Classics Professors Bring Ancient Battle Alive on the History Channel
March 9, 2007
Watch Saint Anselm College’s classics department showcase its expertise on the History Channel this month in Last Stand of the 300, a documentary about the battle of Thermopylae.
Classics Professor David George helped write the script for the two-hour program and served as a “talking head” along with colleagues Linda Rulman, lecturer, and Matthew Gonzales, assistant professor. The release of the documentary coincides with the opening this weekend of the Warner Brothers film 300, a movie based on the ferocious, legendary battle.
The documentary premiered March 8 and will be repeated at 5 p.m. Saturday, March 10, and again Friday, March 30, at 8 a.m.
The battle of Thermopylae took place in a narrow pass along the Aegean Sea in 480 B.C. Three hundred Spartans, whom the documentary describes as the Delta Force of their day, sacrificed their lives to defend the Greek City States from a Persian Empire force of more than one million men. Saint Anselm’s professors help describe the armor, the military strategies, the societies, and the warriors involved in this epic battle.
“After Custer, Thermopylae is the most famous last stand in history,” the History Channel states in its promotion for the program. “When it is over, every Spartan in the pass will have sacrificed his life for freedom.”
Last Stand of the 300 Links (from Limulus Productions):
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Way to go, Prof. George!! :-D
I have just started watching your special. I spend quite a bit of time watching the history channel. I think that all the professors from your school are wonderful. Very well spoken and presented.
I haven’t seen you in about 4 years…but…great job Prof. George! The show was great, you did a fantastic job working on the project. You do know what your talking about, and I still appreciate you taking us to Greece in 2003. I still can’t wait to go back!
You should also mention Rick Gabriel, former professor at Saint Anselm, who also spoke on the show. Rick was my faculty advisor at The Army War College in 1993-1994, while he was a visiting professor. A little grayer now but still has the same wit and wisdom on ancient battles. This was an outstanding presentation — I also enjoyed the movie. Congratulations.
Great to see you on Friday, Prof George! I have everyone ready to watch it on March 30th. Go see the movie!
Great job! St. A’s can be even more proud of you.