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FILM LIST
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300 (3/9/07) What's an historian to make of the new film '300'? It's based on a graphic novel after all, a genre more suited to superheroes than Spartans. It also boasts a set of fantastical creatures -- ogres, trolls and the like -- who seem to have wandered in from a Lord of the Rings movie. And the stylistic violence is, frankly, over the top. Lots of limb severing and decapitations, in super slow motion no less. Yet there's a real history here, buried inside the mythic trappings. Three hundred Spartans did make a stand at Thermopylae in 480 BCE, and in that narrow pass held off for days a massive Persian army threatening to conquer Greece. And as the film shows, Sparta's example did inspire Athens and the other Greek city-states to rally and drive off the Persian invaders. But if the fantasy elements in '300' throw you, here's a guide to tease out the history from the myth. Q. These Spartans drip with testosterone. Were they that tough?
But it was a harsh culture. Sickly babies were discarded, thrown off a cliff outside the city. Children were kept hungry to promote self-sufficiency. And signs of mercy indicated weakness. But -- and here's what the film overlooks -- Sparta's powerful army was not primarily designed to combat outside enemies. It was the enemy within - the massive number of slaves kept in Sparta, threatening constantly to revolt -- that most concerned the Spartan military. Those slaves, ironically, made possible the Spartan culture (and that of Athens as well.) Slaves worked as the butchers, bakers, and candlestick makers, allowing free Greeks to follow their bliss, whether that be military training, art, or philosophizing. Q. Slaves? I thought the Greeks were fighting for freedom, and
only the Persians kept slaves. The truth is a lot more complicated. The widespread use of slaves shows that the Greek concept of freedom was limited to a select group. And when the Spartan army wasn't bravely battling Persians, they were often threatening their Greek neighbors. The Persians, on the other hand, far from being sissies, were fierce warriors who had conquered Asia Minor. And they were acknowledged by most to be fairly merciful overlords of the regions they ruled. Yet a deeper truth lurks behind the film's simplistic message. Greek city-states like Athens were the first in the world to experiment with that radical new form of government called democracy. Had the Persians conquered them, those ideas, and much of Greek culture, might have gotten snuffed out before it reached its full flowering. Q. Leonidas, the Spartan king, has a wife as tough as he is.
Did they exaggerate that? In the film, Leonidas's wife sends him off to Thermopylae with the bracing command, "Come back with your shield, or on it." We don't know if she actually said that to him, but it was the traditional line Spartan mothers gave to their sons as they marched off to fight. Q. Any other lines that are historically accurate? "Good," one Spartan replies. "Then we will fight in the shade." Best. Line. Ever. The filmmakers thought so too, since they used it twice. Q. The Spartan helmets look cool, but did they really go to
war wearing helmets and little else? And speaking of the Spartans' masculinity, Herodotus provides an amusing detail. Before the battle, Persian scouts were puzzled to see the Spartans taking the time to "comb out their long hair." It was a typical Spartan battle preparation, but the film left it out. Funny. Q. What's a good source for more on Thermopylae? And you know, I think Herodotus would have liked '300.' His story teems with the same blood and guts, glory and horror shown in this film, and he too wasn't above twisting some details to spin a better yarn. Probably, like most of the film's intended audience, he'd brush off my snarky comments and enjoy the film. I mean, dude. There're heads getting chopped off, here. Pass the popcorn. Cathy Schultz, Ph.D., teaches at the University of St. Francis in Illinois and writes a syndicated column on historical films. Column as it appeared in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer: 3/10/07
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