The movie 300 is one of the worst perpetrators of this. Though I guess tbf it’s argued that the movie is just the storytelling of the Spartan who Leonidas told to return to Sparta
Gonna second the other two comments, but I think its worth remembering that the warrior society of Sparta likely never existed. People didnt start talking about the indomitable martial society of Sparta until, like, 300 years after the nation of Sparta stopped existing. Contemporary accounts seem to tell that Spartan society looked pretty similar to other Greek states at the time, except they actually trained their soldiers. For example, the agoge now has a reputation as the brutal training ground where Spartan boys became men, but contemporary accounts say that their boys were not just trained in martial arts but also in hunting, dancing, singing, reading and writing, and rhetoric. It wasnt until the roman empire gave them a tourist industry that they started playing up the “legendary honorable warrior culture” angle, partially as a conservative movement calling to return to the good old days where men were real men.
Its not even close to how it actually happened either. From the geography of that specific area to the pace and events that take place, almost none of it is based on history.
My ‘favorite’ is when the hyper-eugenic proto-Nazi Spartan king is very kind and accommodating towards someone who was disabled and supposed to be murdered at birth, as hyper-eugenic proto-Nazi leaders are known to be, of course! Or when the Persian monarch is depicted as some despotic demigod when in reality Persia was probably the more tolerable of the two polities. Or when the much larger contributions of other Greek city-states were brushed off with a little casual mid-2000s homophobia and like two scenes of screentime. Or when there’s a complete absence of the ~80% of literal fucking slaves who let the Spartan polity function, so we can maintain the “GOOD Spartans, BAD Persians” narrative for modern audiences. Or when the Persian troops are depicted as literal monsters. Or etc etc etc
The movie 300 is one of the worst perpetrators of this. Though I guess tbf it’s argued that the movie is just the storytelling of the Spartan who Leonidas told to return to Sparta
especially bad, because they make the point to explain why their military was superior, then fight for style points
“You can’t join us, we don’t break formation.”
[immediately breaks formation]
That movie is 99% style points. with 1% protofascist messaging.
And 1500% Aaaaaaaaaaauuuubbbbbsssss
why are conservative themed movies the most homoerotic things on the planet?
What’s the protofascist message? Don’t remember the movie too well
Gonna second the other two comments, but I think its worth remembering that the warrior society of Sparta likely never existed. People didnt start talking about the indomitable martial society of Sparta until, like, 300 years after the nation of Sparta stopped existing. Contemporary accounts seem to tell that Spartan society looked pretty similar to other Greek states at the time, except they actually trained their soldiers. For example, the agoge now has a reputation as the brutal training ground where Spartan boys became men, but contemporary accounts say that their boys were not just trained in martial arts but also in hunting, dancing, singing, reading and writing, and rhetoric. It wasnt until the roman empire gave them a tourist industry that they started playing up the “legendary honorable warrior culture” angle, partially as a conservative movement calling to return to the good old days where men were real men.
Big Joel, a YouTuber, covers some of it: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hEMqTPUWXqw&pp=ygUMYmlnIEpvZWwgMzAw
give it a rewatch, tell me if you notice them.
Its not even close to how it actually happened either. From the geography of that specific area to the pace and events that take place, almost none of it is based on history.
My ‘favorite’ is when the hyper-eugenic proto-Nazi Spartan king is very kind and accommodating towards someone who was disabled and supposed to be murdered at birth, as hyper-eugenic proto-Nazi leaders are known to be, of course! Or when the Persian monarch is depicted as some despotic demigod when in reality Persia was probably the more tolerable of the two polities. Or when the much larger contributions of other Greek city-states were brushed off with a little casual mid-2000s homophobia and like two scenes of screentime. Or when there’s a complete absence of the ~80% of literal fucking slaves who let the Spartan polity function, so we can maintain the “GOOD Spartans, BAD Persians” narrative for modern audiences. Or when the Persian troops are depicted as literal monsters. Or etc etc etc
It’s also weird that the Spartan council of elders was all old, deformed guys. Like, what were they still doing around?
Wouldn’t even get a gravestone for being such cowards to LIVE to OLD AGE, smh
I mean, tbf, the real Spartans sucked at fighting too, so…
Aristodemus was his name!