Watch the film- but there are a treasure trove of great books by Pressfield if you like historical fiction.

All I can say is the movie was just what I expected- graphic violence with surreal effects. Yes- Leonidas (Sparta) vs. Xerxes I (Persia) and the Battle of Thermopylae. 300 appears to be an almost comic-book, souped-up, crazy visual feast (hardly “spartan”) tale of one of the most fascinating battles in history- the Battle of Thermopylae (480 BC) where a group of Greeks stave off the invading Persian army at the pass of Thermopylae (Hot Springs). Mass carnage, hereos, etc emerge.

The Spartans (and Thespians) were outnumbered in a ratio that was nothing more than sheer and utter lunacy- the kind of thing Alexander would have liked I think. Alot of numbers are bandied around, but it is safest to say the Persian army numbered at least 80,000, while the Greek force checked in at about 7,000 at the onset.

If you were Xerxes you had to grin when you came into the pass and saw the odds. What he did not factor in was the Spartan’s grim determination, the terrain, how well the Spartans were equipped, trained and conditioned, the home field advantage, regional nationalism, and the out-right brutal ferocity of the foe. While Xerxes finally went on to smash the band after three days of brutal fighting- it came at a high price. In retrospect the three days delay and the bravery of the Spartans probably provided the morale boost that enabled the halt of the Persian forces.

King Leonidas and his Spartans blocked the only road through which Xerxes I (there is a Xerxes II) could pass. The Spartans might have even lasted a bit longer had not a local traitor, revelaled a mountain path (should have read Sun Tzu?) that enabled him to move troops behind the Greek lines and crush them in a hammer move.

Leonidas stayed behind with 300 Spartans (Thus the film title 300) and 700 Thespian volunteers even though they knew they were doomed to die. This resistance allowed the retreat of the other Greek forces. The Persians succeeded in a rout, but at a great price in both morale and losses.

This pause also gave Athens the critical time to prepare for a naval battle that would come to determine the outcome of the war. Also the subsequent Greek victory in the Battle of Salamis left much of the Persian navy wrecked. Xerxes had to hoof it back to Asia and left his army under Mardonius, who was to meet the combined Greeks in battle to put an end to it. The combined Greeks assembled at full strength and decisively defeated the Persians in the Battle of Plataea. This the end of that expansion into Europe.

If you think about it- the world might be a totally different place without these three-hundred and the bold stand.

Three Monuments…Stones and Stories

Epitaph of Simonides

The original stone has not been preserved. Instead the epitaph was engraved on a new stone erected in 1955.

I’ll stick to Pressfield although many other translations are offered on the text:

“Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by,
that here, obedient to their laws, we lie”
- Steven Pressfield, in Gates of Fire

Leonidas monument

A modern monument, “Leonidas Monument”, was constructed in the 1950’s.

It features a bronze statue of Leonidas. A sign, under the statue, reads simply:
“Come and take them!”.

Thespians monument

In 1997, a second monument was officially unveiled by the Greek government, this one dedicated to the 700 Thespians who fought with the Spartans- I am glad they got a toast in history. Under the statue a sign reads “In memory of the seven hundred Thespians”. Not very stirring, but still they are remembered.

Fun, but fictional, Reading and yes i have read them all with zeal. By far The Virtues of War is the best, but The Battle of Thermopylae and The Last Amazons were excellent in their own way. The Tides of War takes some time to warm up with, but does not dissappoint either. Stack up on all of them- The Virtues of War is an excellent audio CD too.

Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae, by Steven Pressfield.

Depicts the battle as told by a squire of Dienekes- Xeo. He was wounded during the fight, piled under the dead, when found. Xerxes himself presses Xeo to reveal how they held them at bay for almost a week. Xeo, however, begins at the beginning of his own life, when his childhood home in northern Greece was taken over and he escapes to Sparta. There he is drafted into the elite Spartan guard and schooled in the art of war. Spartan miliarty schooling is quite brutal.

“The forerank of the enemy collapsed immediately as the first shock hit it; the body-length shields seemed to implode rearward, their anchoring spikes rooted slinging from the earth like tent pins in a gale. The forerank archers were literally bowled off their feet, their wall-like shields caving in upon them like fortress redoubts under the assault of the ram…. The valor of the individual Medes was beyond question, but their light hacking blades were harmless as toys; against the massed wall of Spartan armor, they might as well have been defending themselves with reeds or fennel stalks.”

Pressfield also wrote: The Virtues of War: A Novel of Macedonian king, Alexander the Great.

This is a fictional account of Alexander The Great and his youth (in Pella) and final demise which was probably in Babylon. The book is great, but I think the Audio CD is far, far better. Pay special attention to the concept of “daimon”.

This book covers his rise after his father Phillip II is knocked off, the gritty Battle at Granicus River, the Siege of Tyros, his march into Assyria where he whips Darius in the incredible Battle of Gaugamela and explores some of his atypical military tactics- and the impact of luck- or fate - depending on how your view.

Alexander, how after Gaugamela, pursues Darius as far as Arbela- loses the trail as one of Darius’ supporters leads him astray (and dies for it). Later he heads to Ecbatana, where Darius is ultimately betrayed by his own (which outrages Alexander) and cast into a ditch.

In this account Alexander actually admires his foe and deeply regrets it when Darius’ own forces turn on him and murder him- Alexander really wanted a friend and felt that if anything Darius could identify with him- or course as long as Darius stepped down and Alexander was top dog. Whether you think Alexander was a genius or a megalomaniac (perhaps both) the story is fast paced, lively, visceral and impossible to put down or stop listening too. While driving, I found myself doing anything to slow down, take extra time, etc because the audio was so compelling.

The Tides of War. Pressfield

The events in The Tides of War take take place after the Gates of Fire novel. Pressfield focuses on the 27-year Peloponnesian War, the story around the loathed, and revered, Athenian soldier Alcibiades.

This tale is told by two narrators. Jason, an older nobel and Polymides, Alcibiades’ right-hand, now in jail for Acibiades’ murder. This book is probably not his best work, and you need to have some working knowledge of Greek history and perhaps a map handy if want to follow the often confusing action. Nevertheless, once you are on the bandwagon you will enjoy it.

As you can see from this quote, Pressfieldexcels in vivid writing:

“As far as sight could carry, the sea stood curtained with smoke and paved with warcraft. Immediately left, a battleship had rammed one of the vessels in the wall; all three of her banks were backing water furiously, to extract and ram again, while across the breach screamed storms of stones, darts, and brands of such density that the air appeared solid with steel and flame.”

Last of the Amazons: Steve Pressfied.

Yet another great read from Pressfield as he explores the hidden culture of the Amazonians. This is really a mind bender.

Lastly the Soundtrack-

To Victory, Fever Dream, Xerxes’ Tent, The Wolf, Returns a King, Submission, The Ephors, Cursed by Beauty, What Must a King Do?, Goodbye My Love, No Sleep Tonight, Tree of the Dead, The Hot Gates, Fight in the shade, Come and Get Them, No Mercy, Immortals Battle, Fever Dream, Tonight we Dine in Hell, The Council Chamber, Xerxes’ Final Ofer, A God King Bleeds, Glory, Message For The Queen, Remember Us.

Greek Resource Center I threw together with neat musical instruments and greek crosses and jewelry.

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