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