1. The Battle Of Thermopylae 300
2. 300 Spartans Movie 2010
3. The 300 Spartans

The Battle of the 300 Champions, known since Herodotus' day as the Battle of the Champions, was a battle fought in roughly 546 BC between Argos and Sparta. Rather than commit full armies both sides agreed to pitting 300 of their best men against each other.

Need for speed underground 2 download full version. The Battle of the 300 Champions, known since Herodotus' day as the Battle of the Champions, was a battle fought in roughly 546 BC between Argos and Sparta. Rather than commit full armies both sides agreed to pitting 300 of their best men against each other. Synopsis: A small army of Greeks spearheaded by 300 Spartans do battle with the whole invading Persian army. The true story of the stand made by 300 Spartan soldiers against an entire army of invading Persians is given the Hollywood Cinemascope treatment here in a lushly mounted production featuring a solid if unspectacular cast.

Herodotus[edit]

According to Herodotus^[1] Sparta had surrounded and captured the plain of Thyrea. When the Argives marched out to defend it, the two armies agreed to let 300 champions from each city fight, with the winner taking the territory. Presumably the idea was to reduce the total number of casualties. Both armies marched home, so as to prevent either side from helping their champions and escalating the duel into a full battle.

Neither side would allow for any injured men to be taken. The day called for complete destruction of the enemy force for victory. The two armies were evenly matched and neither could gain the upper hand. They fought until nightfall, and after a bloody battle only three men remained, two Argives and one Spartan. The Argives, Alcenor (Ἀλκήνωρ) and Chromius (Χρομίος), believing that they had killed all of the Spartans, left the battlefield racing home to Argos to announce their victory. However, they had made one mistake: Othryades, an injured Spartan, had survived. As he was technically the last man standing on the battlefield from either army, he too claimed victory. He survived long enough to tell his baggage handlers of this, and then he committed suicide. By tradition, Othryades was ashamed to be the only man in his unit to live, and so he killed himself on the field of battle rather than return to Sparta. The reason for the suicide is up for debate, but the act is of great importance. Othryades did not die by an Argive sword, and the Spartans could always claim that he survived the battle and killed himself in shame, thus gaining an upper hand due to this act of honor.

Both sides were able to claim victory: the Argives because more of their champions had survived, and the Spartans because their single champion held the field. Argos did not take too kindly to the Spartans claiming victory and sent their entire hoplite army which was met by a Spartan force of equal size. The Spartans won a decisive victory and as a result gained control of Thyreatis.

Plutarch[edit]

Parallel Lives[edit]

Plutarch writes in the Parallel Lives that according to Chrysermus (Χρύσερμος) third book of the 'Peloponnesian History', there was a dispute between the Argives and the Lacedemonians about the possession of Thyrea. The Amphictyons said that 300 of each side will fight and the victor will take the land. The Lacedemonians chose Othryades as their captain, and the Argives the Thersander (Θέρσανδρος). The battle was fought, and two Argive hoplites, Agenor (Ἀγήνωρ) and Chromius (Χρόμιος), seemed to be the only survivors. They left the battlefield and went to their city in order to inform their co-citizens about the victory. But in the meantime, Othryades who was not yet dead but heavily injured, raised himself by the help of broken spears. He gathered the shields of the dead, and erected a trophy. He wrote on the trophy with his own blood 'To Zeus the Guardian of Trophies' (Διὶ τροπαιούχῳ). Because there was not clear who was victorious the Amphictyons had to decide and after a personal inspection of the battlefield, gave it for the Lacedemonians.^[2]

On the Malice of Herodotus[edit]

Plutarch writes in the On the Malice of Herodotus what Herodotus mentioned, meaning that Othryades was the only survivor of the Spartan champions, but because he was ashamed to return to Sparta, he slew himself on the spot at Thyrea.^[3]

Pausanias[edit]

Pausanias adds that the battle was foretold by the Sibyl, and that the Argives considered themselves the victors and dedicated a bronze sculpture of the Trojan horse at Delphi to commemorate the victory. However, Pausanias says that the sculptor of this horse was Antiphanes of Argos, who dates to ca. 400 BC. Therefore, either Pausanias is mistaken, or he confused this with a battle at Thyrea in 424 BC.

Lucian[edit]

In the Lucian's 'Charon or Inspectors', the god Hermes say to the Charon that the general who lies there half-dead, writing an inscription on the trophy with his own blood, is Othryades.^[4]

Ovid[edit]

Ovid write in his poem Fasti that if the god Terminus had marked the borders of the Thyrean land, the men would not have died and the name of Othryades would not been read on the piled arms.^[5]

Suda[edit]

The 10th-century Byzantine encyclopedia Suda, write that after the men fought, Othryades (who the Suda call him Othryadas) remained unnoticed among the corpses, heavily wounded. When the Argive survivors Alkenor and Chromios left, he managed to strip the Argive corpses, raise a trophy and write on it with human blood. But after this, he immediately died. Because of this the Spartans won the dispute.^[6]

Greek Anthology[edit]

In the Greek Anthology there are some poems dedicated to the battle and the soldiers participated.^[7][8][9]

Aftermath[edit]

Years later, in 420 BC during a lull in the Peloponnesian War, Argos challenged Sparta to a rematch of the Battle of the 300 Champions. Sparta declined.

References[edit]

1. ^Herodotus, The Histories 1.82
2. ^Plutarch, Parallels Between Greek and Roman Histories, Moralia, 3
3. ^Plutarch, Of Herodotus's Malice, Moralia, 17
4. ^Lucian, Charon or Inspector, 24
5. ^Ovid, Fasti, 2.639
6. ^Suda, omicron, 86
7. ^Greek Anthology Book 7, 7.430
8. ^Greek Anthology Book 7, 7.431
9. ^Greek Anthology Book 7, 7.526

Notes[edit]

The Battle Of Thermopylae 300

1. Paul Cartledge, 'The Spartans: The World of the Warrior-Heroes of Ancient Greece', pp. 87–88.

300 Spartans Movie 2010

The 300 Spartans is a 1962 CinemaScopeepic film^[1] depicting the Battle of Thermopylae. Made with the cooperation of the Greek government, it was shot in the village of Perachora in the Peloponnese. The working title was Lion of Sparta.^[2] It stars Richard Egan as the Spartan king Leonidas, Sir Ralph Richardson as Themistocles of Athens and David Farrar as Persian king Xerxes, with Diane Baker as Ellas and Barry Coe as Phylon providing the requisite romantic element in the film. Greek warriors, led by 300 Spartans, fight against a Persian army of almost limitless size. Despite the odds, the Spartans will not flee or surrender, even if it means their deaths.

When it was released in 1962, critics saw the movie as a commentary on the Cold War,^[3] referring to the independent Greek states as 'the only stronghold of freedom remaining in the then known world', holding out against the Persian 'slave empire'.

Plot[edit]

King Xerxes of Persia leads a vast army of soldiers into Europe to defeat the small city-states of Greece, not only to fulfill the idea of 'one world ruled by one master', but also to avenge the defeat of his father Darius at the Battle of Marathon ten years before. Accompanying him are Artemisia, the Queen of Halicarnassus, who beguiles Xerxes with her feminine charm, and Demaratus, an exiled king of Sparta, to whose warnings Xerxes pays little heed.

In Corinth, Themistocles of Athens wins the support of the Greek allies and convinces both the delegates and the Spartan representative, warrior king Leonidas I, to grant Sparta leadership of their forces. Outside the hall, Leonidas and Themistocles agree to fortify the narrow pass at Thermopylae until the rest of the army arrives. After this, Leonidas learns of the Persian advance and travels to Sparta to spread the news and rally the rest of the troops.

In Sparta, his fellow king Leotychidas is fighting a losing battle with the Ephors over the religious harvest festival of Carnea that is due to take place, with members of the council arguing that the army should wait until after the festival is over before it marches, while Leotychidas fears that by that time the Persians may have conquered Greece. Leonidas decides to march north immediately with his personal bodyguard of 300 men, who are exempt from the decisions of the Ephors and the Gerousia. They are subsequently reinforced by about 700 volunteer Thespians led by Demophilus and few other Greek allies.

After several days of fighting, Xerxes grows angry as his army is repeatedly routed by the Greeks, with the Spartans in the forefront. Leonidas receives word sent by his wife that, by decision of the Ephors, the remainder of the Spartan army, rather than joining him as he had expected, will only fortify the isthmus in the Peloponnese and will advance no further. The Greeks constantly beat back the Persians, and following the defeat of most of his personal bodyguard in battle against the Spartans plus the killing/death of Xerxes' own two brothers, Xerxes begins to consider withdrawing to Sardis until he can equip a larger force at a later date. He prepares to withdraw, as advised by Artemesia (who, having a Greek mother, has her own agenda to dissuade the king from continuing the invasion). Xerxes, however, receives word from the treacherous and avaricious Ephialtes of a secret old goat-track through the mountains that will enable his forces to attack the Greeks from the rear. Promising to richly reward the traitorous goatherd for his betrayal (just as Ephialtes had expected) an emboldened Xerxes sends his army onward.

Once Leonidas realizes he will be surrounded, he sends away the Greek allies to alert the cities to the south. Being too few to hold the pass, the Spartans instead attack the Persian front, where Xerxes is nearby. Leonidas is killed in the melée. Meanwhile, the Thespians, who had refused to leave, are overwhelmed (offscreen) while defending the rear. Surrounded, the surviving Spartans refuse Xerxes's demand to give up Leonidas' body. They are then all annihilated as the remaining Immortals rain down a barrage of arrowfire.

After this, narration states that the Battle of Salamis and the Battle of Plataea end the Persian invasion, but that the Greeks could not have been organized and victorious without the time bought by the 300 Spartans who defied the tyranny of Xerxes at Thermopylae. One of the final images of the film is the stone memorial bearing the epigram ofSimonides of Ceos, which the narrator recites in honour of the slain 300 Spartan men's bravery :

'Oh stranger, tell the Spartans that we lie here obedient to their word.'

Then ends with : '..But it was more than a victory for Greece, it was a stirring example to free people throughout the world of what a few brave men can accomplish once they refuse to submit to tyranny!'

Main cast[edit]

• Richard Egan as King Leonidas of Sparta
• Ralph Richardson as Themistocles of Athens
• Diane Baker as Ellas, daughter of Pentheus
• Barry Coe as Phyllon, Spartan in love with Ellas
• David Farrar as King Xerxes of Persia
• Donald Houston as Hydarnes, leader of the Persian Immortals
• Anna Synodinou as Queen Gorgo of Sparta
• Kieron Moore as Ephialtes of Trachis, farm worker & Greek traitor
• John Crawford as Agathon, Spartan spy and soldier
• Robert Brown as Pentheus, Leonidas' second-in-command
• Laurence Naismith a Greek delegate
• Anne Wakefield as Artemisia, Queen of Halicarnassus
• Ivan Triesault as Demaratus, exiled former King of Sparta
• Charles Fernley Fawcett as Megistias, Spartan priest
• Michalis Nikolinakos as Myron, a Spartan
• Sandro Giglio as Xenathon, a Spartan Ephor
• Dimos Starenios as Samos, a goatherd
• Anna Raftopoulou as Toris, Samos' wife
• Yorgos Moutsios as Demophilus, leader of the Thespians
• Nikos Papakonstantinou as Grellas, a Spartan in Xerxes' camp
• John G. Contes as Artovadus, Persian general
• Marietta Flemotomos as a Greek woman
• Kostas Baladimas as Mardonius, Persian general
• Zannino as Athenian citizen, Persian general

Production[edit]

The battle scenes were shot near the village of Perachora, on the mainland side of the Corinth Canal, as it was impossible to shoot at the actual location in Thermopylae, where 2,500 years of silt had shrunk the Malian Gulf drastically since the battle in 480 BCE, turning the strait where the battle was fought into a broad coastal plain. The Greek Defense Ministry agreed to make available to the producers up to 5,000 members of the Hellenic Army for a pre-negotiated fee. However, the film's budgetary constraints reduced the numbers drawn to only two battalions (approximately 1,100 men). The largest establishing scenes, of the Persian Army entering Greece, utilized many of these soldiers, together with a combined total of several hundred civilian extras, horses, cattle, ox carts, and chariots. For the wider establishing scenes of the battle, one battalion was retained to play both Greeks and Persians. For closer compositions of the fighting and encampments, military extras were called (call-sheeted) by company-size or smaller units, in meeting the specific needs of the day's shooting schedule. Director of Photography Geoffrey Unsworth made good use of the tree groves, which lined the coastal plain aside the Limni Vouliagmeni lagoon, to cover for the obvious deficiency in the number of troops that would have been amassed on the Persian-side of the battle line.^{[citation needed]}

Originally developed as an Italian sword-and-sandal project, the cooperation and blessing of the Greek government allowed the producers to both finance and complete the production on a budget of 500,000 GBP (equivalent to £10,745,341 in 2019) or approximately US$1,350,000 (equivalent to $11,410,396 in 2019), roughly twice for what most Italian peplum films were being made at the time. The 300 Spartans was the last film of Richard Egan's seven-year contract with 20th Century Fox. It was also the last film appearance of David Farrar, who then chose to retire from acting.^{[citation needed]}

Release[edit]

In 1970, despite the attributed Cold War connotations, the film was dubbed in Russian and shown in the USSR. The film proved to be very popular, with 27.1 million total viewers.^[4]

Other adaptions[edit]

• Comic book -Dell Movie Classic: Lion of Sparta (January 1963)^[5][6]
• Novelisation - John Burke - The 300 Spartans Signet, New York; First Printing edition (1962)^[7]

Legacy[edit]

Frank Miller's 1998 graphic novel 300 depicts the same Battle of Thermopylae. The comic artist saw The 300 Spartans as a boy and said 'it changed the course of my creative life'.^[8] In 2006, his book was adapted into a successful film of the same name directed by Zack Snyder.^[9]

See also[edit]

The 300 Spartans

• 300, 2006 film
• 300: Rise of an Empire, 2014 film

References[edit]

1. ^Halliwell, Leslie, Halliwell’s Film Guide, second edition, Granada, London, 1977 p. 881
2. ^'The 300 Spartans (1962): Notes'. Turner Classic Movies.
3. ^Beam, Alex (8 March 2007). 'Meanwhile: Hot times at the 'Hot Gates''. International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 2007-06-03.
4. ^Kinopoisk.ru. Retrieved from http://www.kinopoisk.ru/top/lists/184/film/64043/page/6/#film64043.
5. ^Dell Movie Classic: Lion of Sparta at the Grand Comics Database
6. ^Dell Movie Classic: Lion of Sparta at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
7. ^https://www.amazon.com/300-Spartans-John-Burke/dp/B000MU4J8W%7C
8. ^UnderGroundOnline interviewArchived 2007-03-19 at the Wayback Machine
9. ^Ito, Robert (November 26, 2006). 'The Gore of Greece, Torn From a Comic'. The New York Times.

External links[edit]

• The 300 Spartans on IMDb
• The 300 Spartans (1962) at DBCult Film Institute
• The 300 Spartans! at AllMovie
• The 300 Spartans publicity photos at 300spartanwarriors.com