300: Greek Chic

I wasn't going to mention it, but since the movie 300 set a box office record (for movies opening in March) and it covers an historical topic that I'm keenly interested in (Greek history), I may as well weigh in.

The Battle of Thermopylae (thir-MOH-puh-lee) was a daring standoff between a few thousand Greeks and the countless hordes of Persia. Persia was invading Greece and small force of Greeks mustered to stop or slow down the invasion force at a narrow mountain pass by the sea. Because of the terrain and their bravery, the Greeks held out for two days before they were surrounded and killed. At the forefront was a contingent of 300 Spartans, including their King Leonidas. The sacrifice of the Spartans allowed the other Greek city states time to prepare and the Persian invasion was eventually defeated.

The best dramatic presentation of the battle of Thermopylae, hands down, is Steven Pressfield's novel Gates of Fire. Pressfield has written perhaps the best historical novel I've ever read and it's fairly true to the historical facts. The novel is widely read in military circles and among history buffs and my only caveat would be to keep notes of who is who when you begin reading any novel where the characters' names are in another language.

300 on the other hand is a surreal, re-imagining of history. It's mostly true to the basics of the story but Frank Miller is a comic book artist, so 300 is going to be an exaggerated, over-the-top kind of approach. I've also heard the movie is horribly gory and unnecessarily sexual.

But before I pass judgment, let's allow no lesser an authority than Victor Davis Hanson to say his peace:

But most importantly, 300 preserves the spirit of the Thermopylae story. The Spartans, quoting lines known from Herodotus and themes from the lyric poets, profess unswerving loyalty to a free Greece. They will never kow-tow to the Persians, preferring to die on their feet than live on their knees.

If critics think that 300 reduces and simplifies the meaning of Thermopylae into freedom versus tyranny, they should reread carefully ancient accounts and then blame Herodotus, Plutarch, and Diodorus — who long ago boasted that Greek freedom was on trial against Persian autocracy, free men in superior fashion dying for their liberty, their enslaved enemies being whipped to enslave others.