Films about Ancient Greece

One of my best friends is a historian with a passion for Ancient Greece. I myself have a love for the Classics, particularly the plays of Aeschylus and Euripides, however my knowledge on Ancient Greece is limited. So many films have been made about Ancient Greece, each of them taking history into their own hands and reworking them for Hollywood's purpose. Today I wanted to focus on a few of those films and look at how the film differs from the myth.

300 (2006)

Synopsis: King Leonidas of Sparta takes 300 men to fight the Persians at Thermopylae in 480 BC.
History: The Battle of Thermopylae was fought in 480 BC, where King Leonidas of Sparta led an army against the Persian Empire. Leonidas led 300 Spartans, 700 Thespians, and 400 Thebans, the majority of who were killed. Although the film uses elaborate editing and graphics it does somewhat stay true to the story of King Leonidas and his army of 300.

Troy (2004)

Synopsis: Set in the year 1250 BC, Paris, the Trojan Prince persuades Helen, Queen of Sparta, to leave her husband and run away with him. Menelaus asks his brother Agamemnon to bring her back. And so they set off to Troy for war. Achilles fights with the Greeks to defeat the Trojans

History: The Trojan War has a vast and intricate history. In order to understand the lead up to the Trojan War you have to look at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis. There, all the gods were invited, except for Eris. Upset, she rolled a golden apple which was claimed by Hera, Athena and Aphrodite. They fought over it and so Zeus led them to Paris, the Prince of Troy, who was given the command of choosing who would have the apple. They each bribed him. Hera offered him political power, Athena offered him wisdom and skill in battle. Aphrodite offered him the most beautiful woman in the world: Helen, daughter of Leda and Zeus.

Peleus and Thetis had a son named Achilles. The prophecy read that Paris would be the fall of Troy and that Troy could not fall without Achille's help. The war lasted a very long time and included a great many people. If you are a fan of the Trojan War then I suggest you read Aeschylus' "Agamemnon", written in 458 BC it gives wonderful insight into the war. The film Troy however cares not for history or what led to the Trojan War, it simply glorifies battle in the most Hollywood way, bad acting included. 

Immortals (2011)

Synopsis: Theseus, a mortal, is chosen by Zeus to fight King Hyperion, King of Crete.

History: Theseus was fathered by Aegeus and Poseidon, both of whom Aerthra had slept with on the same night. Theseus is most famous for slaying the minotaur. Hyperion was not the king of the Crete, rather he was one of the 12 Titans. I enjoyed the film but it is absolutely not historically accurate. It barely scratches the surface of the story of Theseus, and completely alters the story of the Titans. 

Clash of the Titans (2010) 

Synopsis: Perseus, a son of Zeus, embarks on a perilous journey to stop the underworld from spreading evil to Earth.

History: Perseus was the founder of Mycenae. He killed the Gorgon Medusa and claimed Andromeda, who Perseus saved and married. I have not seen Clash of the Titans because reviews were so bad that I chose to dodge the bullet. I would love to know what you thought about it. Where did it go wrong?

What bother's you most when watching films about Ancient Greece, their obvious disregard for historical fact, or the fact that you never actually see anyone from Greece in them? 

Why Henry, How You've Grown

Back in 2003 a friend and I watched The Count of Monte Christo and we both developed a crush on Henry Cavill who played Albert. He was 20 years old and an unknown actor. I remember trying to look him up on the internet but there wasn't much about him back then. How things have changed.

Today I went and saw him in Immortals. Henry is no longer unknown. He more than proved himself as an actor playing the courageous Theseus. The film is loosely based on the Greek Myths of Theseus, and I don't use the word 'loosely' lightly. If you are a lover of the myths take care, this is very much a Hollywood take on them. When watching the film go for the visuals and battle scenes, not the history.

The film follows Theseus, a bastard son who lives with his mother in a village, which comes under attack from Hyperion (Mickey Rourke), the King of Crete, who is in search of the Epirus bow. Theseus is taken by Hyperion's men and he meets Phaedra, a virgin oracle who can see the future in visions. She can tell that he will be important. With the help of Phaedra (Frieda Pinto) and Stavros (Stephen Dorff) Theseus escapes captivity and they make their way to Mount Tartarus, which is about to be attacked by Hyperion. The gods have been warned by Zeus (Luke Evans) not to interfere but Poseidon (Kellan Lutz), Ares (Daniel Sharman) and Athena (Isabel Lucas) disobey him with tragic consequences.

Immortals is made by the same filmmakers of 300 and the battle scenes are spectacular. It is a gory film so if you're not a fan of blood and splatter perhaps this isn't the film for you. If you are a fan of gorgeous male bodies being put on display then you won't be disappointed.

I thought the story was entertaining, considering how far fetched it all is. Cavill's Theseus is everything a warrior should be: strong, brave and nobel. Rourke's Hyperion is perfectly disgusting. Female roles are always few and far between in stories such as these but it was nice to see Athena kick some Titan ass. The strength of the film lies in the CGI and in Cavill's performance.

Henry Cavill is on his way to becoming one of our generations most recognised actors. His next major performance will be in Man of Steel where he plays Superman. Henry is unknown no more.