*cringes* Sparta, not Spartacus

[jmc_bks]

Gah!  On the radio this morning, one of the deejay's was talking about how he wants to see the movie 300 this weekend.  Cool, me too.  Except his co-host was all, "Oh, right, that movie about Spartacus."  Wrong reference:  wrong empire, wrong peninsular country, wrong fight altogether.  

Spartacus:  Roman slave turned gladiator turned rebellion leader in the 1st century BCE.

Sparta:  militaristic Greek city-state with strict warrior code and stoic living conditions; root of the term spartan, meaning utilitarian and plain; enemy of the Athenian city-state, against whom it fought the Peloponnesian War; its warriors were the heroes of the Battle of Thermopylae (subject of the movie 300) which effectively ended Persian expansion into Europe in the 5th century BCE.

This is basic Ancient Civilization information, stuff learned in 10th grade, then repeated in HIST 100 in college.  Bah!

Comments

[jperceval.livejournal.com]

Oh lord, that's just bad!!!! We should get Gerry Butler to go yell, "I. AM. SPARTA!" in their faces until he gets it.

[jmc-bks.livejournal.com]

I don't think he'd get it, even with GB yelling :) That particular deejay is funny, but neither history nor current events are really his thing.

::sigh:: Gerard Butler. I'd want to see the movie for him alone, even if I didn't find the idea of it interesting :)

[(Anonymous)]

Hee hee. What a comment.

I took Ancient Greek in High School and college, and now my daughter is asking me to find and read Ancient Greek out loud to her because she wants to know what it sounds like. Interesting twelve year old I've got here.

Suisan

[jmc-bks.livejournal.com]

So, what *does* Ancient Greek sound like?

And how do we know what it sounded like? Are we just guessing? I'm not being snarky, I just wonder. I always wondered during my linguistics classes when we discussed old English and the Great Vowel Shift, how do we know, really, what is sounded like? It's not like there were recordings. Except in clay pots.

From Carrie http://lovelysalome.blogspot.com

[(Anonymous)]

I knew I was hangin' with a very different type of women last night when I mentioned that I really really want to see 300. First they asked what it was. Then I told them. Then they stared at me for a bit. Sigh... I bet they aren't huge "Band of Brothers" fans either. Sometimes I despair for middle class midwestern housewives. Often, actually.

Re: From Carrie http://lovelysalome.blogspot.com

[jmc-bks.livejournal.com]

I don't think it's just midwestern ones. Or housewives.

It's interesting to read your observation, though, because it gives me a new perspective on Madison. My (limited) exposure to Madison was via my sister in grad school, so my snapshot of the city and people is one of a very liberal, crunchy, activist, engaged community; up on current events, media, etc.

From Carrie http://lovelysalome.blogspot.com

[(Anonymous)]

They are -- and the city is just great. But the women I know have very poor taste in film :)