The will of Life & the passion of Death
What Honor Pushes Man To Do
The will for life and the passion for death, what that means I believe for people of honor and that have a logistical understanding of life and death see that the will or want of life is a luxury to have first and foremost; while death becomes the climax and rejoice of those that understand and are comfortable with the fact of such a “glorious sensation”. The Spartans main look at life is to live life to complete fulfillment and when the end comes, embrace the times had and the moments to come; they pushed their own comfortability with death farther than where I believe most would ever venture to be. Leonidas I was the King of Sparta during the Battle of Thermopylae, Greece in 480 BC and led the noble 300 Spartans to the “Hot Gates” a small narrow passageway where Southern and Northern Greece meet; it is called that because of the natural hot springs that are in the area and at the time was believed to be the entrance to Hell or Hades.
King Leonidas I decided that when King of Persia (Xerxes) wanted Sparta to kneel to his Empire, Sparta refused, thus he went against Spartan Law of not engaging in war during the festival of Carnea; also going against the Council of Sparta. King Leonidas led three-hundred of his best men into battle with an alliance of Greek city-states; over the course of three days to try to stop or defeat King Xerxes and his army of about 80,000-150,000 men and creatures during the second Persian invasion of Greece. King Leonidas shows an endearing amount of valor and perseverance to protecting his home state and country, his family, and the family of the men with him going to battle. I view King Leonidas’s actions as brave and well thought out, as I believe his hope was to use himself and the three-hundred men to stop the Persians en route but was mainly to spark Greece becoming unified against one tyrannical force.
When King Leonidas speaks to King Xerxes (one on one) he explains how he would give his life to save one of his own men and how the Spartan mentality works and why the Persians will fail in their conquest. King Xerexes is a tyrant that believes himself to be a god and wishes to conquer all of Greece. He uses slaves and creatures from the different areas he conquered to fight the Spartans and Greek warriors, these tactics did not work; nothing worked until a traitor from Sparta exclaims to King Xerxes a passage leading behind the Spartans and Greek soldiers. King Leonidas knowing of the newly found disadvantage he and his men have been put to, King Leonidas sends back the majority of Greek soldiers and one Spartan to tell the tale of the three-hundred; all the King asked of Sparta and Greece was to remember the men that valiantly laid down their lives for the reason and purpose of the continuation of Sparta.
King Leonidas has the last of his men form a metal shell that he stands in front of, facing King Xerxes and his army, he drops his helmet, shield and spear all in show of surrender and submission. King Xerxes is surprised and skeptical of King Leonidas’s actions, King Leonidas then yells and the men break ranks attacking any enemy in reach as archers fly arrows at the fighting Spartans taking one by one down; King Leonidas rushes forward with his spear and throws it at King Xerxes, the spear flies toward King Xerxe’s face and cuts his cheek down the sid, this shows blood and mortality, not a god. King Leonidas’s final stand I believe was to keep to his word from the beginning of the film, Sparta does not submit to any tyrannical force and to show that no man is a god, we all fall and or bleed, the integrity and honor we hold inside is what makes us more or less of a man than the other, and that death is the most glorious thing to achieve in battle and in life (to a Spartan). I chose to write about this movie because it is not only a favorite but it gives me a different outlook on life and how to deal with struggles, what it means to be humble and choose words wisely, how to hold to my beliefs no matter the circumstance or threat at hand, and the movie I believe really conveys the true meaning of honor and nobility and what it means to not only be a soldier but a honorable man as well, to be someone worth remembering and aspiring after.
About the Creator
Conor M. Daly
Philosophical thoughts & questions constantly overwhelm my mind. This is a space to share those thoughts & questions, I hope you enjoy my ways of viewing the world & the people in it. Thank you for any support & I hope it makes you think!
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