Thermopylae + Sin City = F*$^%ng Sweet

I browsed back a bit to see if I'd mentioned this, and realized that I dropped the ball. So, here it is. Those responsible for the kick-ass blood fest that was Sin City are making about movie about the infamous Battle of Thermopylae. For those that don't know this tale (probably my fav historial account), a Spartan army realizes it's doomed against the thousands upon thousands (an estimated 2.6 million fighting men, plus support. Some more reasonable estimates extrapolated from earlier accounts of the same man who gave the 2.5 mil number place this number between 500,000 and 1.5 million) of invading Persians. They run back to warn the main forces and organize a defense, leaving 300 elite Spartan troops and a few older men from other nations behind the delay the invading force. These 300 took a stand in a narrow passage between a sheer rock face and a straight drop to the ocean, a pass "so narrow two chariots could barely move abreast. So 300 men against at least a million. 300 men with nothing to do but stare death in the face and hope to delay it long enough to save their country.

Here's where it gets good.

After scouts saw how small the Greek force was, and their naked calestinics, Xerxes (leader of ther Persians) figured they'd just disband, and hung around for 4 days. On day 5, the battle began. The greeks went wall to wall shields, long spears pointed out. This was enough to prevent short spears and arrows from doing any good. Persian armor was also relatively light, which made those long spears good weapons against those who cam in close enough. The Greeks would fake a retreat, then turn around right back in formation. Ancient historians said that the Persian arrows blotted out the sun, but they still got their asses kicked. On day two, Xerxes sent his Persian Immortals to take care of business. The Greeks cleaned their clocks. Things were looking good. The narrow pass made it impossible for the Persians to take advantage of their large numbers, and the Greeks just plain kicked ass. It was looking like this laughable force of 300 soldiers had a shot at winning.

But, of course, there's a bastard in all this. The truely great stories never have the simple good vs. bad conflict. The superb stories also deal with decent from within. A Spartan traiter snuck out and informed the Persians of a secret passage through the mountain that lead around behind the Spartans. The Persians exploited this knowledge, surrouned the enemy, and it was all but over. Still, even when their leader had fallen, the Spartan army fought to the last man to protect his body rather then surrender. Every last Spartan fought to the death, never giving in even when all was hopeless.

The battle was enough for Greece to rally an opposition and ultimately drive out the Persians, using the bravery shown at Thermopylae as inspiration.

Enter Frank Miller, graphic novel writer (Sin City, Batman: Year One, The Dark Knight Returns).

300 is the story of those Spartans who died at Thermopylae. It will use a similiar graphic style as Sin City. The actors even had to endure combat training as the Spartans did back in the day. You can check out the offical site here, including concept art, video diaries, and a production blog. The movie is set to release Spring, 2007.

Sorry if the history lesson bored you. Can you tell I love the story?