In 480 B.C., the Persian Empire ruled by King Xerxes, began its invasion of Greece and Europe, to complete its dominance of the world. Thermopylae, a pass near the waters, was chosen by the Greek allies as the place to defend because it would be easy for the land army to support the navy. Around 300 Spartans, led by their king, Leonidas, commanded approximately 4000 troops from all the united Greek countries to hold off the Persian invasion till the full Greece force could be summoned4. Their heroism would not be forgotten, as a monument was built to commemorate their bravery, courage and honor. With each retelling, different elements were added to the story to create a whole new feeling. In the graphic novel 300, by Frank Miller, and the movie 300 directed by Zack Snyder, and the novel Gates of Fire, by Steven Pressfield, the historical battle of Thermopylae is adapted to different characterization of characters, plot, and narration as each version expresses a different purpose and the significance of the event.
The roles and interpretation of characters is extremely important to the story. The Persian King, Xerxes, role has changed very much over the years in stories. In 300 the graphic novel, Xerxes is a tyrant king who uses bribery and cruel punishment to command his troops and states that "It's not my lash they fear. It's my divine power" 2. He is made out as the villain throughout the whole graphic novel and shows signs of stubbornness as he calls himself the "King of Gods" 2. In Gates of Fire, Xerxes appears more human and has less villainous qualities. It can be seen that Xerxes comes to admire the Spartans and yearns to learn more about them, which is why Xeones was spared. Xerxes also shows that he can still be irrational, as he kills his own kin when he orders that Leonidas's body be decapitated, but realizing that this was a mistake, he punishes those who were part of the act. Xerxes is less iniquitous in the novel, as he struggles psychologically with the Spartans and it seems as the battles are taking a toll on him, though he does not actual fight in the battles. The role of women shows a significant difference between the graphic novel and the novel by Steven Pressfield. In the graphic novel 300, we see that women do not play much of a role. In truth, there is only one actual slide with the appearance of Queen Gorgo, even though she should be significant since she is the wife of Leonidas. This contrasts differently from the movie 300 and the novel Gates of Fire. In Gates of Fire, Alexandros says:
What is more natural to a man than to fight, or women to love? Is this not an imperative of a mother's blood, to give and to nurture, above all the produce of her womb, the children she has borne in pain? We know that a lioness or she-wolf would cast away her life without hesitation to preserve her cubs or pups. Women the same. Now consider, friends, that which we call women's courage".1
The idea of female heroines is also shown in the movie; however, more through action as Queen Gorgo tries to convince the Spartans to send the full army while facing discrimination due to her gender. The role of women reflects mostly on the society itself, as women become more dominant in our society, authors utilize it to make connections with a wider audience.
The character of Leonidas also is perceived differently in both representations. In 300, Leonidas is seen as a perfect king, man, husband, father and warrior. He symbolizes good and how it must rise up against all odds to fight evil. The graphic novel itself projects Leonidas as the prosopopoeia of Spartan values. This is best shown in the end as the Greeks and their allies make there last stand. In this last pitch, Leonidas makes his last move as a king, where he proves "even a god-king can bleed". He is shown as the last one to die, screaming "My queen. My wife. My love. Be Strong. Good-bye." His death glorifies his actions, which is also shown in the movie 300, where the audience sees Leonidas rained upon by thousands of Persian arrows. In "Gates of Fire", Leonidas is also shown as virtuous and just; however, he is acknowledged as a person rather then a symbolic representation. He seems to be a wise leader and a great warrior. Unlike "300" the graphic novel, Leonidas does not die last; however, his head is decapitated to strike fear into the hearts of Greeks after the battle as a strategy by Xerxes out of anger. Leonidas is still described as the perfect king by Xeones when he states:
I will tell his majesty what a king is. A king does not abide within his tent while his men bleed and die upon the field. A king does not dine while his men go hungry, nor sleep when they stand at watch upon the wall. A king does not command his men's loyalty through fear nor purchase it with gold; he earns their love by the sweat of his own back and the pains he endures for their sake. That which comprises the harshest burden, a king lifts first and sets down last. A king does not require service of those he leads but provides it to them. He serves them, not they him. 1
In this statement, Xeones describes the differences between King Xerxes and Leonidas by summarizing Leonidas's virtuous acts compared to that of Xerxes. Therefore, characters can be depicted differently to provide different aspects for the audience to view as it adds new events and action to the story.
Subplots are developed by authors to enhance the story and give it a more dramatized effect. One of the first subplots in the graphic novel is the picking of the 300 soldiers. In the graphic novel, it's told that Leonidas picked a selective group which he called his "personal bodyguard" 2. Since the oracle and the council refused to let Leonidas go, Leonidas picked a group he knew would be loyal to him and ready to die not only for him, but the cause he was fighting for. In Gates of Fire, it is said that Leonidas picks a sired unit. This means that unit was been sent on a suicide mission because there family line would continue due to all of them having sons. Also, the Spartans were sent to stall the Persian force as part of a military tactic. The betrayal of Ephialtes is important to the story because it adds more drama for the author to work with; however, the graphic novel 300 uses this, but the novel Gates of Fire does not. In the graphic novel, the betrayal of Ephialtes is set up by several other betrayals first. The first betrayal is that of the counsel, who are bribed by the Persians to tell Leonidas to not go to war. However, though the betrayal of Ephialtes is historically proven4, it is not given significant account in "Gates of Fire", Xeones does mention that they were betrayed, but does not say anything in details. This is because both books have different focus and purpose. In the graphic novel, Leonidas tells Ephialtes that "I hope you live for ever" 2, as if to burden Ephialtes for his betrayal. In Gates of Fire, there is no such confrontation between Ephialtes and Leonidas. His name is not even mentioned, even though Xeones does say they were betrayed.
In the Gates of Fire, and the movie 300, subplots around women are created. In the novel Gates of Fire, Dienkes wife and Xeones's cousin, Dimonche, are shown as heroines. Xeones is in love with his cousin as he promises to marry after her breakout about the fact that no one would because she had being raped. However, at the end of novel, when the two reunite, we see that Dimonche has taken care of herself well and provides comfort for Xeones. Likewise, we see that Dienkes wife also plays a heroine role as she sacrifices her husband to save the child of a man who hates Spartans by claiming the child as her husbands. In 300, the movie, Queen Gorgo has a speech in front of the Spartan counsel pleading for them to send the army. She says:
I am not here to represent Leonidas; his actions speak louder than my words ever could. I am here for all those voices which cannot be heard: mothers, daughters, fathers, sons - three hundred families that bleed for our rights, and for the very principles this room was built upon. We are at war, gentlemen. We must send the entire Spartan army to aid our king in the preservation of not just ourselves, but of our children. Send the army for the preservation of liberty. Send it for justice. Send it for law and order. Send it for reason. But most importantly, send our army for hope - hope that a king and his men have not been wasted to the pages of history - that their courage bonds us together, that we are made stronger by their actions, and that your choices today reflect their bravery. 3
She appeals to the audience as she is just and virtuous as her husband. The theme of women who are heroines allows the authors to create more subplots and give a greater connection with the audience of the time. Frank Miller does not use this because his main focus was on glorifying the Spartans who were in combat. As we see, authors create fictitious events and plots to help create different effects as they communicate their reasoning for writing the story to the audience.
The narration of the story holds the biggest key to the unraveling of the true purpose of why the author retells the event. In all of the works the story is being retold by someone else. In the graphic novel 300, Frank Miller writes through the eyes of Dilios. Dilios is a soldier who is sent back by Leonidas to lead the rest of the Spartans to war. Dilios purpose of retelling the story is to motivate the troops to fight their hardest at the Battle of Plataea. Dilios narration allows the author to glorify the Spartans and make the Persians villainous, as that is Frank's Miller's purpose. At the end, Dilios says, "The barbarians huddle, sheer terror gripping tight their hearts with icy finger, knowing what they suffered at the spears and swords of the three hundred. Ten Thousands Spartans - commanding thirty thousands free Greeks!" In this quote, Dilios not only calls the Persians barbarians, making them inhuman, but he also praises the Spartans warriors, as he describes how it feels to face Spartans.
In the movie, Dilios also provides narration; however, the purpose of director Zack Snyder is not only to glorify the Spartans, but also create an exciting movie to watch. The narration is carefully done, but this is best exhibited when 300 soldiers are seen making there last stance. Dilios narrates the event as:
It has being more than forty years since the world and the winter cold. Now, as then, it is not fear that grips him. Only a restless- ness, a heightened sense of things. The seaborne breeze coolly kissing the sweat at his chest and neck. Gulls cawing, complaining even as they feast on thousands of floating dead. The stead breathing of the three hundred boys at his back - ready to die for him without a moment's pause, every one of them. Ready to die. They think they know what that means...3
In this quote, Dilios brings the excitement of the audience to its peak, as they wait to see what happens. In the novel Gates of Fire, Steven Pressfield takes a different approach. Instead of narrating through a Spartan, he narrates through a squire, who is of different heritage, named Xeones. The story starts of as Xeones is recovered by the Persians and brought to health by Persian surgeons. King Xerxes saved one Greek from the battle so he could find out about Spartan culture. Xeones, who narrates most of the story and is recorded by a Persian historian, provides the audience with a less biased character, who not only glorifies the Spartans, but also makes the Persians less villainous. Though Xeones is in front of the Persian council and the king, which could be why he is kind in describing the Persians, he shows both sides as more human and also adds his own story to the telling. He is also of lower class than both Spartans warriors and Persian and due to his open mind, he is a good narrator for the purpose for which Steven Pressfield writes. Narration is important to a story as it helps the audience discover the purpose to why the author has written the story.
In conclusion, the graphic novel 300 by Frank Miller, the movie 300 directed by Zack Snyder, and the novel Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield, all retell the same event differently by adding and changing different elements. As seen, the historical battle at Thermopylae faces makeovers from these authors, as the authors add their own plot, characters and narration to express their own ideas. Stories change to provide a lesson, different idea/perspective or just to be more entertaining. Writing a story is like baking a cake, it all begins with the batter, but what flavors' and toppings make up the cake is all up to the baker.
