I have only seen the ads for "300" and, from what I can see, I'll probably leave it at that. But it is a very interesting phenomenon on a number of dimensions.

I've been obsessed with Thermopylae since I read about it in high school, quite a long time ago. 300 against 1,000,000!! And they would have won, if they hadn't been betrayed! The power of individualism and freedom, against the mob.

On the other hand. On the other hand.

I'm sorry to say, these great virile heroes were all gay as the day is long. Yes, ladies and gents, they were fighting to defend their male warrior lovers as much as to defend Greece, Sparta, their homes, or their wives and children. In fact, they considered their wives and children to be little better than slaves in Sparta and ancient Greece. Women had no rights at all and were considered to be an inferior species.

So what does this "triumph" demonstrate, exactly?

Bear in mind, at the time, the Greeks really didn't want to fight the Persians, at all. They were merchants, farmers, pirates, travellers, traders. They had better things to do. They liked making money, and were good at it. The Persians were an irritant. The Greeks had enough trouble fighting against each other, they were independant and individualistic, and, ultimately, they destroyed each other in the Pelopponesian War. They would have preferred the Persians to just go away.

But they wouldn't, and the Greeks demonstrated that creativity and individualism combined with discipline and desperation will triumph over all obstacles.

It's something to think about. But the moral conclusions are far from obvious.