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The Battle of Thermopylae - The Movie

08 Mar 2007

Review/announcement of Historic Movie - "300"

In the 5th century (in 480 BC), the Persian empire fought the city-states of Greece in one of the most profoundly symbolic struggles in history. This most famous battle in that war took place at Thermopylae. The battle was a badly mis-matched struggle between Xerxes and (at least) hundreds of thousands of Persians versus 300 Spartans and a small number of their Thespian, Tegean, and Mycenean allies.

Sometime before the battle, the Spartan Dieneces was told that when the Persian archers let loose a volley, their arrows would hide the sun. To Dieneces that was just as well. "For if the Persians hide the sun," he said, "we shall fight in the shade" (See picture - right). Dieneces' comments were highly illustrative of the warrior culture of Sparta. Leonidas and the Spartans had been trained to do their duty, and, having received an oracle that Sparta must either lose a king or see the city destroyed, Leonidas was convinced that his final duty was to fall in battle. The spirit, tenacity, and heroism of the Spartans has become a standard for warriors up to and including the present day.

A new, highly stylized, and fictionalized vision of the Battle of Thermopylae is being released tomorrow (09 March 2007) by Warner Bros. The movie entitled "300," is the story of the Spartan warriors who knowingly fought against tremendous odds until they were all killed. The movie is rated "R" and is not fare for children, as it contains battlefield violence and some nudity and sexual content. More information, movie trailers, graphics and other associated materials can be found at the movie website: http://300themovie.warnerbros.com/home.html?dl=undefined

[The posting of this information does not constitute an endorsement of this movie. EmergencyNet News, Emergency.com, and the Emergency Response & Research Institute (ERRI) did NOT recieve any compensation or consideration, of any kind, in regard to posting this material. It is presented to provide information to our readers with an interest in history and military issues.]

Additional Reference:

Persian Wars Battle at Thermopylae - 480 B.C. -- http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/weaponswar/p/blpwtherm.htm

Battle of Thermopylae -- http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761580384/Thermopylae_Battle_of.html (may require registration or fee)