Even so Athens gave help to Sparta in the suppression of the helots, but their help was met with Spartan distrust (possibly because of the contemporary political changes at home, the reforms of Ephialtes: the relative chronology is uncertain): the Spartans grew afraid of the enterprise and unorthodoxy of the Athenians.

Introduction 2500 years ago, two totally different city-states dominated Greece. Athens was an open society, and Sparta was a closed one. Athens was democratic, and Sparta was ruled by a select few. The differences were many. In 431 BCE a war broke out between Athens and Sparta.

The primary causes were that Sparta feared the growing power and influence of the Athenian Empire. The Peloponnesian war began after the Persian Wars ended in 449 BCE. The two powers struggled to agree on their respective spheres of influence, absent Persia’s influence.

Sparta: Military Might Life in Sparta was vastly different from life in Athens. Located in the southern part of Greece on the Peloponnisos peninsula, the city-state of Sparta developed a militaristic society ruled by two kings and an oligarchy, or small group that exercised political control.

Peloponnese

The Spartans valued discipline, obedience, and courage above all else. Spartan men learned these values at an early age, when they were trained to be soldiers. Spartan women were also expected to be strong, athletic, and disciplined.

about 150 miles

Modern day Sparta, the capital of the prefecture of Lakonia, lies on the eastern foothills of Mount Taygetos in the Evrotas River valley. The city has been built upon the site of ancient Sparta, whose Acropolis lies north of the modern city. To the southwest stands Mt. Taygetos.

Gladiators were slaves that fought in the Roman Coliseum, usually to the death. if a gladiator fought well, he might be set free. the gladiator was a slave who fought for brutal entertainment, while a spartan was a soldier who fought for a brutal job.

Both are fictionalized retellings of the Battle of Thermopylae within the Persian Wars. The plot revolves around King Leonidas (Gerard Butler), who leads 300 Spartans into battle against the Persian “God-King” Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) and his invading army of more than 300,000 soldiers.

The famous yell of King Leonidas “This is Sparta!” which became one of the most popular memes on the internet is the actor Gerard Butler’s improvisation.

Ahead of the battle, it is alleged that the Persian Great King, Xerxes, asked the Spartan king Leonidas to order the Greek men to lay down their weapons. In response, Leonidas replied with two words, molōn labe. Literally read, it means “having come, take”, but conventionally it is translated as “come and take them”.

Yes, that happens, there are many instances of on-set improvisations, but there’s a different method that some directors and actors have used to improvise material, one where actors improvise in rehearsal.

While improvisation is usually not the norm in a theatrical play, it does happen – but NEVER with Shakespeare or even modern classics. In film it can happen more often, but that doesn’t mean it will make final cut. Directors in film will usually have an open hand on this to help the actor discover.

Actors often do multiple takes of a scene, sometimes they’ll do one when they change the lines or the delivery and then the editor/director will choose the best one in post. And some directors (namely Clint Eastwood) won’t let them and do the take and move on.

While there are significant exeptions, it’s the actors job to inhabit the lines given, not create new ones. It does disrespect to the screenwriter, director, and other actors to ad-lib whole cloth.

AFI’s 100 YEARS…100 MOVIE QUOTES

1. “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” Gone with the Wind (1939)
2. “I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse.” The Godfather (1972)
3. “You don’t understand! I coulda had class.
4. “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” The Wizard of Oz (1939)
5. “Here’s looking at you, kid.”