The Olympian, Sixth Movement

The Olympian, A Tale of Ancient Hellas.  A film treatment in eight movements.

Sixth Movement – Thermopylae: Simonides follows Theo as the boxer flees from Olympia to Thermopylae carrying his Olympic prize.  They save days by cutting across the Corinthian Gulf where Theo waits for the old man.  As they approach Thermopylae from the southwest, they encounter the Phocian soldiers who were slaughtered by the Persian rear guard that found a way to circumvent the pass at Thermopylae via a goat path to surround the Spartans.  Simonides and Theagenes reach the cliffs overlooking Thermopylae in the final throws of the battle.  They witness the final stand of the 300  as the Spartans fall before a deluge of Persian arrows, but not before they hear the noble Persian offer of clemency from the king, “Brave Spartans, your valor in the face of certain death is unmatched by any men.  There is no shame in what you have done here.  Receive Xerxes’ mercy and return to your wives and children.  Throw down your weapons and be spared by the Great King.”   Leonidas responds with his immortal words, “Molon Labe! Come and take them.”  As Lampis and his Spartan brothers fall beneath the wave of arrows, Simonides turns to Theo and says  “Watch now, Olympian.  Turn your eyes back to the hill, for there is the man you dare call coward.”