the 300 - separating fact from fiction

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SEPARATING FACT FROM FICTIONDr Kaveh Farrokh

Grossing over 70 million dollars in its first weekof release, the movie 300 is set to crash into

the list of highest grossing Hollywood blockbusters.

Its strong opening is a clear indicator of its success

with the North American and by implication,

European audiences. Although this picture is based

on a graphic novel by Frank Miller and directed by

Zack Snyder (Dawn of the Dead ), it is already being

portrayed as a “historical” movie, and will be

perceived as such by many (less discerning) viewers.

More significant however, are the conclusions that

are being derived from this picture.

The producers of the movie (as well as the

actors) are honest in stating that they did not

consult primary historical sources. The writer of the

comic book appears to have relied on the writings

of Greek historian Herodotus, whose works,

though valuable, inevitably contain an element of

bias, as do any historical works from any culture.

My article will not discuss the cinematography (a

job best left to the film critics), nor is it a criticism

of the cast and crew. There has been no agenda on

the part of the original novelist, movie director, cast

and crew to promote an anti-Iranian agenda. The

movie however (no matter how sincerely it was

intended as entertainment), is nevertheless purveying

messages; messages most certainly unintended by

Miller or the film producers.

The following commentary is specifically

directed against the very human biases and

distortions that currently pervade against ancient

Iran and Iranians; the very same views that 300 has

(inadvertently) perpetuated.

Though perhaps trivial, I feel my background

gives me a unique perspective. Born of Iranian

parents in Greece, I am a student of both ancient

Greece and its “East Roman” successor, Byzantium,

alongside my main research interest, ancient Iran.My Greek friends often cite me as a blend of

ancient Iran (or what the west terms as “Persia”)

and “Hellas” (Greece). It is often overlooked that

an Iranian can admire ancient Greece just as aGreek can do likewise with Persia. A Greek friend

stated this to me in an e-mail on Monday, March

12, 2007:

“I watched the movie 300…and I was totally

disappointed…The movie demonized the Persians,

everything that was depicted in the movie about the

Persians was untrue. The movie demonized also the

Greeks and through some words of Leonidas Greek

philosophers and Athenian civilization were downrated…I

wonder why I should watch demons and Spartans with a false image…there was no showing of glorious brave and

smart people from both sides. I have learned that what

Spartans did in Thermopylae was magnificent, that they

did not match any enemy but what they did there was

really magnificent because it was achieved against a very

brave, worthy and glorious enemy. …very few understand it.”

In the course of their historical intercourse, Greece

and Persia have created breathtaking works in

domains such as the arts, architecture, sciences,

music and of course, democracy and human rights.It is interesting that many modern Greeks

acknowledge and appreciate ancient Iran as a

civilization as worthy as their own, yet the same is

not necessarily true in northwest Europe and

North America.

This review will focus on eight items for

discussion:

1. The Notion of Democracy

and Human Rights2. What really led to War

3. The Military Conflict

Separating Fact from Fiction

4. The Error of Xerxes

The Burning of Athens

5. The “West” battling against the

“Mysticism” of “the East”

6. The Portrayal of Iranians and Greeks

7. A Note on the Iranian Womenin Antiquity

8. “Good” versus “Evil.”

OSPREYPUB L I SH ING



What struck me about the movie was its

portrayal of the Greco-Persian Wars inbinary terms: the democratic, good, rational “Us”

versus the tyrannical, evil and irrational, “other” of

the ever-nebulous (if not exotic) “Persia.” Central

to this dichotomy is the following message:

300 men stood between victory and the collapse of

Western civilisation. If the barbarian hordes…overran

these defenders, Greek democracy and civilisation would

fall prey to alien forces whose cruelty was a byword.

[Christopher Hudson, “The Greatest Warriors Ever,”

The Daily Mail , March 9, 2007]

Note the key words “collapse of Western

civilization,” “barbarian hordes,” “democracy and

civilization” and “alien forces whose cruelty was a

byword.” These key words are reminiscent of

political sloganeering, targeting the “other” with

slanderous propaganda. These simplistic (and

patronizing) statements are a clear indication that

the general media and much of the audience is

seeing 300 as much more than just a movie of a

“graphic novel.” This has been astutely observed

by Tomas Engle, a student at a West Virginia

College, who has noted with some concern that

many people are viewing the movie to “inform

themselves on history.” [Tomas Engle’s article:

http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig8/engle1.html ]

The citations from popular media outlets are yet

another vivid demonstration of the gross prevailing

ignorance as to the actual origins of the notions of

human rights, democracy and freedom, as well as thecomplex factors that led to the Greco-Persian wars.

The origins of democracy and human rights are

not as simple as we are led to believe. As we will see

below, these notions share both Greek and Iranian

origins. The Greeks (the Athenians and their

Ionian kin in particular), created the notion of

“Demos” (the people) and “Kratus” (government).

This government by the people is what excites the

imagination of the contemporary “western world.”However, few acknowledge the role of “the East” in

helping place modern democracy as we know it

today, within the context of racial, religious and

cultural equality, or (more succinctly), human

rights.

The founder of the Achaemenid Empire, Cyrus

the Great, was the world’s first world emperor toopenly declare and guarantee the sanctity of human

rights and individual freedom.

The tomb of Cyrus. (www.livius.org)

Cyrus was a follower of the teachings of

Zoroaster (Zarathustra), the founder of one of the

world’s oldest monotheistic religions. Zoroaster

taught that good and evil resides in all members of

humanity, regardless of racial origin, ethnic mem-

bership or religious affiliation. Each person is given

the choice between good and evil – it is up to us to

choose between them. It is that goodness, and a

firm belief in its divinity, that is the key to human

liberty, according to Zoroaster. As a consequence,

every individual is entitled to liberty of thought,

action and speech. This is enshrined in Zoroaster’s

guidelines: Good Thoughts (Pendar Nik), GoodDeeds (Kerdar Nik) and Good Speech (Goftar

Nik).

As a result, freedom of thought, action and

speech are laden with the awesome responsibility

of wielding these for the good of all mankind.

Zoroaster taught that there is no such thing as a

“bad race” or “bad religion.” The only divide is that

between good and bad people, both within one’s

own community and those outside of one’scommunity. Zoroastrians often referred to ancient

Iran as “the land of the Free/Freedom” (Zamin

Azadegan).

1THE NOTION OF DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS



Zoroaster preached the concept of an all-

powerful single god known as Ahura-Mazda (the

Supreme Angel), who stood for all that is good.

However, the acceptance of Ahura-Mazda was a

personal choice. There were to be no forced

conversions and the gods of all nationalities were

fully respected: Cyrus prostrated himself in front of the statue of Babylonian god Marduk after his

conquest of Babylon. As noted by Graf, Hirsch,

Gleason, & Krefter “Belief in a heavenly afterlife for

good people and torment for evildoers may have been

partly responsible for the moral treatment that Achaemenid

Kings accorded subject nations…”

The Greek warrior-historian Xenophon, spoke

highly of Cyrus in his Cyropaedia. Cyrus is

described as being void of deceit, arrogance, guileor selfishness. Cyrus is the first “one world hero” in

history, namely the ruler who sought to unite all

the peoples into one empire while according full

respect to all languages, creeds and religious

practices. Alexander the Great, who greatly admired

Cyrus, adopted his mantle of the “world hero” after

his conquests of Persia in 333–323 BC.

Cyrus’ system of government has been forever

immortalized by the Cyrus Cylinder. This is a clay

cylinder of a decree that was issued by Cyrus the

Great in 538 BC shortly after his conquest of

Babylon.

The three main premises in the decrees of the

Cyrus Cylinder were a) the institution of racial,

linguistic and religious equality; b) all exiled peoples

were to be allowed to return home; and c) all

destroyed temples were to be restored.

When Cyrus defeated King Nabonidus of

Babylon, he officially declared the freedom of the

Jews from their Babylonian captivity. This was the

first time in history that a world power had

guaranteed the survival of the Jewish people,

religion, customs and culture. Cyrus allowed the

Jews to rebuild their Temple and provided them

with funds to do so. The empire continued that

support as indicated by a decree by Darius the

Great in 519-518 BC by allowing the Jews to

complete the reconstruction of the JerusalemTemple (Ezra, 4:1). Cyrus’ magnanimity is reflected

in the Old Testament where he is cited as Yahweh’s

anointed (See Book of Ezra 1). Koresh (Hebrew for

Cyrus), was hailed as a Messiah by the Jews. Isaiah

cites Cyrus as “He is my Shepherd, and he shall

fulfill all my purpose” (Isaiah, 44.28; 45.1). The

Biblical characters Ezra, Daniel, Esther and Mordecai

played historically important roles in the Persian

court. The tomb of Esther and Mordecai still standsto this day in Hamadan, the site of the ancient city

of Ecbatana, a city that has hosted Jews for over

2500 years. The Persian king Xerxes himself was

married to a Jewish queen named Esther.

Tomb of Esther and Mordecai in Hamadan, Iran.

Professor Victor Davis Hanson (Senior Fellow at

the Hoover Institution, Stanford University,

Professor Emeritus at California University)

summarizes the issue of “Freedom versus Tyranny”

very succinctly:

If critics think that 300 reduces and simplifies the meaning

of Thermopylae into freedom versus tyranny, they should reread carefully ancient accounts and then blame

Herodotus, Plutarch, and Diodorus – who long ago

boasted that Greek freedom was on trial against Persian

autocracy…in almost all wars, one side is defending its

freedom. The Greeks were not the first human beings to

defend their freedom…monarchy is not something

Eastern…when these ‘freedom-defender’ Greeks were

united under Alexander, they did the same thing…they

invaded Persia, Egypt and India and created their own

empire…so did their Roman successors…

[See the full text at http://www.victorhan-son.com/articles/hanson101106.html]



2 WHAT REALLY LED TO WAR

THE UNTOLD STORY

As noted above, Western popular opinion and

academic historiography portrays the Greco-Persian wars as being an epic contest between

liberty, as represented by Greece, and “Persian

Tyranny.” Professor Richard Nelson Frye, however

cautions us that such historical narratives are “…an

example of imposing modern concepts on the past…

distorting our understanding…” [Richard Nelson Frye,

1984, p.93]

Yes, indeed it is true that the Ionian revolt on the

west Anatolian coast and the support of theAthenians for their Hellenic ethnic kin against the

Persian Empire was a major factor that led Darius

the Great (549–486 BC), the father of Xerxes, to

invade Greece in 490 BC. But this is only a part of

the story. Very few western historians have discussed

the role of economic rivalry as a factor in the

Greco-Persian wars.

By this time, the Greeks had established a

powerful maritime economic empire in the

Mediterranean Sea. The Greeks established colonies

in southern Italy as well as contemporary southern

France; an example of this legacy is seen in the

name of the city of “Nice” (pronounced /nees/) in

southern, France – “Nice” is derived from the

Greek Nicea (modern Nice). Greek trading posts

had also been established in the Caucasus, in the

Modern Republic of Georgia.

The Achaemenid Empire became a marine

empire as soon as it reached the Aegean Sea.

Darius the Great built the world’s first formal

“Imperial Navy,” many of its ships manned by

Phoenician, Egyptian and (Hellenic) Ionians. Moreimportantly, the Persian Empire began to “muscle

in” on the economic sphere of the Greeks in the

Mediterranean and the Black Sea (see Cook, The

Greeks in Ionia and the East , 1962, pp.98–120;

132-133; K. Farrokh, Shadows in the Desert:

Ancient Persia at War , Chapter 4). Italian researchers

such as Nik Spatari have confirmed that Darius had

sent naval scouts as far as Southern Italy to gain

information on possible trade contacts with the

western Mediterranean (Farrokh, Shadows in the

Desert: Ancient Persia at War, Chapter 4).

Reconstruction of Achaemenid ships in 1971.

Persia’s growing economic strength in the

Mediterranean was certainly of great concern to

the Greeks and their prosperity. The Greco-Persian

wars were as much about economics, as they were

about systems of government. For further referencesconsult the bibliography.



3THE MILITARY CONFLICT

SEPARATING FACT FROM FICTION

There are very few historians who doubt the

tenacity and military skill of the Greekdefenders who faced the invading army of Xerxes.

The 300 movie displayed the equipment of the

Spartans relatively well, considering that the

producers were intent on reproducing the images of

a comic book, leaving little room for consultation

with modern scholarship. If the portrayal of the

Greek side was adequate, that of “the Persians” was

pure fantasy. This being said, there are already a large

number of viewers who have taken these images in

a very “literal” and historical context – the human

mind is indeed a very impressionable organ.

The discussion here is a very quick and overall

analysis of the actual military factors that were in

place during Xerxes’ invasion of Greece in 480 BC

– however we will digress into the post-Alexandrian

eras, notably the evolution of the Persian knights

during the Parthian (238 BC–AD 224) and

Sassanian (AD 224–651) eras. I will closely

scrutinize the veracity of whether Xerxes actually

wielded 1,700,000 troops during his invasion of

Greece. By no means is this discussion adequate,

however it is hoped that the reader’s curiosity will

be sufficiently piqued as to encourage further

research and readings.

WEAPONSGreek spears and swords were longer than their

Achaemenid counterparts. This meant that in hand

to hand combat, the Spartans held the advantage

and were able to “outrange” their opponents with

their swords and spears, which were primarily used

for thrusting (see Farrokh, Shadows in the Desert:

Ancient Persia at War , Chapters 4–5). The swords of

“the Persians” in the movie are of no historical

relevance – many of the Iranian swords of that era

were short and dagger-like. These were known as

the “Akenakes.”

Scythian (left) and Mede (right).

Saka Tigrakhauda (Tall-capped Scythian to the

left) and a Mede (round cap to the right) appearingbefore the Achaemenid kings at the Imperial palace

of Persepolis. Note the short size of the akenakes

daggers, which proved inadequate in hand to hand

combat against Greek warriors. For a thorough

examination of the akenakes daggers, as well as all

Iranian military gear from the Bronze Age to the

19th century, consult Manoucher Moshtagh

Khorasani’s comprehensive book on the subject

Arms and Armor from Iran: The Bronze Age to end of the

Qajar Period ,

http://www.arms-and-armor-from-iran.de/



ARMOR Greek troops were far better armored than their

opponents, although it is not clear if all the Spartans

wore heavy armor at Thermopylae. Greek helmets,

body armor and greaves provided excellent

protection against blade weapons in hand to hand

combat, whereas the vast majority of theAchaemenids lacked significant armor protection.

Scale armor was available, but not to the majority

of troops. When engaged in hand to hand combat,

Achaemenid troops were exposed to deadly spear

thrusts as well as hacking/thrusts against their faces,

limbs and torso (see Farrokh,Shadows in the Desert:

Ancient Persia at War , Chapters 4–5). The movie

portrayal of Achaemenid armor was pure fiction

and has no resemblance to that issued among

Achaemenid troops.

THE MARTIAL ARTSTRADITION OF GREECEThe 300 movie did capture the camaraderie, zeal

and “esprit de corps” of the Spartans very well, and

represented the contemporary military culture of

ancient Sparta in a fairly realistic manner.

Greece (as a whole) was the heir to an excellent

martial arts tradition. According to legend, thenewborn child in Sparta would be washed by his

mother in wine to ensure that the child was strong

and fit (the weaker baby would reputedly die from

the bathing). The father would then bring the baby

to advisors who would ultimately decide if the

newborn child was fit to be raised as a Spartan. If

the baby “failed” the test, he would cast off a cliff or

gulley at Mount Taygetos, known as the “Kaiada.”

As shown in the movie, the boys of Sparta begantraining from the age of 7. Formal military service

would begin at the age of twenty. Examination of

Greek vases clearly shows Greek warriors engaged

in very “modern” training methods: kicking,

boxing, wrestling, Pankration, using “speedbags”

etc. Training and drills were at least as brutal as

combat situations. Sparta was very much a warrior

society; it was the Athenians and their ethnic

cousins in Ionia (modern western Turkey), then

under Persian rule, who were at the forefront of theHellenic Democratic tradition.

THE GREEK PHALANX SYSTEMThe Greeks in general had developed the phalanx

system, where soldiers fought as one unit in a

single formation. Central to this system was the use

of overlapping shields which formed an

impenetrable barrier against javelins, spears and

arrows. The Macedonians of northern Greece,perfected the phalanx and adopted the 12-foot long

pike or “sarissa” used with devastating effect by

Alexander the Great during his invasion of Persia.

The Chiqi vase showing a Greek Phalanx. (www.livius.org)

The Greeks often engaged in close quarter

combat and had been doing so for centuries

before the Achaemenid invasions. Suffice it to say

that when it came to hand to hand combat, the

Spartans held the advantage. Thanks to their

training, the Spartans were so disciplined that they

were able to collectively maneuver the phalanx at

a single command. With their shields locked

together, the phalanx was able to march and put

forward all of their spears simultaneously. There was

no breaking of formation in acts of battlefieldindividualism – all warriors were expected to

adhere strictly and steadfastly to the phalanx. The

spears protruded in deadly fashion towards the

onrushing enemy, with deadly results. The Greeks

testify to the bravery of the lightly armored

Iranians who tried to break the spears of the

Spartans with their bare hands in an endeavor to

get close to the warriors within the phalanx.



THE EVOLUTION OF CAVALRYThe portrayal of “Persian cavalry” was totally wrong

in the movie with respect to weapons, equestrian

gear and uniforms. Superficially, these resembled

more the Arab horsemen seen during the Arabo-

Islamic conquests over a thousand years after

the battle of Thermopylae and bore littleresemblance to either the Iranian cavalry of the

Achaemenid era (559–333 BC), or the armored

knights of the later Parthian and Sassanian eras of

Persia (238 BC–AD 651). Below is a reconstruction

of Iranian heavy cavalry of the Achaemenid period.

Despite their formidable armor, Achaemenid

cavalry had yet to solve the problem of rider stability,

especially against well-trained, heavily armored,

lance/spear wielding infantry fighting in phalanxes(see Farrokh, Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at

War , Chapters 4–5). This is mainly because the

Iranians had not yet invented saddle technology

advanced enough to keep the rider stable as he

fought on horseback. As a result, Iranian cavalry

during the Achaemenid period was vulnerable to

unseating by Greek heavy infantry, as observed by

Xenophon in the early 400s BC.

Nevertheless, Iranian cavalry continued to evolve,

even after the Alexandrian conquests of the Persian

Empire. It was the cavalry which had posed the

greatest challenge to the Greeks during their

conquests of Persia, and the Greeks were duly

impressed by them. Xenophon warned about the

dangers of the Iranian cavalry, a prophecy which

was to prove true with the rise of the Parthians and

the Sassanians. It was these new Persian knights

who finally defeated the Seleucid successors of

Alexander and who scored dramatic victoriesagainst Marcus Licinius Crassus at Carrhae (53 BC),

and against Roman Emperors Severus Alexander

(Ctesiphon in 233 AD), Gordian III (Mesiche in

244 AD), Phillip the Arab (Barbalissos in 253 AD),

Valerian (Carrhae-Edessa in 260 AD), and Julian

(inside Persia in 363 AD). By the 5th century AD,

the Turks had arrived from the North of China into

Central Asia and Europe, and were influencing the

Iranians and the Romans: the Turks were probably

the first to invent stirrups.

Very few are aware of the positive references to

the military skill of the later Persian knights. One

example is Libianus who, referring to the Sassanian

knights, notes that Roman troops “prefer to suffer any

fate rather than look a Persian in the face.”

[Libianus, XVIII, pp.205-211; Consult also

Farrokh, Sassanian Elite Cavalry, 2005, p.5]

Much of the armor of these knights appears very

“European”; the warriors wear mail, plate armor,

riveted Spangenhelm helmets, broadswords, macesand battle-axes. Yet these warriors predate their

European counterparts by centuries (see Farrokh,

Sassanian Elite Cavalry).

Though the Spartans (and indeed the Greeks as a

whole) are rightfully remembered as magnificent

warriors whose exploits and heroism resonate across

time, Persia too gave birth to magnificent military

tradition: the Partho-Sassanian elite cavalry, known as

the “Savaran.” Is it not interesting that nobody has

even heard of the Savaran? As noted by Greek-

Canadian historian, George Tsonis:“Unfortunately we

probably will never see movies of Roman defeats in ‘the

east’ at the hands of Persian knights…such movies would

most probably bomb at the box office.”

This bias is not confined to the entertainment

media. The academic community (mainly in north-

west European and English-speaking world) has

until recently continued to champion ancient

Greece and diminish, sideline and even ignore theSavaran. This bias can be seen in the comments of

world renowned military historian, Professor John

Keegan, who in reference to the Persian influence

on western European cavalry states in no uncertain

Mede Cavalryman of the later Achaemenid era.



XERXES’ INVASION FORCEFew question the fact that Xerxes’ army was huge

and that the Greeks were outnumbered. The

question is “by how much”? The movie trailer states:

“They [the Spartans] were 300 men against a Million” The

main source of these accounts for modern

European scholarship is Herodotus, who actuallycites 1,700,000 invaders (Herodotus, VII, 60).

Herodotus, who wrote after the Greco-Persian wars

of Darius and Xerxes had ended, and before the age

of Alexander.

Herodotus lists a total of 46 nations mustered by

Xerxes in his invasion of Greece (see Farrokh,

Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War , Chapter

5). The vast numbers of troops were actually a

liability as co-ordination and communication andlogistical support must have been complex,

particularly in contrast to the much smaller and

compact, and linguistically uniform, Greek force.

Nevertheless, it is unfair to pin these quantitative

citations solely on Herodotus. The Greek tragedy by

Aeschylos, The Persians, describes the Greeks facing

Xerxes’ armies as facing “a great flood of humans…a

wave of the sea that cannot be contained by the most solid

dikes”(The Persians, lines 87–90) and “…a rash ruler

of populous Asia [Xerxes] pushes a human herd to the conquest of the entire world” (The Persians, 73–75).

From the mid-19th to the early 20th centuries a

number of European scholars began to question the

fantastic numbers cited by Herodotus. European

researchers such as Gobineau and Delbrueck began

to seriously doubt the numerical claims made

by Classical sources. The table below cites some

of the researchers of the period who provided

the following estimates as to the actual sizeof Xerxes’ invading armies:

Scholar Citation and Year Estimate of Xerxes’ troops

Eduard Meyer As cited in W. K. Prentice, “Thermopylae and 100,000 plus an equal number of

Artemisium,” Transactions and Proceedings of the non-combat support personnel

American Philological Association,Vol. 51, 1920 pp.5-18

Ernst Obst “Der Feldzug des Xerxes,” in Klio, 90,000

Beiheft 12, Leipzig, 1914, p.88

Comte de Histoire des Perses, Volume II, 1869 p.191 90,000

Gobineau

Reginald Walter Herodotus, The Seventh, Eighth and 90,000

Macan Ninth Books, London, 1908, Vol. II, p.164

William Woodthorpe “The Fleet of Xerxes,” The Journal 60,000

Tarn of Hellenic Studies, 28, 1908, p.208

Hans Delbrueck Die Perserkriege und die 55,000

Burgunderkriege , Berlin, 1887, p. 164

Robert von Fischer “Das Zahlenproblem in Perserkriege 40,000480-479,”Klio, N. F., vol. VII, p.289



Most modern scholarship appears to accept the

figure of 100,000-200,000 invading troops, a figure

consistent with the population base of the

Achaemenid Persian Empire at the time (Farrokh,

Shadows in the Desert: Ancient Persia at War , Chapter 5). Even if the Persian Empire had had the

population base to produce 1,700,000 troops, it

would have faced a gargantuan task in organizing

and deploying these without the benefit of modern

computers and communications technology. Even if

such an army could be organized to set off on the

mammoth journey from Asia to Greece, ancient

logistics and supply would not have been able to

sustain such fantastic numbers of troops in so

ambitious a campaign. These capabilities date from

far more recent modern times, from the time of the

American Civil War (1861–1865) and the advent

of the railway and telegraph.

At Thermopylae, the Greek numbers were close

to 6,000, when counting all of the Spartans and

Greek kinsmen. Still, even if we take the lowest

estimate of 40,000 Achaemenid Persian troops, the

Greeks would have been vastly outnumbered,

especially during King Leonidas’ last stand.

Few have addressed the engineering feats that

Xerxes’ engineers accomplished in building the

world’s first true bridge between Asia and Europe.

For an introduction to the engineering feats that

led to the invasion of Europe from Asia Minor

(modern Turkey), you may wish to consult the

History Channel program “Engineering an

Empire: The Persians.”

A FINAL NOTE:THE BATTLE OF SALAMISThere are other inaccuracies in the movie as well,

especially with regards to the Greek perspective.

First, the Spartans were not exactly “democratic” inthe Athenian sense; theirs was a hierarchical and

militaristic society. To argue that the Spartans were

“fighting for Democracy” is somewhat simplistic.

It is correct however that the Spartans fought for

the glory of Greece, which included Democracy.

That does not necessarily mean that the Spartans

specifically stood for Democracy as the Athenians

and Ionians did.

Second, the 300 Spartans were not alone in their last stand – they were accompanied to the death by

at least 300 Thessapian Hoplites, who fought shoulder

to shoulder beside them. The fact is that Xerxes

finally won at Thermopylae and pushed through

into Greece. The battle that actually saved Greece

from total conquest occurred at sea: the battle of

Salamis, after the forcing of Thermopylae. Xerxes

could not maintain or expand his European land

conquests if he could not control the seas. The

Greeks under the bold leadership of Admiral

Themistocles lured Xerxes’ fleet into a trap in the

straits between Salamis itself and Piraeus.

Typical of the drama of Greek politics,

Themistocles, the man who had rescued Greece

from the jaws of defeat, was later condemned as a

traitor to Greece and forced to flee Athens! Even

more ironic is the fact that Themistocles was given

shelter by Artaxerxes I, the successor of Xerxes I!

In my opinion, it would be fascinating to have ahistorically balanced movie that would portray the

lives of Themistocles, Xerxes, Artemesia, and

Artaxerxes.



4THE ERROR OF XERXES THE BURNING OF ATHENS

The greatest blunder committed by Xerxes inhis invasion of Greece were his very un-

Persian actions in ordering the city of Athens to be

torched, including the Acropolis.

Xerxes’ troops destroyed many towns, villages,

farms and temples. These actions stiffened the

Greek determination to resist and expel the invader

from their soil. As I have previously noted, the

statues of sacred Greek gods were confiscated and

bought to Persia – an action that only fueled theintensity of the Greek desire to seek vengeance.

This culminated in the invasion and conquest of

Persia by Alexander the Great in the 330s BC.

Xerxes soon realized the error of his actions, butit was too late. His offers to rebuild Athens after the

battles were firmly rejected by the Greeks. Most

significant however was the fact that Xerxes had

broken the tradition of tolerance and respect that

had been shown by Cyrus the Great towards

captured cities. How would history have been

different had Xerxes behaved in Athens as Cyrus

had in Babylon? One thing is certain: the West has

never forgiven Xerxes’ invasion of Classical Greece.

The Acropolis in Athens



6THE PORTRAYAL OF IRANIANS AND GREEKS

What struck me most vividly in this movie

was the following question: Where are theGreek actors in this movie? After all, is this movie

not narrating a story about ancient Greece?

The straight forward answer would be that the

movie producers were depicting the characters of a

graphic novel, which may explain their casting

decisions. There still remains the question however

of why not at least consider utilizing Greek actors to

portray Greek historical characters?

Hollywood seems intent on conveying a certain“image” of the Classical World. Perhaps there is a

desire to “Nordify” ancient Greece just as there is a

desire to “Orientalize” the ancient Iranians. At least

the portrait of King Leonidas in the movie was

consistent with the depictions of ancient Greeks as

seen in the vases of Classical Greece. For a previous

discussion of the depiction of Greeks and Iranians

in Hollywood by the author, kindly consult: “The

Alexander Movie: How are Greeks and Iranians

Portrayed?” on

http://www.ghandchi.com/iranscope/Anthology/

KavehFarrokh/farrokh6.htm.

When it comes to the portrayal of the Iranians

and the Greeks, I find the following observation by

Dr. Ahmad Sadri (College Professor of Islamic

World Studies, Lake Forest College) rather astute:

Snyder’s Persians – I am not talking about the

disposable extras covered up to their eyes in male burqas

– are predominantly black and by implication of

mannerism and affect, homosexual. Allowing the widest

berth for the genre and medium one still marvels at

Snyder’s audacity in demonizing the “Asiatic hordes”

while morphing the Spartan warrior into the typical

white American survivalist. Snyder’s Spartans are white

guys fighting a sea of racially inferior blacks, yellows and

browns.

As I walked out of the theater during the closing

credits, I heard the following comment by one of

the viewers in the audience:This movie chose really excellent Eye-ranian [Iranian]

actors – they showed them so accurately – just what you

would expect them to be…

It is very interesting that in this movie (and its

comic book original) insists on portraying the“Persians” (especially the elites) as black Africans.

In the movie trailer, King Leonidas is shown

kicking the “Persian messenger” into a bottomless

pit and shouting “This is Sparta!” The “Persian

messenger” is black. Other Persians in the film are

also black, including a “Persian” general executed

by Xerxes and a “Persian” emissary sent to

communicate with Leonidas – the latter role

being played by talented actor Tyrone Benskin.

Interestingly, the recent movie Alexander (starring

Colin Farrell), featured (with few exceptions)

Arabic-speaking North Africans instead of Iranians

in the role of the Persians, whereas the 300 book

and movie portrays Iranians as Africans. As we shall

see later below, there are indications that

Hollywood (in general) believes that such portrayals,

however inaccurate, “sell better” in North America

and Northwest Europe.

There are no Greek or Roman references to

black “Persians” and Greco-Roman sources also

clearly distinguish between the Arabs of antiquity

and “the Persians.” Greek vase art from the

Classical period show “the Persians” as remarkably

similar to the Greeks – their differences are in

wardrobe and equipment.

In this discussion, I will make use of the term

“Iranian” as opposed to “Persian” as the former is

more inclusive and includes Kurds, Azeris, Persians

and other peoples of Iranic origin. The term

“Persian” was used by the Greeks to designate all

Iranian peoples of the time, when in fact, the Medes

and the Scythians (Saka) were also partners in

empire alongside the Persians.

There is a dearth of primary sources to help

archeologists, anthropologists and historians

reconstruct the ancient Iranians contemporary to

Xerxes’ invasion of Greece. Note the clear distinction that is made between African

(Ethiopian) and Caucasian (Iranian) troops by

Greek vase-arts in Nick Sekunda’s The Persian Army

560–330 BC , Osprey Publishing, 1992, pp.16–17).



…many Armenian and Azeri types are derived from

European and northern Caucasian types (p.1263)…The

U5 cluster… in Europe… although rare elsewhere in the

Near east, are especially concentrated in the Kurds,

Armenians and Azeris…a hint of partial European

ancestry for these populations – not entirely unexpected

on historical and linguistic grounds [Richards et al.,

(2000). Tracing European founder lineages in theNear Eastern mtDNA pool. American Journal of

Human Genetics, 67, pp.1263–1264, 2000]

There were no genetic links between the Iranian

groups cited and the Arabs of that study. Interestingly,

a number of Turks from western Turkey in the

Richard study showed incidences of the European

gene markers, indicating mixtures with Greek and

other European populations in the course of Turkish

history. Suffice it so say that Caucasians with

so-called “European” appearances are nothing

unusual in today’s Iran – they are part and parcel of

today’s multi-ethnic Iran.

Photograph taken in 1971 by Ali Massoudi of a girl from Rasht in

Gilan province, Northern Iran (Source: R. Tarverdi (Editor) & A.

Massoudi (Art editor), The land of Kings, Tehran: Rahnama

Publications, 1971, p.116).

There seems to be very little international

motivation to understand the multifaceted nature

of the Iranians themselves as well as their history

and culture. A survey by Jack Shaheen (author of

The TV Arab, 1984) in the early 1980s found that

over 80 percent of North Americans wrongly

believe Iranians to be Arabs and to speak Arabic.This may explain in part the persistence of the

“Hollywood Persian” image in the entertainment

industry.

ADDENDUM: IS THERE ACASE OF INSTITUTIONALIZEDDISCRIMINATION AGAINSTIRANIANS IN HOLLYWOOD?

There are disturbing indications that a subtle

form of racism has at times been applied inHollywood against actors and extras of Iranian

origin. A vivid example of this was demonstrated

over 15 years ago during the filming of the action

movie The Hitman, starring Chuck Norris, released

in 1991. A portion of the filming took place in

North Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada in

1989–1990. The directors and Norris put ads in the

local papers asking for Iranians to audition as

extras for the movie. What happened next is as

comical as it is tragic.

Many of the “Iranians” who showed up on the

set proved to be a major disappointment to Norris.

This is because, far from fitting into the popularized

“Hollywood Persian” stereotype, the potential

Iranian extras displayed a variety of phenotypes. The

group included Iranians from the northern regions

(Gilan, Mazandaran, Semnan, Talesh), the northwest

(Azerbaijan) and the west (Lurs and Kurds) as well

people from Isfahan and Tehran. Many of these

could appear as “regular Americans” on the street or

in your local shopping mall. The directors and

Norris were very disappointed at this and were

visibly upset. Here is an excerpt by one of the

auditioning Iranian extras on the set (his identity

withheld at his request):

…the directors came to the set and were upset to see us.

Among us were Mashadis of Turcomen background [with

Central Asian/Far eastern appearance], Baluchis and more blondish types from the north and west…Norris and

the directors said ‘what are these Caucasians doing

on the set? I said I want ‘Iranian extras’ not

Caucasians…Americans like to see real Iranians…



7 A NOTE ON THE IRANIAN WOMEN IN ANTIQUITY

Ireceived the following e-mail which aptly

summarizes this segment of our discussion:“Have you seen the movie? I have heard that it was so

insulting to Persian women…”

The 300 movie certainly portrayed Iranian

women as shallow, mindless “harem girl-objects.”

This is even testified to in the trailer.

The portrayal of Iranian women in this movie is

not only grossly inaccurate in historical terms, but

also degrading, insulting to women in general.

Again, this seems to be derived from a massive senseof ignorance regarding the role of Iranian women

in history.

The women of ancient Iran were priestesses (i.e.

at the Temple of Anahita), warriors, leaders and

guardians of learning. While a detailed discussion is

beyond the scope of this article, a few highlights

will hopefully serve to arouse the interest of the

readers.

Roman sources are very clear in referring towomen among the ranks of the Iranian cavalry in

the Sassanian era: “in the Persian army…there are said

to have been found women also, dressed and armed like

men…” [Zonaras (XII, 23, 595, 7-596, 9) in

reference to the forces of Shapur I.

King Shapur receives the surrender of Emperor Valerian at

Barbalissos. Female Iranian cavalry officer (left), nobleman of the

Suren clan (with tall “beaked” hat), Emperor Valerian (kneeling),

Roman Senator (man with toga) and King Shapur I (right)

(Angus McBride © Osprey Publishing)

Iranian women organized resistance against the

Arabian invaders of the Ummayad and later Abbassid caliphates after the fall of Sassanian Iran

(or Persia) in the 7th century AD. Key figures

include Apranik, the daughter of General Piran, as

well as Azadeh, guerilla resistance leader of Gilan-

Mazandaran in northern Iran, and Banu, the wife of

the anti-Abassid rebel Babak Khurramdin who led

a decades long anti-Caliphate movement from

Iranian Azerbaijan (see Farrokh, Shadows in the

Desert: Ancient Persia at War, Chapters 4–5).

Iranian women continued to play leadership roles

well after the fall of Sassanian Iran (or Persia) to the

Islamic invaders of Arabia in the 7th century AD.

One example is the governess of Rayy, birthplace of

the medical savant Rhazes (near modern Tehran):

Governess of Rayy.

The equality of women with men in enshrined

in the Zoroastrian religion itself. One of the

Zoroastrian fables refers to a conversation between

Zoroaster and his daughter Freyne highlighting the

fact that it is up to women to choose their mates for

courtship and marriage.



8“GOOD” VERSUS “EVIL”

Ashort and final point has to do with the

portrayal of “the Persians” as “evil.” In one of the earlier scenes, King Leonidas holds a dying boy

who, in reference to the invading host, states softly

that the Persians“…came from the blackness…” It is

very clear that “the Persians” are literally portrayed

as “evil.” The retort to this is that the movie is only

faithfully reproducing the characters of a harmless

comic book. But is it?

How would members of other ethnic

communities worldwide feel if their ancestors werebeing portrayed as monsters, troglodytes, degenerates,

and demons? These same producers would

probably think twice if they were to portray other

nationalities in the manner that they have done

with the “Persians.” If my logic (flawed as it may

be) is not mistaken, portraying Iranians as monsters,

troglodytes, degenerates, and demons is “artistic

entertainment,” but other nationalities are exempt

from this “art form” as this would be “tasteless and

politically incorrect” and would be regarded as a

“hate crime.”

The targeting of specific ethnic groups with

negative attributes in the name of entertainment

dollars is dangerously misinformed and irresponsible.

As noted earlier in this commentary, viewers and

media outlets (especially in the English-

speaking world) are already interpreting much of

the movie in a “historical” light. The Greco-Persian

wars evoke very intense emotions in northwest

European culture, in some ways even more so thanin modern-day Greece and Italy. The movie 300

has successfully capitalized on those very emotions

in the quest for profit.

It is at this juncture of the discussion, where we

must remind ourselves of one of Zoroaster’s chief

teachings: Zoroaster taught that good and evil

resides in all members of humanity, regardless of

racial origin, ethnic membership or religious

affiliation. Each person is given the choice betweengood and evil – it is up to us to choose between

them.

Having discussed the issues at length, it is hoped

that the reader will appreciate the multifaceted and

organic nature of human history. Nations, peoples

and cultures have had a symbiotic relationship with

one another through trade, cultural exchanges and

war. It is these very processes that have shaped our

identities and who we perceive ourselves to be

today. As the size of our world diminishes daily due

to the breathtaking leaps in technology and

communications, it is all the more important to

make the endeavor to understand history, not in

terms of “east” versus “west,” but with the appreciation

of human civilization being a collective.

Kaveh Farrokh



9BIBLIOGRAPHY

Notions of Democracy and Human

Rights/What Really Led to War

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the 300 - separating fact from fiction

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