Blog Number 40 - Painting of King Leonidas and the '300' Spartans by Jacques-Louis David

The most famous painting of King Leonidas is unquestionably Jacques-Louis David's 'Leonidas at Thermopylae' which David began painting in 1798 and which took a very long time to complete since it took over a decade before it was first exhibited in 1814. King Leonidas of Sparta is depicted in the foreground and seems to be highlighted by bright light while the warriors around him are smaller and a shade darker emphasizing the heroic qualities of the central character in the painting.

What is noticable is that many of the poses and figures used by David referred to classical prototypes which depicted classical warriors in the nude. This became a source of debate during David's time because Leonidas, his 300 Spartiates and the other Greek warriors were clad in armor during the Battle of Thermopylae.

The original painting currently hangs in the Louvre Museum in Paris which is befitting since the artist was of French extraction.

Blog Number 39 - The British Commonwealth of Nations to be well represented in Frank Miller's '300'

After having read that fellow Aussie David Wenham would be in Frank Miller's '300', I noticed that the cast would be comprised of a who's who of British Commonwealth nations.

First off to lead the pack was American born, English raised Sienna Miller who was offered the Queen of Sparta role only to turn it down and have it accepted several months later by countrywoman Lena Headey. Then came the biggest announcement that Scotsman Gerard Butler had accepted the key role as the heroic King Leonidas of the 300 Spartans.

Announcements followed weeks later that the rest of the cast would include Irishman Michael Fassbender, Wales born and Irish raised Vincent Regan, United Kingdom's Dominic West and the aforementioned David Wenham from the 'Land down under'.

Do you think that the '300' should have more of an American flavor, or do you like the fact that the cast will be made up mostly of actors from the U.K.?

Blog Number 38 - Actor from Oz, David Wenham to star in Frank Miller's '300'

It was recently confirmed that Aussie David Wenham will be part of the cast of Frank Miller's '300' tale of the Battle of Thermopylae. However, unbeknownst at this time is the role that he will be playing along with several others who have been announced as being part of the cast. Filming started on Monday October 17th, therefore, word should be arriving pretty shortly as to whom the actors will be portraying.

Do we have any guesses who D.H. will be playing?

Blog Number 37 - Rodrigo Santoro to play Xerxes in Frank Miller's '300'

It was recently announced that several actors had been named to be part of the cast of Frank Miller's '300'. Of these which included Dominic West and David Wenham, the only actor mentioned in a specific role is Rodrigo Santoro who will be playing the part of the King of Persia, Xerxes.

Rodgrigo Santoro's part hasn't been confirmed by the studio, therefore there is always the possibility that this part will be played by somone else. Several months ago Sienna Miller was mentioned as portraying Gorgo, the queen of Sparta, however, that role is now being played by Lena Headey.

Has Santoro's role been confirmed or is this idle chatter?

Blog Number 36 - Why Greece chose Thermopylae as the battlefield in Frank Miller's '300'

In Frank Miller's '300', very little is mentioned as to why the united Greek army spearheaded (no pun intended) by King Leonidas & the 300 Spartans chose to met the Persian army at Thermopylae. Since the Persian army which numbered in the hundreds of thousands entered Northern Greece and traveled southward with the Persian navy providing support along the coastline, it was decided that Thermopylae would be the best line of defense since it was only 50 feet wide at the time in 480 B.C. and therefore could neutralize Xerxes' much larger army.

I have posted an image from 'Blog Number 24' of the Battle of Thermopylae by Stanley Meltzoff and if you would like to see others relative to the battle, please let me know.

Blog Number 35 - My introduction to Frank Miller's '300' comics

I'll never forget the first time I came across Frank Miller's comic book series, '300'. In the late 90's, while surfing the internet to see what information was available about the movie, 'The 300 Spartans', I came across the TFAW.com website which was selling the 5-part series. I had read quite a few books about King Leonidas and the Battle of Thermopylae, therefore, I had to see how it was depicted in comic book form. When I received the comics several days later, I couldn't wait to see if this was an historically accurate re-enactment of the battle. Even though it wasn't, I really enjoyed Frank Miller's version and especially the illustrations by Lynne Varley. I guess the irony is that I never purchased a comic book when I was younger and here I was in my 30's buying my first ones. I guess better late than never!

I'm curious, how old were you when you bought or read them?

Blog Number 34 - '300' Thermopylai (Greek), Thermopylae (Latin)

Occasionally, when readers have delved into the different books relative to King Leonidas and the 300 Spartans, there has been some confusion over the variations in the spelling of the Battle of Thermopylae (Thermopylai). Thermopylai is the Greek transliteration while Thermopylae is the more familiar Latinized version.

The translation of this book in Greek reads 'From Marathon to Thermopylae' and the warrior in the foreground is none other than King Leonidas of Sparta.

Since there aren't that many illustrations of King Leonidas, would there be interest in seeing more?