John
Trikeriotis. The 47-year-old financial consultant who lives north of Baltimore
with his wife and two kids knows a thing or two about the movie's story--the 480
B.C. Battle of Thermopylae, where 300 Spartans held off a vastly larger Persian
army long enough for other Greeks to escape to fight again. Trikeriotis runs the
web site 300spartanwarriors.com and theleonidasexpeditions.com,
devoted to all things Thermopylae, and can also sell you, for instance, an
"adult-size Corinthian helmet with a genuine horsehair crest which can be used
for display or reenactment purposes." Born in Australia, the son of a Greek
tailor, Trikeriotis became interested in the battle at an early age, when he saw
the 1962 movie The 300 Spartans with his father in the late '60s. Since, he has amassed an extensive collection
of books, replicas, and facts from the battle. We have never met but have been
corresponding ever since he contacted me for asking if he could link to my a
film review I wrote on
Rudolph Maté's
cult film also known as the Lion of Sparta.
I discovered
not only an interesting and kind personality but also a man genuinely interested
in learning more about Persian/Iranian history and culture. It actually turned
out that he has been updating me on Iranian archeological findings or on
projects by Iranian Diaspora Artists in relation to ancient Persia such as the CGI 3D Persepolis
an Iranian and German initiative to recreate a virtual Persepolis in all its
Splendor or the 300 Project
(**) by a fellow Iranian compatriot who aims at offering a more balanced
depiction of Persian culture than what was suggested in the much debated recent Hollywood film 300.
Quite
interestingly I was even surprised by sharing common ground with John on the
latter film based on Frank Miller's comic book. We were both frustrated not to
have seen a more accurate epic film on one of the major battles in human history
but also sad to see that the debate surrounding the film only deepened the gap
between Western and Persian Civilizations at large at least on a short term
in the popular public mindset.
Paradoxically
however the Box Office Success of 300 has probably been a blessing in disguise
for it has triggered many younger generation filmmakers in the Iranian Diaspora
but also amongst non Iranians to initiate film projects that would highlight
Persian History but particularly our cultural heritage in a more favorable
light. John also shared his concerns about the way the Spartans were depicted
physically ( like Chippendales ), culturally but also socially which
overshadowed much of what archeologists and historians have painstakingly
discovered during archeological expeditions or patiently gathered for public
display today in museums worldwide.
What has been interesting in our correspondences
over a year has been that it allowed both of us to have better appreciation on
the two of the founding ancient civilizations of Mankind: Persian and Greece (
including Sparta). Also the necessity of sharing our mutual knowledge and
information on them. John has as a matter of fact been developing the idea of
including more and more sub-sections on his website dedicated to Ancient Persians and even hopes to include information on the
Persian/Iranian Diaspora at large specifically on our cultural achievements in
order to inform his readers and visitors of his website.
He welcomes
any feedback from anyone genuinely interested and competent
in bridging the archeological, historical and cultural gaps between our
two civilizations in a constructive way. Feel free to email him at 300spartanwarriors@gmail.com
(**) The 300 Project is an
ongoing collaborative art project featuring art by artists using the theme of
'ancient Persia'. Driven by an admiration for arts, and united by a common
concern about the barbaric and demonic portrayal of Persians in Frank Miller's
graphic novel and the movie 300, we have come together to show the human side of
the Persian Empire through our art. See Website:
http://300themovie.info/
