Reception of "300" in Greece

We have a lot of Greek members here at TWC and many of them will likely be aquainted with the events at Thermopylae.

I was just wondering how "300" went down in Greece? Has it become a mega hit or did it flop?

I think it made a lot of Greeks think that they're somehow much cooler than they really are...I've been seeing way too many 300 clips being included in the usual Greek nationalist videos on YouTube, but beyond that, it did pretty well.

Also had a similar sort of effect for Greeks abroad, making them think that they're all Leonidas' and decendants of Spartans, lol. Or even worse, made them think Sparta was cool.

Originally Posted by Stavroforos

I think it made a lot of Greeks think that they're somehow much cooler than they really are...

Haha yeah. Greeks aren't really cool.

Originally Posted by Captain Jin

Haha yeah. Greeks aren't really cool.

At least the ancient Greeks were..

Originally Posted by Manuel I Komnenos

At least the ancient Greeks were..

Precisely because they were nothing like shown in 300....

I think it's how well the film went down in Iran that you ought to be looking at.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I mean, seriously...

Originally Posted by cpdwane

I think it's how well the film went down in Iran that you ought to be looking at.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I mean, seriously...

Actually, the Iranian government even said that 300 is Western propoganda against the Islamic republic.

Originally Posted by Vortimore the Conqueror

Actually, the Iranian government even said that 300 is Western propoganda against the Islamic republic.

Well....it is Frank Miller propaganda against them Anyway who follows comics knows Miller is hardcore right winger he basically chalked up the entire middle east as little more than 6th century barbarism today. He is definitely outspoken but he is a terrific writer and 300 was just a good story turned into a fun movie. Unlike Ridley Scott's movies 300 never claimed to be even remotely historical other then the battle itself happened.

Originally Posted by danzig

Unlike Ridley Scott's movies 300 never claimed to be even remotely historical other then the battle itself happened.

I did read on wiki, though, that the director of 300 claimed that alot of Historians have said that the movie is very historical(they didn't, BTW) and he himself claimed that the movie was as historical as possible.

Originally Posted by Vortimore the Conqueror

I did read on wiki, though, that the director of 300 claimed that alot of Historians have said that the movie is very historical(they didn't, BTW) and he himself claimed that the movie was as historical as possible.

Really? Then he is an idiot since we all know the only thing historical about 300 was the battle happened. But was talking about the writer of the story.

Originally Posted by cpdwane

I think it's how well the film went down in Iran that you ought to be looking at.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I mean, seriously...

Thats actually a Dutch actor with lots of make-up. This guy made a living of being a bizarre looking giant in commercials and b-movies.

Heh, true but then we could all have predicted how that would turn out.

I wondered because things were often polarised between the U.S. and Iran rather than Greece and I was curious to see if Greeks were dissappointed in the film or not. Even speaking as an Iranian the most offensive part of the movie for me was how the portrayal of the Spartans disgraced the memory of all the other Greeks who died there. Particularly on the last day.

I actually considered the Spartans to be evil. The only reason the fight was making the Spartans heroic was after the massacre at the village at the hands of the Persians. If that part was gone, it would be elitist child-abusing baby-killing xenophobic monsters vs power hungry monster.

It was good as an action film, but I disliked the unneeded and oddly placed sexuality in it. What gives me headaches though is the number of people who took it to be in any way historical. The whole film was basically Dilios' fairytale about Leonidas and his 300, which he used to rouse the troops and create morale and pride. Arguably the only part that was supposed to be real was the scene at the very end when Dilios was giving his speech.

Originally Posted by DarkProphet

I actually considered the Spartans to be evil. The only reason the fight was making the Spartans heroic was after the massacre at the village at the hands of the Persians. If that part was gone, it would be elitist child-abusing baby-killing xenophobic monsters vs power hungry monster.

and neither yours nor the film's depiction would be particularly accurate, then.

Originally Posted by Vortimore the Conqueror

I did read on wiki, though, that the director of 300 claimed that alot of Historians have said that the movie is very historical(they didn't, BTW) and he himself claimed that the movie was as historical as possible.

giant rhinos and daemon immortals were of course evident among the ranks of the Persian army at this time

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im not greek but i liked the movie. tho i still remember my mate turning to me during the film saying "this...is a bit homosexual..." - made me lol.

If at the very end Dilios and all the other Spartans had been dressed in fully historical panoply it would have transformed the film into a work of genius.

Originally Posted by rez

If at the very end Dilios and all the other Spartans had been dressed in fully historical panoply it would have transformed the film into a work of genius.

Agreed. It would show he was just being free in his story-telling.

I for one, as a Greek that really loves history, was disappointed that Gates of Fire were canceled due to 300. I enjoyed the movie but mainly as a cut-the-enemy-to-pieces silly movie and less for the story.

Originally Posted by rez

If at the very end Dilios and all the other Spartans had been dressed in fully historical panoply it would have transformed the film into a work of genius.

YES. I couldn't have said it better.

It works brilliantly as a soldier's retelling of a battle story - especially a Greek soldier's.

Yeah it was a good action movie for sure.

Apart from the monster-Persian army, it was kinda realistic..
I don't think it made us feel cooler..
I've read tens of books about the battle and I always thought that the Spartans were as cool as shown in the movie..

I never really understood why people got so obsessed with realism on a comic book adaptation, anyhow on the question at hand.

The combination of lots of action, catchy lines, spartans and talking about Thermopylae made it an instant hit. To sum it up. "That new movie called 300? It's awesome go see it. Half naked Spartans kicking ass" was the general talk about it. Any decent Hollywood movie about events of Greek history tend a get a similar reaction. Captain's Corelli Mandolin comes in mind but not anything as close to the hype 300 got.

For a little while it did create a large hype. People who never really cared for history got a little motivated to read a little about it (If only to showoff when talking about the movie), some teens would want to be an awesome spartan, others would question everyone to learn how to get such an awesome looking body... silly stuff.

For those with some interest in history, it was a fun action movie that was not even trying to be realistic. Rather exagerate everything on purpose.


Eventually the hype died down and people forgot it as the next trend came along.