Thermopylae movie- "300"

SearchAndDestroy,

No such thing as Greece back then? I thought they recognized that they were all of the same stock and recognized the lands they were in? Wouldn't that say the region was Greece? Thats a serious question because I have always thought, even though they were Nation states, they recognized the Region they all lived in.

There was no Greece (or Hellas) back then as a country, the way we see countries today. Ancient Greeks (i.e. ancient Hellenes) had their own city states (e.g. Athens, Sparta, Corinth, Thebes etc.). However, they did consider themselves as Hellenes/Greeks and their lands as Hellas/Greece. They did recognize that they were all of the same stock, as they were speaking the same language, worshiping the same gods, had common customs and habits and also considered themselves to have common blood (descent from Hellen, son of Deucalion, see later on my post). The best "proof" that they were aware of their "Greekness" were the Olympic Games, where only Greeks could participate.

lol, I just read up on Greek people, and I used wikipedia, so I don't know how much is true. But it seems Hellene, Greek, and Achaeans come from mythology. It sounds like the Greeks are supposed to be from southern Italy, is that how it would have arrived in the English language from Romans? I'm just making a stretch here, but if the Romans met the Southern Greeks/Hellenes first, and took that name to describe all those of the same culture, would that explain those in the Hellas being called Greeks? lol Sorry if it's confusing, it's confusing to me too. But if you know more on the subject then I do, then maybe you'll see what connection I'm making if any?

Yes, you are making the right connection. OK let's start from the beginning. According to Greek mythology, Hellen was the patriarch/father of the Greeks. He was father of Aeolus, Xuthus and Dorus. The latter guys were the founders of the main Greek tribes. You mentioned the Achaeans f.e. Those guys did not come from mythology, they were a real Greek tribe . I see what you mean though; yes, in mythology, Achaeus was Hellen's grandson and founder of the Achaeans.
Here's a wiki link  in case you want to learn more about the genealogy of the Greeks. Click on the names there.
Now why do you call us Greeks instead of Hellenes? You pretty much guessed it. From wiki again:
"Greeks (Γραικοί) - In mythology, Graecus was the brother of Latinus and nephew to Hellen. It was the name of a Boeotian tribe that migrated to the Italian peninsula in the 8th century BC and probably through contact with natives there brought the term to represent all Hellenes, which then established itself in Italy and in the West in general."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greeks#Names_used_for_the_Greek_people

In the same fashion, middle-easterners call us Yunans (or sth similar) because they first came in contact with the Ionians, one of the main greek tribes.

Hope you're less confused now

Welcome S&D.

And sth else that I forgot to comment on before; about whether Leonidas said "for Greece" or "for your country". I can't know what exactly Leonidas was saying to his men, but it is very likely that he told them sth on the lines of "for Hellenes" (i.e. for Greeks) or "for the freedom of our people".
What Spartans did, they didn't do it only for Sparta, but for Greeks in general. The same goes for other Greeks as well. They all united and fought  the Persians together.
Don't forget that Sparta is quite far from Thermopylae. The Persians would have to sack the cities in Attika and Boeotia first, then fight the Greeks (mainly Peloponneseans) in the Isthmus of Corinth and finally enter Peloponnese and head for Sparta. So the Spartans could plan (together with their allies) to stop the Persians at the Isthmus of Corinth. Instead they decided to go all the way to Thermopylae and fight there. For Greece!

Again, it was based on a comic book, not on history. The comic book itself used history for it's setting, and nothing else really.

Iran protest against this movie, this becomes the best  and free commercial promotion.

I found the Spartans to be more of the barbarians in the movie. From the killing of the wounded to the stacking of the bodies in a wall it seemed never ending. By the ending of the movie it really irritated me that they kept talking about liberty and freedom yet at the beginning of the movie they were tossing baby's off a cliff if they weren't good enough to be a Spartan. Or sending their young ones out into the wilderness to survive or die type ordeal. Not much freedom there for the baby.

I think that this was one of the points of the comic book. Freedom doesn't always mean everyone has a choice, freedom in this context means free to do as they wish, without the permission of an overlord. Who cares if their society was more authoritarian than Persia proper. It was "their" society, and they weren't going to let anyone else control it. For example how Leonidas refuses to obey the Ephors demands.

And again to re-iterate.

Again, it was based on a comic book, not on history. The comic book itself used history for it's setting, and nothing else really.

It is a fantasy work based on a historical event. Like Harry Turtledove's Darkness series. Or even Braveheart, it takes a historical event and then sensationalizes it. Frank Miller kept the Battle of Thermopylae accurate when it suited the plot of the story, and inaccurate when it did not suit the plot. Overall, I enjoyed the symbolism of the movie.

And if you think I'm defending the spartocentric view you'd be wrong, all of my friends said we would have totally joined up with the "Persians" in the film. Of course we would for obvious reasons be bringing up the rear.

Oh I love this movie, I just watched it. It is so funny u know. it is almost the same with gladiator movie, becouse after each time u have more stronger and fancier enemy attackeng. Also those immortals, they looked like Ninjas rather than Persian immortals. I wondered why Spartans didnt wear a body armor?? Wasnt the budget enough?

Oh, I cannot wait to see it. Do you believe it is actually still not out yet over here? Sucks big time!

Oh, just paste on a fake goatee...

Edited by Aelfgifu - 22-Mar-2007 at 06:25

Originally posted by xi_tujue they didn't were armor because that inly would slow them down.

Edited by Yiannis - 22-Mar-2007 at 09:01

Originally posted by malizai_  OK i watched the movie, here is my review and my sentiments.   If i was Persian i would be deeply offended. If i was a 'learned' Greek i would be acutely embarrassed.   It was a WTF movie, from beginning to end, and nothing more than a racist taunt. Someone is leeching Greek history.