Posted on 03/18/2007 9:32:41 AM PDT by freedom44
The Battle of Thermopylae was of course written by the classical Greek author, Herodotus, who lived in the Persian city of Halicarnassus. His book, 'The Histories' became part of Western folklore only recently. It was not until about 1850 that America embraced Herodotus as the leading authority on Persian history.
Before 1850, however, the West had a very favorable impression of the Persian Empire. That's because the West's main source for Persian history was the Bible and the 'Cyropaedia,' written by another Greek author named Xenophon.
But the Cyropaedia glorified the monarchy of Cyrus The Great, and in the wake of two bloody revolutions fought by America and France to liberate themselves from their own monarchies, a major campaign began, around the mid 19th century, to promote democracy throughout the rest of Europe, and Herodotus was the perfect propaganda tool.
Herodotus was a democratic groupie and was quickly ushered in as the "Father Of History." Around 1850, his 'Battle Of Thermopylae' came to symbolize the West's struggle for democracy against the powerful forces of Persia's monarchy.
The story is easy to buy into: 300 brave Spartans saved Western democracy from 2.7 million evil Persians. But aside from the fanciful numbers which need decimal-point adjustments, this whimsical tale has far graver consequences than a mere biased account of history.
The 'Battle Of Thermopylae' has been the single most powerful wedge, which has divided East and West for over 2 millennia. In a time when East and West should be reconciling their differences, along comes the movie '300' to drive that wedge even deeper.
What is most disturbing about this movie is not that it lacks historical accuracy. It is not that Xerxes, the Grandson of Cyrus The Great and loving husband of Esther, is shown as an oversized drag queen. It is not even the outdated racist cliché of casting the Persians as Africans and the Spartans as white, blue-eyed 'Chippendale dancers,' when in reality the roles may well have been reversed.
What is so distressing about this movie is the realization of the tremendous power Hollywood wields in determining a people's identity. It is the same nightmare Native Americans endured during the whole 'cowboy-movie' genre.
But for those who are quick to dismiss '300' as a fleeting fantasy flick aimed at the insignificant, 17 to 24 year-old male video-gamer, think again. First there was Alexander, now '300,' next could well be the 'Battle Of Marathon,' another one of Herodotus's glowing accounts of ancient Persia.
Herodotus is accepted blindly by virtually all Western demographics. Even the New York Times is not immune. Here is how it described the Persians in its April 20, 2004 issue about the Battle Of Marathon:
"the defeat of a ruthless state (Persia) that had enslaved much of the known world from the Balkans to the Himalayas."
"the ancient Greeks defeated the Asian invaders (Persia) and saved Europe in what scholars call one of the first great victories of freedom over tyranny" - William J. Broad, (NY Times)
Persian Empire Cyrus The Great
What stretches the limits of hypocrisy is that there isn't a single shred of archeological evidence that the Persians ever owned slaves. Yet we know that slavery was an integral cornerstone of Greek society. Aristotle's manifesto even sanctions it. Persia, which was once a haven for runaway slaves from Egypt, Greece, and later Rome, is today branded as a slave-hungry empire by cultures which were built on slavery!
What makes Herodotus's propaganda so difficult to refute is that it is peppered with facts. But in reality, it is a desperate diatribe. Perhaps his biggest ploy is his attempt to equate democracy with freedom. These two words are used virtually interchangeably throughout his book. And the West has swallowed it hook-line-and-sinker.
But America's founding fathers knew better. They were not swayed by Herodotus. They implemented many safeguards to protect freedom from the pitfalls that mired Athenian democracy. Even Winston Churchill said, "Democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others which have been tried."
Democracy may well be the best form of government. But what makes America great is not so much democracy as it is its Bill Of Rights. And this is exactly what made Persia Great. Democracy can often lead to tyranny by the majority as was the case in democratic Athens, where women, slaves and foreigners did not have the right to vote.
In monarchic Persia, however, women enjoyed a level of gender equality unmatched even to this day, and slavery was not practiced. The fact is, Persia's monarchy was more free than Athens' democracy, all because of Persia's Bill Of Rights.
No one exemplifies Persia's freedom better than Herodotus himself. He describes Athens as the bastion of freedom, yet he chose to live in Persia. Xenophon, on the other hand, who actually lived in Athens, reminisces enviably about the monarchy of Cyrus The Great?
Herodotus claims Persia had enslaved most of the known world, yet we know Herodotus was not a slave. He traveled freely throughout the empire, openly criticizing it.
Why did Herodotus not live in Greece? Because Persia - the empire he is so quick to demonize - afforded him the very freedom to publish his scathing report of it. People want to live where their god-given rights are protected, regardless of whether its democratic or monarchic.
These god-given rights were first drafted into law by the founder of the Persian empire, Cyrus The Great. In fact, ancient Persia may well have served as the blue print for America's Bill Of Rights. Both Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, the architects of America's Constitution, were great admirers and owned several copies of Xenophon's Cyropaedia.
Today, no other country resembles ancient Persia as closely as does the United States. If any country should sympathize with, rather than celebrate, Persia's quagmire in Greece it is the United States. Few events in history mirror America's war on terror as closely as Persia's war on Greece.
The Greeks had been carrying out terrorist attacks on Persian holdings for years. They had attacked Persian cities, set fire to Persian temples, disrupted key trade routes, and pirated merchant ships crossing the Bosphorus. They incited rebellions inside Persian provinces, but perhaps most abhorrent to the Persians was the ease by which the Greeks broke their treaties and betrayed Persia's trust.
Rather than resort to violence, however, Persia tried to keep the Greeks in check by financially supporting Greek politicians who were "pro-Persian," much the same way America fights its proxy wars. But what finally triggered Persia's wrath was an act rarely mentioned in the West, though well documented, even by Herodotus (7:11).
Persia's 9/11:
In 498 BCE, Athens carried out a terrorist attack on Sardis, a major Persian city, which made 9/11 seem like child's play. Aristagoras, an Athenian, set fire to the "outlying parts" of Sardis trapping most of its population "in a ring of fire." (Herodotus 5:101)
More innocent civilians died at the hands of Aristagoras than Osama bin Laden could ever hope to kill. And just as most of the world supported America's retaliation against Al Qaeda, so did it rally in support of Persia's attack on Athens.
The Spartans were not even targets of Persia's attack, until they violated a universal protocol by killing a Persian messenger who Herodotus claims was asking for Sparta's submission but in reality was probably sent by Persia's king, Xerxes to convey the same message America sent to the entire world after 9/11: "you're either with us, or against us."
The Spartans were Greek Jihadists who lived only to die. They were by all accounts ruthless savages who murdered Greek slaves known as "Helots" just for sport, cultivated a culture of thievery and rape, and practiced infanticide, as the movie '300' rightly points out in its opening scenes. Sparta was not even democratic. It was an oligarchy at best. Despite knowing all this, the West continues to hail the Spartans as the saviors of Western democracy.
Yes, the Spartans died fighting a foreign invader. But so do countless terrorists, yet few would consider them "good guys." Those who do are then not much different from Westerners who cheer for the Spartans.
Persia was drawn into a protracted war against terror, much the same way the U.S. was. Cheering for the Spartans merely because they were underdogs, is like cheering for Osama bin Laden today.
The Power Of Film:
History is no longer written by the victors, it is written by filmmakers. When will the children of Persia rise up and fight back using the same weapon Hollywood has used for decades to denigrate the legacy of their ancestors? When will we abandon our defensive posture and begin to write our own history again?
Perhaps the movie '300' was a necessary wake up call. But Persia bashing will never disappear on its own. It is the main villain in the Western saga. The only way it will change is through the power of film.
Alex Jovy's epic movie about Cyrus The Great could have done wonders for the Iranian image. Most minority groups in America understand the power of film and are quick to finance films that communicate their stories to the rest of the world. But Alex Jovy's movie today sits idle due lack of money. My documentary film about Cyrus The Great (www.spentaproductions.com) has languished for a mere want of $400,000.
Iranians are the most affluent and educated minority group in America. If we set our minds to it, we could literally change the world. This Norooz, I hope all Iranians, regardless of race, religion or political affiliation, resolve to finally unite in an effort to redeem the reputation of our ancestors.
While accurate, this statement is incomplete. The Arabs took just as much from Christian Byzantine civilization as they did from Persia.
Hell,I was just quoting someone else.I assumed it was his farewell speech without even looking.In either case,the 14th amendment makes it all moot.
I've been reading Scott v. Sanford.I once saw a quote from Sam Adams,who was disgusted at the idea that the preamble of the constitution mentioned "we the people" instead of something like "we,the representatives in congress assembled".I have not been able to find this quote.But the sentiment expressed was that the states were the citizens of the new country.In the beginning,the people only elected house members.Now,with the 17th amendment,and the push to eliminate the Electoral College,direct democracy threatens us all.
Ah,
Chalmers Johnson.
I have that book in my collection, and I've read it cover to cover. It would be difficult to say that it isn't useful, to some degree. But, I found it to be too ignorant of necessity regarding the protection, and projection, of American power. I know the man is smart, but that don't mean he's right.
My other issue with his relatively new found distrust of America, is the timing. Copyright 2000. Just about the time the rest of the elite CIA dolts were setting us up for a media fall, or should I say, setting Bush up.
It's not hard to see which side Chalmers comes down on.
Can we copy this feat by killing Imadinnerjacket when he comes to America in May?
The difference is, the Greeks were defending their homeland against an expansionist empire's war of aggression.
About 1,900 years later, the "same" expansionist hordes made it all the way to Vienna--and then again, 150 years after that.
Custer was on the expansionist side; ignored orders; and was seeking personal glory at any cost. The other main difference is that in the case of the Greeks, the odds were about the same as the odds against Custer; and, the Greeks followed orders and achieved their objective, though it cost them all their lives.
A better analogy would be Roland commanding the rear guard at Roncevalles.
Or, would you prefer an Arabic speaking Europe farting at God 5 times a day; and without any Hellenic & Roman influences?
The Spartans were not even targets of Persia's attack, until they violated a universal protocol by killing a Persian messenger who Herodotus claims was asking for Sparta's submission but in reality was probably sent by Persia's king, Xerxes to convey the same message America sent to the entire world after 9/11: "you're either with us, or against us."Rubbish. The Persian King sent emissaries to the Greeks, demanding water and earth symbolic of submission to him. They killed the emissaries, and eventually the imperialist himself was defeated and humiliated. The Persian empire was merely a would-be conquering power.
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The best way present day Iranians could redeem the reputation of Iranians of all past and present regimes would be to overthrow the mad Mullahs and their madman president, hang the whole gang from streetlight posts the way the Italians hung Mussolini, and then renounce the demon-worshipping Islamic religion and join the 21st century world.
Until recently I thought the Iranian people would finally get fed up with having the maroons who run the joint put them at risk of nuclear annihilation by threatening to nuke Israel and the western nations, but now I'm not at all sure that will happen. We're just wasting precious time while the feckless UN diplomats timidly threaten Ahinaminadadabbabbado and the Mullahs with economic reprisals if they blow up the planet and kill all of it's inhabitants. Yeah, a threat like that will surely stop a gang of suicidal maniacs from carrying out their planned Götterdämmerung, right?
Once the nuclear genie is out of the Iranian bottle it's gonna be mushroom cloud-time for every westerner and Israeli within missile range of Iran. Am I the only one who sees that as a distinct possibility?
Kwok Ting Lee
300 Spartans
Published10 March 2007, 11:15 PM
http://81ideas.com/archive/entries/2007/03/10/300-spartans/
"The emissaries of Persia asked for 'earth and water' from the Greek cities as a token of their submission. This was not merely unpalatable news. This was a challenge to the independence of the Greek city-states. The Spartan response was to throw the Persian emissary into a well, while the Athenians tossed theirs into a pit, taunting them to get the water and earth themselves. This was an act calculated to show the Persians the depths of Spartan and Athenian resistance."
Actually the Islamic backlash is caused by the Leftist in the US exporting their anti-God pro-abortioin BS onto the Islamic nations and they are fighting it with more fervor then we here at home.
The point was that the US was unprecidented in history. Although, now, things are looking a might familiar...
Pull your panties out of your butt and lighten up, Mr. Kar, it's just a freakin' movie for entertainment already!
Birds of a different feather.
The "expansionist hordes" who were repulsed at the gates of Vienna twice were Muslim Turks. The ancient Persians who invaded the Grecian city states were neither Muslim nor Turks.
The only correlation I see is that both invaders came from the general area of what was then called Asia, which we now call the middle east, and both were hell-bent on conquering western civilization and occupying it's territory. IIRC my history lessons of half a century ago, and I may not, the Persians won in the short term but lost to the Greeks in the long run, and the Turks failed at both attempts to overrun central Europe.
But now over three centuries after that last invasion was turned back, the descendants of Suleiman's army are overrunning and occupying all of Europe by means of relatively peaceful tactics instead of cavalry charges and seiges. So the $64 question now is, who is very close to winning this five century-long war in the long run?
And it bears a striking similarity to a Declaration written on behalf of the Low Countries, written more than a century earlier.
It was translated into English in the movie.
I'll go one better. The rumblings of empire began with Wilson's interventionism. Your post is absolutely true. It may not be in the mercantilistic version of Great Britain but history will see it as a version of empire.
it's worse than you think!
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