One of the historians, who described the Persians, was Herodotus. Herodotus is considered to be one of the first true historians of Western Civilization, who lived during the Classical Age of Greece. Modern historians call him the «Father of History and Lies», because his depiction of that time seems to be a «jumble of fact and fable». In his work «Histories», Herodotus described the Persians the way he had seen and imagined them. According to Herodotus, Persians lived in the land of contrast, land where there were deserts and fertile valley networking, land where there was hot summer and cold winter, land, which was rich in minerals and resources, land, which had been subjected to raids and conquering numerous times (Herodotus, Histories, USU.EDU). Herodotus described the Persians as a nation of people, who earned their independence the hard way, and who, after receiving full controll of the land, began conquering the surrounding territory (Herodotus, Histories, USU.EDU). According to Herodotus, one of the kings of Persia, Darius, organized teritory of Persia in the satrapy, administrative units, the model which was inherited by Romans and other invaders. Darius, which Herodotus depicted as a «shopkeeper» king of Persia, improved Persian roads, invented a horse-mail system, as well as sponsored a new religion of Zoroastrianism. According to Herodotus, Persians, under the government of Darius, decided to conquer Greece just to demonstrate Persian might and to open a way towards the rich lands of Sicily and Italy. Herodotus described one feature characteristic of the Persians, compared with the Egyptians. He said that while watching the battlefield, he noticed that the skulls of the Persians are softer than the sculls of the Egyptians. This observation is based on the fact that the Egyptians at an early age shaved their heads and exposed them under the sun, which hardened them and made them stronger as opposed to the Persians, who were trying to be in the shade and wore turbans on the head (Herodotus, Histories, Book 3, MCADAMS.POSC.MU.EDU). According to Herodotus, the Persians just like the Egyptians had an unwritten rule not to give the body of the dead to god, or bury them in the ground for worms to eat or to give the body to the fire to be burned. Persians only embalmed the dead and buried them in the tombs (Herodotus, Histories, Book 3, MCADAMS.POSC.MU.EDU). Herodotus, while talking about Persians, also described the case when Cambyses desired to take his sister as his wife. Cambyses questioned the elders whether there is the law that would forbid to do so and the elders told him that there was no such law, but there was the law that "allows the king do whatever he pleases" (Herodotus, Histories, Book 3, MCADAMS.POSC.MU.EDU). Herodotus depicted Persians as a nation that had possessed none of the luxuries or delights of life, but «wore leathern trousers, and had all their other garments of leather; who fed not on what they like, but on what they could get from a soil that was sterile and unkindly; who did not indulge in wine, but drink water; who possessed no figs nor anything else that was good to eat» (Herodotus, Histories, Book 1, MCADAMS.POSC.MU.EDU). Herodotus described one case of a military attack of the Persians, which characterized them as skilled warriors. Cyrus told the soldiers to ride camels and let them go on the attack, knowing that horses had an innate fear of camels; camels drew the horses to flight, and those warriors who were left were finished off by the Persian infantry (Herodotus, Histories, Book 1, MCADAMS.POSC.MU.EDU).
In 2007, the film called «300» rolled out. This film tells the story of 300 Spartans confrontation, who sleeve under the king of Sparta, Leonidas, against countless Persian army under the auspices of King Xerxes. In this film, the two nations, the Spartans and the Persians are portrayed as a nation of strong, independent people who are ready to sacrifice their lives for their king and his freedom. In the film, a lot of attention is paid to the image of the Persians. According to the film 300, the Persian army numbered more than a million people. One of the messengers of the Persian king, threatening the Spartans, said that because of their arrows, Spartans will not see the sun («300», 2007). According to the film, one of the units, subservient to Persian king were "immortals". They are shown as a squad of assassins, whose faces are hidden behind masks because of their ugliness, but whose ruthlessness knows no boundaries («300», 2007). The film also depicts that the Persians were riders of elephants and rhinos, had giants in their army, people who have some body parts have been replaced with a weapon, and the whole army was fearless thugs. Special attention is paid to king of the Persians, Xerxes («300», 2007). In the film, he is depicted as a high, bald man wearing facial ornaments and who calls himselve an immortal god. The film shows that Xerxes appears before his enemies on the throne, made entirely of gold, and the throne, together with Xerxes, is being carried by his slaves and servants («300», 2007).
In the 300 film, Persians are different from the Greeks and Romans in appearance (clothing, costumes and jewelry that they wear and accent with which they speak to the king Leonid and his subjects). Their morals, values and rituals differ from the Greek and Roman. This is clearly seen if we compare the furnished life of the king of Sparta Leonidas and compare the tent of the Persian king Xerxes, in which he invites Ephialtes, the Greek traitor («300», 2007).
I think Hollywood does a great job at what it produces. The director of the movie adds all of the differences between the real life Persians and the Persians we see on the screen for a certain reason. And that reason is audience involvement. All of the differences are added to make the movie look more interesting and fascinating. But the main thing is that the content of the idea of the look of the Persians passed with unprecedented accuracy. The Persians were really strong, fearless warriors, ready to do anything for their king. They had no fear or fatigue. But at the same time director of the film shows the gifts Xerxes surrounded himself with to emphasize his royal origins and greatness («300», 2007).
Works Citied
300 (2007)
300 (2007). History vs Hollywood. Web. Mar, 18. 2016. Retrieved from:
http://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/300spartans.php
Herodotus and the Persian Wars (n.d.) USU.EDU . Web. Mar, 18. 2016. Retrieved from:
http://www.usu.edu/markdamen/1320hist&civ/pp/slides/02herodotus.pdf
Section 2. Herodotus and the PersianWars (n.d.) Web. Mar, 18. 2016. Retrieved from:
http://www.usu.edu/markdamen/1320hist&civ/chapters/02herod.htm
The Persian Wars by Herodotus (n.d.) Web. Mar, 18. 2016. Retrieved from:
http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/txt/ah/Herodotus/Herodotus3.html
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica (2014) Persian. People. Web. Mar, 18. 2016.
Retrieved from: http://www.britannica.com/topic/Persian
