How can anyone suggest Americans can compare themselves to Spartans?

Question

The film '300' has gotten people talking. Even the Iranian government is referring to it as a 'cultural bomb'. In typical Hollywood fashion, the film has little to do with history and everything to do with making the audience gasp at special effects.

Yet there seems to be a suggestion Americans can identify themselves with the Spartans. How can anyone consider this seriously? The Spartans, although a warrior people, also scoffed at luxury and comfort, scorned any kind of 'flashiness' and regarded wealth as a pursuit unworthy of a man. If anything, weren't the Spartans as far away culturally as you can ever get from modern-day America and its obsession with wealth, luxury, comfort and sticking-it-to-the-Jones attitude?

Answer 1

I'm not sure who made the suggestion, but it's not valid. If anything, if you want a modern-day version of the Spartans, just to piss Iran off some more, it would be Israel. The only thing we Americans share with the Spartans is love of freedom, even though too many in our country are willing to vote for people who will legislate it away from us (and that's both sides of the aisle).

I'm sorry that we can't rewrite history to please Iran, but the Battle of Thermopylae did happen, and 300 stood against a helluva lot more for 3 days.

Answer 2

Exactly! Americans aren't Spartans. As a nation, we have become fat & lazy always looking for the greener pastures. We Americans love luxury, & so does everyone else who immigrates here legelly or illegelly. That's why people come to our country to better their financial status. Other countries want our help, & our money. If our nation keeps on going the way it does, pretty soon the euro will take the place of the American dollar as international currancy! As far as the Iranian government goes, the movie is loosely based on a war that actually happened. I feel Iran will always try to sway people to their side of the fence no matter what we do. It's just smoke & mirrors to deflect everyone from their nuclear buld up. Anyways, is that all they can come up with? Pick at our nation because of a movie??? Come on people! Get a grip! I commend the movie for being original of sorts. Remakes of recent movies are getting very old!

Answer 3

Spartans in America through Hollywood?? Do you thing whatever ancient Greek episode they show through Hollywood it was like the tell you if you get 5% percent of the story true you are very lucky and Sparta did not evaporate because the women acted like men Spartans were fighting until 1150 ad for what they believe but the Byzantium killed every one they would take their women children to subordinate to Christianity in 1800s became the first capital of Greece and the demolish all the old structures to make the new city go end see. your self ..

Answer 4

There are two interpretations for the movie, the Spartans as the US fighting to defend the rest of the world (Greece) against a common enemy terrorism (Persians). The other being that the Spartans represent the Iraqis and US being the Persians. ie) Xerxes came to finish the job his father failed to complete ala Bush Jr and Sr.

Answer 5

modern day America? or the America that rebelled against Britain and formed this country. In some strange abstract way I suppose you could compare the Americans of the American Revolution partially to this story... where an army of a few stood up to an army of many for democracy. This might be what you are referring to. People need to stop looking modernly and maybe sometimes think history resembles itself.

Answer 6

the ideals of the two cultures are totally different the spartans lived their lives for war and battle and honor, these were their lives freedom to them actually meant something. as compared to americans who say we love freedom but then we approve laws that are completely against it. we say we are a peaceful people but we make games out of death and dying and war. you see the spartans did these things out of necessity, we do them simply because as much as we as a people like to deny it we are violent as much as or more so then the spartans in thought but not in actions generally. and you are right in that the spartans shunned any comforts where we sleep on beds and pillows and couches they probably had things more to the affect of the basica necessity a bed of stone, that sort of thing. they as a people were tough we as a people are weak and pathetic, the average american is overweight, the average american eats way too much fast food the average american is pathetic, wheras the average spartan was less fearful of death and pain and most having been bred for battle their entire life would be athletic and thin. that's about all i have to say and as for answering your question directly i'd say no, the two people's are nothing alike

Answer 7

Amaricans, althogh a peaceful people, have the most advanced tactics and weaponry, similar to the Spartans. Greece was also the cultural center of that time period and therefore is like the immigratory magnet of America.

Answer 8

Ignorance is bliss. Now just how are we in actually paying attention to them?

In other words look at the source. Viable 100 years ago, barely. Now a relic of an old, pre-enlightened culture.
Where hand chopping and stoning is encouraged.
Mass mental retardation, by design.
What walmart couldn't do for those guys. roflmfao.

Just for the heck of it.
Sparta declined because of low birth rates of the warrior class. Their women would dress like boys and the men usually had 'tight' affiliations with younger aged warrior class men. So that's what they, are implying. But their analysis is limited by their cultural inadequacies. They being iran.

Answer 9

By the way, the Spartans (as awesome as they were) didn't exactly believe in freedom. Well, maybe their freedom . . . Sparta was not a democracy, The Spartans had slaves, known as Helots. Spartan youths were encouraged to kill Helots whenever possible, and it was considered "fun".

They were also very concious of their appereance . . .

Answer 10

I took a different interpretation from the film. I was hoping it would be a wake up call to America. We so need to realize that although we are not defending our freedom on our own ground, there is a significant threat to our way of life. Now I do agree that our culture has gotten a bit out of hand and today's society is built up of "sheepeople" that will not rise to the occasion until we can no longer get our grande caramel mochiota from Starbucks. We have forgotten what the founders of this country were fighting for when they stole... I mean founded this country.