Monday, October 31, 2005

'Gates of Fire' - hardcover

As mentioned previously, the one book that has brought more attention to the battle of Thermopylae and the heroic 300 Spartans, is Steven Pressfield's, 'Gates of Fire'.

In the works of Herodotus, Dienekes, who along with several other Spartiates is mentioned as the bravest of the brave. It was he, who when told that 'The Persian arrows would blot out the sun', replied 'Well, then we shall fight in the shade'.

In this tale of the Battle of Thermopylae, there are many characters who are introduced in this excellent novel who possess the same attributes of the Spartan warriors that have been admired for over 2,500 years. Once again, Dienekes as written by Steven Pressfield is the warrior who best exemplifies all those characteristics.

Monday, October 24, 2005

Steven Pressfield's 'Gates of Fire'

If there is one book that has done more to glorify the heroism and tenacity of the 300 Spartans it is unquestionably Steven Pressfield's 'Gates of Fire'. When I first saw the movie 'The 300 Spartans' as a young child in Australia, it had such a profound impact on me that as I grew older I tried to read everything that I could about the Battle of Thermopylae.

My first introduction to the literary form about the story of the 300 Spartans was Mary Renault's 'Lion in the Gateway'. This was my favorite story when I was growing up, so much in fact, that I tried to collect every different format that I came across, i.e, hardcover, softcover and paperbacks. My favorite book today coincidentally enough is S.P.'s 'Gates of Fire', which has me once again going the same route by collecting the different versions which are available.

I could say that for selfish reasons that I would like a movie to be made of the 'GOF' book, however, I'm sure there are many others that would agree with this sentiment! Don't you???

Monday, October 17, 2005

Carrying the torch for the 'Gates of Fire'

Production work began today in Montreal, Canada on the Battle of Thermopylae movie '300', which is based on Frank Miller's eponymous comic book series. I was extremely happy several months ago when it was confirmed that the movie would starting filming, despite the fact that it would be based on a comic book series.

I feel that whether a movie about the 300 Spartans is based on fact or fiction, what truly matters to me is whether it will be made. If the movie is entertaining, it will instill in those viewers a curiosity to 'seek the truth', whether it is through the 'Histories' of Herodotus or other accounts of the battle. Of course, I would rather see a movie based on the true story of King Leonidas and the 300 Spartans, however, if there is a movie to be made which isn't factual (then again, which one is 100% fact-based?) it will be better than one not being made at all.

Then why the ambivalent feelings? After I had read Steven Pressfield's book, 'Gates of Fire', I thought that if there was a movie to be made about the 300 Spartans, I thought this would be it! I had read so many books on the battle, many of them fact-based and several of them fictional accounts, however, what appealed to me the most about this one is that it brought the Spartiates to life like no other.

Now we will have to wait for the 'Gates of Fire' movie to be made, if it ever does. It is my opinion that whether this movie is made in the near future, it is contingent on the success of Frank Miller's '300'.

I am very curious to read what you have to say about '300' vs. 'Gates of Fire'.