Blog Number 91 - Epitaph for the '300' Spartans

Here is a plaque of the translated epitaph for the fallen 300 Spartiates of Thermopylae. The image is based on the fallen Greek warrior statue in Blog Number 90.

Blog Number 90 - Dying Greek warrior

Whenever I see this sculpture of the dying Greek warrior, I always think of the fallen heroes of Thermopylae. This image is of the warrior from the East pediment of the temple of Aphaia at Aegina from the beginning of the 5th Century B.C.

Blog Number 89 - Herodotus - The first author of '300'

Here's an image of a nice set of books of Herodotus' 'Histories' which are around 50 years old. While Frank Miller's '300' is an entertaining account of the Battle of Thermopylae, I feel that one must read Book 7 of Herodotus' work since his is the original account of the battle.

By reading this version by the 'Father of History', one can develop a more accurate understanding of the reasons for the battle and its aftermath.

Blog Number 88 - Another statue of King Leonidas of the '300' Spartans

Here's another statue of King Leonidas that I have collected over the years and what I have found most interesting is that all the statues show this most famous of Spartan warriors without his armor.

Is this why Frank Miller has portrayed the Spartans without armor in the '300' comics???

Blog Number 87 - Statue of King Leonidas of the '300' Spartans

Here's an image of one of the statues of King Leonidas of Sparta that I have collected over the years. This one was purchased in Greece and is one of my favorites.

Blog Number 86 - Frank Miller '300' signed limited edition lithograph

Here is the 'creme de la creme' of my Frank Miller '300' collection; the Dark Horse limited edition lithograph of King Leonidas of Sparta signed by both the author Frank Miller and Lynn Varley, who colored the illustrations. This is a true rarity since only 300 were individually signed and numbered by Miller and Varley.

It measures 30 inches horizontally, by 23 inches vertically and since Miller & Varley don't sell their original artwork, this lithograph has become a prized collectible. The way I look at is, if the '300' movie is a smash, which I believe it will be, these lithographs will appreciate even more in value.

Blog Number 85 - King Leonidas' personal bodyguard, the '300' Spartans

When King Leonidas and his personal bodyguard marched to Thermopylae in 480 B.C., he would have 'under normal circumstances' been accompanied by the Hippeis. However, since these 300 Spartans had to have a male heir, the royal bodyguard of King Leonidas that fought and died at Thermopylae must have consisted of a combination of Hippeis and other Spartan hoplites since not all the Hippeis had produced a male heir.

Blog Number 84 - Hippeis - The '300' finest of Sparta

Since all Spartan males served in the military, there was no higher honor than to be a part of the elite unit known as the Hippeis, which was the King of Sparta's personal bodyguard. This unit was comprised of the 300 best Spartiati warriors who were held in the highest esteem, which probably would be the equivalent today to the SAS of Australia, the Delta Force of the USA, etc.

According to Plutarch, when the Spartan hoplite Paedaretus wasn't chosen as a member of the Hippeis, he left cheerfully remarking that he was glad that Sparta had 300 warriors better than himself.

Blog Number 83 - Australian reenactment group of the '300' Spartans

Here is a fantastic image of an Australian reenactment group from Melbourne, Victoria named 'The Ancient Hoplitikon of Melbourne'. This close-up photo shows what the Persian army will encounter in Frank Miller's '300'; an impenetrable phalanx of crimson-cloaked 300 Spartan warriors with their Corinthian helmets and 8 foot spears.

I have included several other images of the group headed by one of my fellow Greek-Australian mates Athanasios Porporis. I hope you like this image and the others on my other blog as it is very accurate as to the appearance of the Greek warriors that the Persians faced at Thermopylae in 480 B.C.

Since the Melbourne hoplites don't have a website, I will forwarding feedback to them from this blog and the King Leonidas and the 300 Spartans of Thermopylae blog.

Blog Number 82 - Advantages & disadvantages of the '300' Spartans' helmets

While this image is not of the Battle of Thermopylae, it does show the phalanx which is the formation that would have been used by King Leonidas and the 300 Spartiates in this battle. Of particular interest is the piper, who set the cadence for the intricate manuevers that were used by the Spartans.

The advantage of the Corinthian style helmet was that it completely enclosed the head, while the disadvantage was that it resulted in the hoplite's vision and hearing being restricted. Therefore, the piercing notes of the pipe were used to instruct the Spartans into the formation and the tactics that were to be employed.

Thanks to Miyuki & Sadieanne!

Blog Number 81 - The site of the final stand of the '300' Spartans & 700 Thespians

Here is an image from the Peter Connolly book, entitled 'Greece and Rome at War' which shows the site of the last stand of the Spartan and Thespian defenders.

After King Leonidas was killed, the remaining Greek defenders were able to extricate his body from the Persians after very heavy fighting. With the Spartan king's body in their possession, the remaining hoplites withdrew to this hillock where they were eventually overwhelmed by the Persian archers. This hillock was identified as the site of the last stand when hundreds of arrows were recovered during an archaeological expedition before World War II.

In Blog Number 77, the image which was included was that of the battlefield taken from the vantage point of the last stand. The site of the last stand which is pictured above was to the south of the fighting which took place in the previous two days.

Blog Number 80 - Creature Effects, Inc. to supply FX for '300'

I was able to confirm yesterday that Mark Rappaport's company, Creature Effects, Inc. will be creating the special effects for the Frank Miller, Battle of Thermopylae film '300'. After looking at the pages on the aforementioned website, especially the make-up page, I was amazed at how an actor can be transformed into his/her alter ego.

The metamorphosis of Andrew Tiernan into the character Ephialtes will be the most interesting, especially when you see how he appears in Blog Number 73.

Blog Number 79 - King Leonidas' Corinthian helmet in Frank Miller's '300'?

Here I go again, going out on a limb again because there is so little information coming out of the '300' camp. For example, as of this day we still don't know the roles that David Wenham and Dominic West will be playing and they were named to the cast months ago! Occasionally, someone involved in the movie in some capacity will anonymously leave a comment for which I am extremely grateful.

The only analogy I can use is, I've got the borders of the jigsaw puzzle completed, however, I'm missing the majority of the pieces and once in a while I'll find one here and there. To illustrate this point, several weeks ago, a source let me know that the Spartans wouldn't have crests on their helmets as illustrated in the Frank Miller comics. He hadn't seen Gerry Butler in his helmet, therefore, he couldn't let me know if there would be a crest on the helmet of King Leonidas.

I know, I know, what's the big deal, right? Well, one of the criticisms of 'The 300 Spartans' was why did Richard Egan and the cast of the Spartans that had speaking roles have different helmets than the rest of the extras that had non-speaking parts? The answer is: how were you going to identify the stars if they weren't easily recognizable? This brings us to '300' and why I believe that King Leonidas (Gerry Butler) and several of his subordinates will be wearing a helmet which is different than the rest of the cast.

Where is the Cobra when you need him???

Blog Number 78 - An illustration of the final day of the '300' Spartans

This is a fantastic illustration from Peter Connolly's book 'Greece and Rome at War' which shows the start of battle on the final day of Thermopylae. When it became apparent to King Leonidas that the Greek forces would be surrounded, he led the remaining troops to the widest part of the pass so that he could inflict the greatest amount of casualties. It was during this part of the battle that he ended dying and for which both the Greeks and Persians fought bitterly to take possession of his body.

There will be many memorable scenes in this movie and I believe that the final day of Thermopylae will be one of Gerry Butler's shining moments in '300'.

Blog Number 77 - The present day Thermopylae of Frank Miller's '300'

Here is an image from Peter Connolly's book 'Greece and Rome at War' which shows how Thermopylae looks today and how it has changed dramatically. According to Herodotus, the ancient coastline would have been to the right of the modern road, which have made the pass about 50 feet wide.

For comparative purposes, I reference the painting by Stanley Meltzoff included in Blog Number 24 as the reason for being a proponent of CGI. If you look to the background of the Meltzoff image, it will illustrate how narrow the pass of Thermopylae was and how few men could actually traverse the pass at a given time. Therefore, Zack Snyder and the technicians involved will be able to recreate the battlefield so that it resembles the terrain as how it appeared in 480 B.C. which will be one of the benefits of computer-generated imagery.

Thanks Sadieanne!

Blog Number 76 - Pronunciation of Xerxes' name in Frank Miller's '300'

Since my last several blogs have been about Xerxes, the King of Persia, I thought it would be appropriate to list his name phonetically for those who haven't seen 'The 300 Spartans'. While the aforementioned movie had several different pronunciations of King Leonidas' name, Xerxes' name was pronounced consistently throughout.

Phonetically, the pronunciation is Zer-xees and as I mentioned in my last blogs, the Persian king will be portrayed by Brazilian actor Rodrigo Santoro.

Thanks, Lori

Blog Number 75 - Brazilian actor Rodrigo Santoro as Xerxes in Frank Miller's '300'

Once Scottish actor Gerard Butler was announced as having been chosen to play King Leonidas in Frank Miller's '300', I wondered what actor would portray his nemesis, King Xerxes of Persia. I had read a Zack Snyder interview where he said that they had worked on a model of Ephialtes that conformed to the comic book version, which meant that if they stayed consistent, the appearance of the characters would conform to Frank Miller's illustrations.

Which brings us to the character of King Xerxes! One of the interesting names that I had seen being thrown around by the Frank Miller fans as to whom they wanted to play Xerxes was that of Laurence Fishburne who played Morpheus in the Matrix trilogy and who did resemble the Miller illustration. Another choice mentioned was that of Obed Fehr who played Ardeth Bey in 1999's 'The Mummy', however, in my opinion, he looked more like David Farrar's Xerxes in 'The 300 Spartans'.

Then out of nowhere came the announcement that Brazilian actor Rodrigo Santoro had been cast as Xerxes. If you had noticed the announcements so far, each of the actors had either an English/Scottish/Irish/Australian accent. However, for those who have reservations about Santoro, his accent in 'Love Actually' should dispel any qualms about whether or not he will be able speak like the rest of the cast.

Blog Number 74 - Xerxes in Frank Miller's '300'

The character in Frank Miller's '300' that I found the most intriguing next to Ephialtes was that of Xerxes, the king of Persia. It wasn't King Leonidas for the reason that Frank Miller's version of the King of Sparta encompassed all the virtues that I had seen in 'The 300 Spartans' and in all of the books that I had read. Specifically, it was the illustrations of Xerxes which made me take notice and while they weren't as startling as the appearance of Ephialtes, they differed greatly from the images of the Persian king that I had seen.

It was a combination of the shaved head, body piercings and the Nubian-like appearance which seemed so enthralling. Once again, I was perplexed as to why Frank Miller had taken a character so deeply ingrained in the psyche of those of us who had seen the movie 'The 300 Spartans' and radically altered his appearance.

The only theory that I could come up with was that since Xerxes led an army comprised of 46 nations spread over three continents, his appearance was a composite of the multicultural forces that he commanded.

Blog Number 73 - Ephialtes in Frank Miller's '300'

It was reported several weeks ago that the role of Ephialtes would be played by British actor Andrew Tiernan. Zack Snyder who is the director of '300' said in an interview last year that they had worked on a maquette that looked exactly like the character as illustrated by Frank Miller. Therefore, we can only assume that Ephialtes will appear as he does in this image and that Andrew Tiernan will have to endure hours sitting in a chair while they prep him for all the prosthetics and makeup.

Let's not forget the artists whose skills prepare the actor so that they appear according to the director's vision. Even the most subtle application of sweat, dirt, blood, etc. provides the realism which is needed. It is almost too easy to see the character as a 'finished product' and to forget the hundreds of hours that are spent getting the characters ready for how they will appear on camera.

I tip my hat off to the artists behind the scenes and hope that some of their magic is made available as extras on the DVD!

Blog Number 72 - An illustration of the '300' Spartans at Thermopylae

Here is an image of the Battle of Thermopylae by the renowned illustrator J. Steeple Davis. This illustration reflects the vantage point of the Persian army and while the landscape depicted is incorrect, it does provide that claustrophobic feeling that must have been prevalent amongst the warriors on both sides. The Pass of Thermopylae was chosen as the battlefield by Greece because according to Herodotus it was approximately 50 feet wide in 480 B.C., which would have reduced the effectiveness of the much larger enemy force.

With CGI, the landscape of the battlefied at Thermopylae can be duplicated so that it looks like it did 2,500 years ago which would be phenomenal!

Blog Number 71 - A different illustration of death of the Persian messengers in Frank Miller's '300'

Here is an image of a print illustrated by J. Steeple Davis which is similar to Frank Miller's version from Blog Number 70. While they are depicting the same event, it is difficult to say which one I prefer. Is it the b&w Davis illustration or the Frank Miller version which was colored by Lynn Varley and included in the previous blog?

Blog Number 70 - Death of the Persian messengers in Frank Miller's '300'

In Blog Number 55, Frank Miller talked about how even though he took some creative liberties when writing '300', part of it was based on fact. To illustrate this point, here is the image of the Persian ambassador being thrown into the well by King Leonidas. This was the response by the Spartan king in '300' when he was asked for earth and water which were symbols of submission.

According to Herodotus, heralds were not sent to Sparta and Athens by Xerxes as was the case a decade earlier. When Xerxes' father Darius had sent his emissaries to Sparta and Athens before the invasion of Marathon in 490 B.C. they had been thrown into a well by the Spartans and a pit by the Athenians.

I wonder if this is the derivation of 'Don't kill the messenger', probably not, though!

Blog Number 69 - Unconfirmed report on the filming location of Frank Miller's '300'

One of the nice features of Blogger is that it allows readers to leave comments which I always appreciate since it invariably provides me with an idea or two for my next blog. I've also received comments from others who have let me know before it was announced that Andrew Pleavin would be portraying Daxos (the leader of the Arkadians) and that the Spartans would be portrayed without crests on their helmets, etc.

Several weeks ago, I received an anonymous comment which an individual left on Blog Number 49 which stated that '300' would be filmed at Mel's Cité du Cinéma. It was extensively reported by the Canadian media and other outlets that Ben Stiller's 'Night at the Museum' was to be filmed in Montreal at Mel's, however, that never came to fruition because Stiller's filming location changed to Vancouver. This could also account for the initial reports which turned out to be erroneous that '300' was to be filmed in Vancouver, however, it was later learned that '300' began filming in Montreal. Could this have been a classic case of mistaken locations? '300' went from being filmed in Vancouver to Montreal and 'Night at the Museum' from Montreal to Vancouver. Very interesting!!!

A search revealed that Mel's is a sprawling complex of studios and facilities spread out over different locations. Therefore, in all probability, director Zack Snyder, Gerry Butler and all those involved in the filming of Frank Miller's '300' could still be in one of the Mel's locations. Of course the $64,000 question is 'Which one?'

Blog Number 68 - The '300' Spartans and the 700 Thespians

The military precision and effectiveness of the Spartan phalanx combined with the tenacity of the Spartan warriors which had been instilled since their youth, made Sparta the preeminent warrior state in Ancient Greece. It was this reputation that preceded the 300 Spartans before they arrived at Thermopylae and which together with their heroic self-sacrifice in 480 B.C. became part of the Spartan legend.

In '300', Frank Miller mentions the Thespian warriors and other Greek hoplites that fought at Thermopylae and while the Thespian contribution to Thermopylae has not been totally overlooked, it has been easier to minimize because of the overwhelming Spartan superiority as described above.

What should be known is that the city of Thespiae sent the majority of her army which was comprised of 700 hoplites and who together with the remaining Spartans fought to the bitter end at Thermopylae. For this action, the city of Thespiae received the same fate as the city of Athens by being burned to the ground.

Therefore, my belief is that the Thespians should be held in the highest esteem as the Spartan fallen. After all, they were given an opportunity to leave, however, they distinguished themselves by remaining to fight and die with the remaining Spartan heroes.

Blog Number 67 - Another image of armor worn by the '300' Spartans

Here is another fantastic illustration from John Warry's book entitled 'Warfare in the Classical World'. This warrior has a transverse crest on his helmet which was believed to signify that the hoplite was either a king or an officer of the Spartiates.

When I read first '300', what struck me was that only King Leonidas' helmet had a crest and the other Spartans didn't. It was confirmed by COBRA that the Spartans in the cast will not have a crest on theirs! I'm still waiting for those photos mate (300blogspot@comcast.net)! Cheers!!!

Blog Number 66 - CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) in Frank Miller's '300'

I recently read that the budget for Frank Miller's '300' is $70 million instead of the $60 million which had been originally reported. Was Zack Snyder provided an additional $10 million to the budget, or does he still only have the $60 million that he had been allotted? Either way, since the stylized 'Sin City' was in the $40 million range, it boggles the mind to think what can be done with $60 million, let alone $70 million!

There can be no replacement for filming at the actual location of Thermopylae, however, this is unfeasible now because the landscape has changed so much in over 2,500 years. It would also be impracticable to feed and to provide uniforms to a thousand, let alone, hundreds of thousands of extras. The logistics and cost alone would rival those of the Persian army amassed by Xerxes in 480 B.C.

Therefore, I believe that CGI is the solution to the aforementioned dilemma. All the artists and technicians involved will be able to duplicate the landscape and the huge Persian army with no problem whatsoever!!!

Blog Number 65 - Filming dates for Frank Miller's '300'

According to the Montreal Film Resources, the filming dates for Frank Miller's '300' are from October 17, 2005 through January 25, 2006 and will be shot mainly in CGI.

Blog Number 64 - The Stax Report's review of Michael Gordon's draft of Frank Miller's '300'

The last four blogs that I have posted have all made reference to Stax's review of the Michael Gordon adaptation of Frank Miller's '300'. While I have commented on several of the scenarios which appeared in the draft and which I hope come to fruition, the truth of the matter is that they probably won't see the light of day. Here's to wishful thinking, since as Stax mentioned to me the other day, Zack Snyder and Kurt Johnstad had written a new script which is being used for the movie.

I thought that I should provide the link to Stax's review so that you could see that Michael Gordon had some pretty good ideas. I still feel that because of the genesis of several characters and scenes that at least some part of Gordon's draft has been encompassed within the Snyder/Johnstad framework.

Blog Number 63 - Zack Snyder's script for Frank Miller's '300'

When Zack Snyder was interviewed last year he said that '300' would have more 'girl-power'. On the surface, this seemed to detract from Frank Miller's version of the events on the Battle of Thermopylae, however, this only reinforces my opinion that the story will encompass much more than 300 Spartan warriors fighting against the Persian army.

Let us go under the assumption that Michael Gordon's second draft as reviewed in the Stax Report is indicative of the role that Lena Headey will assume as Gorgo, the Queen of Sparta. It will differ greatly from the part played by the Greek actress Anna Synodinou in 'The 300 Spartans' who even though majestic in her appearance, was relegated to few lines of dialogue.

Blog Number 62 - More thoughts on Michael Gordon's draft of Frank Miller's '300'

Last year, the Stax Report posted a review of Michael Gordon’s draft which was based on the Frank Miller Battle of Thermopylae comic book series ‘300’. This draft was superceded by director Zack Snyder & Kurt Johnstad’s version, however, since credit is still being given to the author of the original draft, I believe that Snyder & Johnstad probably retained the integrity of several of the passages along with the development of several of the characters as first written by Gordon.

In the original draft, Artemis who is the ‘Captain’, is the father of the young Spartan warrior Stelios (Stumblios) and the brother to King Leonidas. Therefore, as I mentioned in my previous post, there are several nuances which I hope they keep for the following reason.

According to Herodotus, there were two Spartan warriors who survived the Battle of Thermopylae. Also, in the 1962 movie, ‘The 300 Spartans’ the Spartan warrior Phylon who is the fiancé of King Leonidas’ niece Ellas, is the sole survivor of the battle since he is ordered to carry a message back to Sparta.

I know I’m taking a chance here, however, as an homage to the movie ‘The 300 Spartans’ which was the inspiration for Frank Miller’s ‘300’, I believe that Michael Fassbender who plays Stelios will be the one Spartan warrior who survives the battle. It will befitting as a conclusion to the movie, to show the battle hardened Stelios leading other Spartiates at Plataea and avenging his father and uncle’s death.

Do you think any of the 300 Spartans will survive?