King Leonidas and the 300 Spartans

Two of the greatest words spoken as one of the ultimate symbols of defiance - MOLON LABE - 'Come and get them'.

These words were spoken by King Leonidas at Thermopylae in response to the Persian demand that the Greeks surrender their weapons.

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Even though the Spartans were known for their laconicism, there are quite a few memorable sayings and passages attributed to the citizens of their city-state. One such example can be read via the link below....

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*An image of the Spartans preparing for engagement in the Warner Bros.' movie, "300".

Inspired by the events recorded by the historian, Herodotus during the Battle of Thermopylae (480 BC), it did appeal to a large section of the movie audience, while there were viewers who were disappointed it is lack of historicity.

What was your opinion...did you like or dislike the movie?

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When it was told to the Spartans at the Battle of Thermopylae that there were so many Persian warriors, when they fired their arrows, it would blot out the sun...the reply by this Spartan hoplite was: "Then we shall fight in the shade"

Find out who below: Hint - It was neither King Leonidas nor Stelios from, "300"

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To visualize how the Greek warriors appeared ca. the 5th century BC, I have included images of two Spartan hoplites, the heavily armed warriors who defended the Pass of Thermopylae in 480 BC.

The warrior on the left is most likely an officer of the Spartan army (transverse crest) while the hoplite on the right is wearing the conventional crest on his helmet.

While the lambda (Λ) emblem most likely didn't appear on the Spartan shield until the Peloponnesian War, the illustrations are accurate depictions of the armor they wore.

Attribution - "Warfare in the Classical World" (c) 1980 by John Warry


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An image of Queen Artemisia, portrayed by Eva Green in the Warner Bros.' motion picture, "300: Rise of an Empire".

While the battles of Marathon, Artemisium and Salamis were greatly exaggerated in the movie, the role of Artemisia as the queen of Halicarnassus was where artistic license was embellished beyond incredulity.

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The image below was taken of my lecture at the Center for Hellenic Studies on the University of Connecticut campus...the topic was the elite unit of Spartan warriors chosen to protect their king on the battlefield, which you can read about via the link below.

Attribution: Demitra Hajimihalis

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An extreme close-up of the statue in Sparta of King Leonidas, commander of the 300 Spartans, most of whom died at Thermopylae.

It should be note that two of the Spartiates survived, do you know who they were?

It is a pretty imposing statue of one of the great heroes of Greek history who died in August 480 BC.

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One of the more memorable scenes from the Warner Bros.' movie, "300" - anyone care to fill in the blank....Spartans what is your___ Incidentally, does anyone have the correct spelling of the response by the Spartan warriors?

Based on the last stand at Thermopylae in 480 BC.

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*A scene from the movie, "300" starring Gerard Butler as King Leonidas of Sparta."

Loosely based on the heroic stand at Thermopylae which was fought in August 480 BC, the movie inspired a sequel, "300: Rise of an Empire"

Comments anyone?

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