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| Last Stand of the 300 | |
|---|---|
| Written by | David Padrusch Matt Koed |
| Directed by | David Padrusch |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Running time | 91 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | History Channel |
| Release | 2007 |
Last Stand of the 300 is a TV docudrama which premiered on the History Channel in 2007. It was directed by David Padrusch.
In 480 B.C, during the Greco-Persian Wars the Persian Empire led by Xerxes I of Persia fought the Greek city-states forces at the pass of Thermopylae in central Greece. This battle was to become known as the Battle of Thermopylae. The only thing stopping the Persians was an army led by King Leonidas I and his 300 Spartans, considered by many to be the greatest soldiers the world has ever known. Vastly outnumbered, the Greek Spartans held up the Persians advance for three days, until they were overrun by Persian forces. The film also focuses on the lead up to the Battle of Thermopylae revealing that the Greeks might have played a part in the Ionian Revolts in Asia Minor in 499 to 493 B.C. It brings its viewers into understanding ancient warfare when the documentary focuses on the naval battle around Thermopylae, strategic and tactical considerations, and the aftermath of the battle which led to the burning of Athens and Greek victories in battles such as Plataea. It also reveals to those unaware that the Spartans did not fight alone.
Mechanism Digital, one of New York's largest 3D animation studios, produces a large amount of in-show programming for The History Channel, Discovery Channel, and National Geographic, as well as show opens and graphics packages.
In order to present the original topography of Thermopylae as accurately as possible and to recreate the combat experience, Mechanism shot people on green screen and placed them into various CG environments such as the Pass of Thermopylae, Athens, water, and more. Mechanism Digital employed 12 seats of After Effects in an assembly line fashion. They first broke up the edit into individual clips, some of which were only a couple of seconds long. Then they keyed the background green screen. Next, they replaced the background from a library of approved color palettes for each location. "Each palate had been applied with a Magic Bullet preset and then adjusted to further refine the look. We wanted to help people know visually where the scene was taking place and whether they were looking North to South or South to North. Once the palates were completed they were motion tracked (if necessary) and then sent to the render farm. After which, the converted frame sequences were sent compiled into movies," said Lucien Harriot.
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This article concerns the period 489 BC – 480 BC.
Year 480 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Vibulanus and Cincinnatus. The denomination 480 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Ephialtes was a Greek renegade during the Greco-Persian Wars. Born to Eurydemus (Εὐρύδημος) of Malis, he betrayed his homeland and people to the Achaemenid Empire by revealing the existence of a path around the Greek coalition's position at Thermopylae. His efforts allowed the Persian army to overrun the Greeks' defensive formation and thereby win the Battle of Thermopylae in September 480 BCE. Ephialtes had hoped that he would be rewarded by the Persian king Xerxes I, but no such reward was bestowed upon him and he was instead forced to go into hiding when a bounty was placed on his head by the allied Greeks in their pursuit of punishing his act of treason. According to Herodotus, this bounty was collected by Athenades (Ἀθηνάδης) of Trachis approximately a decade after the second Persian invasion of Greece was repelled; the Spartans paid Athenades in spite of the fact that his motivation for carrying out the killing apparently had nothing to do with Ephialtes' status as an outlaw.
Leonidas I was king of the Ancient Greek city-state of Sparta. He was the son of king Anaxandridas II and the 17th king of the Agiad dynasty, a Spartan royal house which claimed descent from the mythical demigod Heracles. Leonidas I ascended to the throne in c. 489 BC, succeeding his half-brother king Cleomenes I. He ruled jointly along with king Leotychidas until his death in 480 BC, when he was succeeded by his son, Pleistarchus.
Thermopylae is a narrow pass and modern town in Lamia, Phthiotis, Greece. It derives its name from its hot sulphur springs. In Greek mythology the Hot Gates is one of the entrances to Hades.
The Battle of Thermopylae was fought in 480 BC between the Achaemenid Persian Empire under Xerxes I and an alliance of Greek city-states led by Sparta under Leonidas I. Lasting over the course of three days, it was one of the most prominent battles of both the second Persian invasion of Greece and the wider Greco-Persian Wars.
The Battle of Mycale was one of the two major battles that ended the second Persian invasion of Greece during the Greco-Persian Wars. It took place on or about August 27, 479 BC on the slopes of Mount Mycale, on the coast of Ionia, opposite the island of Samos. The battle was fought between an alliance of the Greek city-states, including Sparta, Athens and Corinth, and the Persian Empire of Xerxes I.
The Greco-Persian Wars were a series of conflicts between the Achaemenid Empire and Greek city-states that started in 499 BC and lasted until 449 BC. The collision between the fractious political world of the Greeks and the enormous empire of the Persians began when Cyrus the Great conquered the Greek-inhabited region of Ionia in 547 BC. Struggling to control the independent-minded cities of Ionia, the Persians appointed tyrants to rule each of them. This would prove to be the source of much trouble for the Greeks and Persians alike.
The Battle of Plataea was the final land battle during the second Persian invasion of Greece. It took place in 479 BC near the city of Plataea in Boeotia, and was fought between an alliance of the Greek city-states, and the Achaemenid Empire of Xerxes I.
Leotychidas II was king of Sparta between 491–476 BC, alongside Cleomenes I and later Leonidas I and Pleistarchus. He led Spartan forces during the Persian Wars from 490 BC to 478 BC.
300 is a 1998 comic book limited series written and illustrated by Frank Miller with painted colors by Lynn Varley.
Aristodemus was a Spartan warrior, one of the 300 sent to the Battle of Thermopylae.
The 300 Spartans is a 1962 CinemaScope epic historical drama film depicting the Battle of Thermopylae. It was directed by Rudolph Maté and stars Richard Egan, Ralph Richardson, David Farrar, Diane Baker and Barry Coe. Produced with the cooperation of the Greek government, it was filmed in the village of Perachora in the Peloponnese.
The Spartans is a three-part historical documentary series presented by Bettany Hughes and first broadcast on UK's Channel 4 on 17 November 2002. The series subsequently premiered on ABC in Australia on 1 June 2003 and on PBS in the United States on 6 August 2003.
The Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BCE was a last stand by a Greek army led by King Leonidas I of Sparta against an Achaemenid Persian army led by Xerxes I during the Second Persian invasion of Greece. There is a long tradition of upholding the story of the battle as an example of virtuous self-sacrifice.
Gorgo was a Spartan woman and wife to King Leonidas I. She was the daughter and the only known child of Cleomenes I, Leonidas' half-brother and King of Sparta. Gorgo was also the mother of King Pleistarchus, her only son with King Leonidas I. She is notably one of the few female historical figures actually named by Herodotus, and is depicted in sources as intelligent and wise. Her birth date is uncertain, but based on Herodotus' dating, it is most likely to have been between 518 and 508 BC.
Demophilus, according to Herodotus, was the commander of a contingent of 700 Thespians at the Battle of Thermopylae. His father was Diadromes (Διαδρόμης).
The history of Sparta describes the history of the ancient Doric Greek city-state known as Sparta from its beginning in the legendary period to its incorporation into the Achaean League under the late Roman Republic, as Allied State, in 146 BC, a period of roughly 1000 years. Since the Dorians were not the first to settle the valley of the Eurotas River in the Peloponnesus of Greece, the preceding Mycenaean and Stone Age periods are described as well. Sparta went on to become a district of modern Greece. Brief mention is made of events in the post-classical periods.
The second Persian invasion of Greece occurred during the Greco-Persian Wars, as King Xerxes I of Persia sought to conquer all of Greece. The invasion was a direct, if delayed, response to the defeat of the first Persian invasion of Greece at the Battle of Marathon, which ended Darius I's attempts to subjugate Greece. After Darius's death, his son Xerxes spent several years planning for the second invasion, mustering an enormous army and navy. The Athenians and Spartans led the Greek resistance. About a tenth of the Greek city-states joined the 'Allied' effort; most remained neutral or submitted to Xerxes.
Leonidas at Thermopylae is an oil-on-canvas painting by French artist Jacques-Louis David. The work currently hangs in the Louvre in Paris, France. David completed the massive work 15 years after he began, working on it from 1799 to 1803 and again in 1813–1814. Leonidas at Thermopylae was purchased, along with The Intervention of the Sabine Women, in November 1819 for 100,000 francs by Louis XVIII, the king of France. The piece depicts the Spartan king Leonidas prior to the Battle of Thermopylae. David's pupil Georges Rouget collaborated on it.