
2. Betsy Schwarm, “Spartacus,” Encyclopedia Britannica (2016), accessed August 22, 2025, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Spartacus-ballet-by-Khachaturian.