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fheiser1
Reviews
The 300 Spartans (1962)
It's always about the Spartans. What about the Thespians?
This is a great movie but it steps into one of my pet peeves, the 700 Thespians. They never get the same press as the Spartans. They died with the Spartans, citizen soldiers and professional warriors fighting side by side for the freedom of others. If you want drama, pathos and tragedy, the story of some sculptor, farmer or smithie with a comfortable life, a wife, kids and a career sacrificing himself for freedom would impress me a lot more than a professional warrior taught to treat life with contempt from the earliest age.
Not that I'd call Sparta a "free" state. Democracy does not equal freedom. Yes they did elect their governing council but free states don't take your male children from you at age 7 to turn them into killing machines, don't murder slaves as a rite of passage and don't kill imperfect babies as a matter of law. The slaves in Sparta (the Helots) outnumbered the citizens by a wide margin and could never become citizens themselves. Even those who became emancipated (but still could never be citizens) were held in contempt and fear and were often massacred. Sparta lived in perpetual fear of a Helot revolt.
The Thespians were a free people who worshiped Eros and the Muses and lacked a warrior class. Their version of "slavery" was closer to indentured servitude where you had legal rights and could earn your freedom. Thespia was burned despite the sacrifice of its people at Thermopylae. The survivors still managed to muster another 1800 for the final battle at Plataea.
Incidentally, there were about 5-7000 Greek troops total. It was realistic that such a force could have held the pass indefinitely. Most were dismissed when the Persians threatened to surround them. The Spartans and Thespians remained behind to cover their retreat. (Apparently some Thebans also stayed behind but surrendered before the final battle.)