Ayoi's

Last nite, courtesy of wifey, both of us watch 300 at TGV KLCC. The movie is great (ok minus some monkeys in the cinema who can’t keep quiet, sometimes school holidays are not that good). OK here’s my review..

300 is basically based on the Battle of Thermopylae where 300 Spartans lead by their king named Leonidas played by Gerrad Buttler try to stop Persian king called Xerxes from conquering Sparta. For a little bit of history, this is an era long after the Trojan War where spartan were the decendant of Menelaus, the younger brother of Agammemnon (remember the movie called Troy?)

Actually spartan has been into many battles and that’s why at the opening of the movie you can see how the spartan only let a healthy nearly perfect baby to live where any handicapped will be thrown away/killed. When the boy reached 10 years old or more, he will be thrown out of the city to learn on survival. The boy that u’ll see along the movie opening is the Sparta future king, Leonidas.

Ain’t much fun being a spartan

The Persian, after successfuly suppressed the Ionic revolt, look into Greece in order to search their earth and water (expansion of their empire laaa). They ask the cities in Greece to surrender and had their messenger killed at Athens (thrown into the barathron pit) and also at Sparta (Thrown into a well). In 490BC the Persian lead by King Darius attacked Athens but defeated. In 480BC Xerxes the son of Darius lead a large army to attack Sparta.

So Battle of Thermopylae (Thermopylae also known as Hot Gateway because of the existance of several hot water springs) occured during 480BC. Thermopylae or Hot Gateway chosen because this narrow pass is the only passage to Sparta and Greece. Like in the movie where King Leonidas said “A place where the number doesn’t count” This battle is special due to the overmatched combined Greece force of 4000 men (including 300 spartans) held off advancing Xerxes force that is so large that their arrows will conceal the sun.

Jacques-louis-David’s impression of Leonidas and his Spartans at Thermopylae

Zack Snyder impression of Battle of Thermopylae. Not far off IMHO

So great the number of Persian that their arrows conceal the sun

Thermopylae monument

  Enuff of the history, the movie IMHO is one of the best I’ve seen so far. The cinematography, the near similarities with the history/myth/legend (except in the legend Leonidas was the 1st to be killed and fierce fights as the Persian tried to  obtain his body), the casts are great and I am really enjoy the movie

 If you like Troy, Braveheart, LOTR type of movie, 300 is a must for you. Want to know the history of Sparta? Here

p/s: Btw all of this are based on the stories by such as Homer, Herodotus etc. Is persian that brutal eh? And at the end of the movie, you can see that the Greece geared up for another battle with the Persian, but this time Greece with adequate force to claim victory. Led by King Pausanias the battle occured at Plataea hence it was called Battle of Plataea which ended the Greco-Persian War.

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