The husband and I caught the movie 300 over the weekend. I am not a big war movie fan, but the husband said it was a really good movie from what he's heard and so I tagged along. I have to concede that the husband is right; it was quite a good movie. I liked the battle scenes (don't like the graphic decapitating scenes though), and I like the strong queen they had, Queen Gorgo whose wit is as good as her looks.
King Xerxes, that he-she "god king" is nasty. S/he reminded me of RuPaul, a long-ago drag queen, if anyone else remembered that far back.
The question on our mind was why didn't King Leonidas retreat when it was clear to him they would be outnumbered and he would not get additional support in his final face-off with the Persian armies. The husband thought that the King should've retreated, as a dead army would be a useless army and they needed to find a new combat strategy.
My other question, to which the husband didn't have an answer for, is why would anyone go to war in their underwear and a cape? Unless, their rippling muscles would be enough to scare off their opponents? Not that *I* mind at all...
4 comments:
My wife and I caught 300 when it first came out. I've been into ancient Roman and Greek history for over 20 years now, so I've been waiting for this movie for a while. ;) You're not the first person to mention the RuPaul look. ;) That actor was actually one of the "nice guys" in the movie, Love Actually, from several years ago. :)
To answer your questions, regarding the "underwear and cape," the scarlet cape was a traditional part of the Spartan uniform. To not wear the cape would have been more or less unthinkable. Spartans also did wear a type of breastplate, usually made of leather, but this is Hollywood via a graphic novel, so the emphasis is going to be on skin as opposed to reality. (Although, to be honest, they did get a fair number of things "right." A number of lines spoken in the movie are actual quotations.)
As for the idea of retreat, no, that never would have happened. Leonidas knew before they left Sparta that this was a suicide mission. There was never any attempt by Sparta to get the additional troops there for reinforcement. That's "Hollywood." The Greeks actually had about 7,000 troops total at Thermopylae, among whom were the 300 Spartans, but this battle was primarily a delaying tactic put up by the Spartans to prevent the Persians from roaring down through Greece on their way to Athens and the Peloponnese (where Sparta was located). (See here.) The 300 who did go to Thermopylae was actually a small fraction of the total Spartan army, which was maybe around 8,000 at the time. So Sparta wasn't sacrificing much in terms of manpower. (However, the psychological impact of being among the 300 was huge. One Spartan committed suicide because he had been on a diplomatic mission away from Sparta when the 300 were chosen.)
You're a treasure trove of info, JD! As always! Thanks for this; it's a very interesting read.
hi. im here again! :)
watched 300 with the husband during the weekends. and boy! we(or more me actually!) weren't disappointed at all. espec with all those 8-packs full beefy lovely men!
i think a Sparta wouldn't be a Spartan w/o that underwear and a cape. hah. i didnt mind. ;)
but he were more disappointed with the ending though. Thought it wud likely ended the usual 'Hollywood' style where the bad died but it didnt. Well, it ended well for me. Too much hollywood in this kind of movie somehow will spoil everything dont you think?
But thks to JD above for the further info of Sparta/Spartans history. Didn't know the movie was based on a real events..(was it?)
Anyway, wud you mind if i link u up? :)
Hello again! I'm nodding furiously with you; it sure was a visual treat, heh. And yes, feel free to link me up :)
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