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"300" is a real experience on several levels. On one level, it's remarkable for the way the film avoids Spartan pederasty in any obvious way. (See Wikpedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S partan_pederasty.) There's no mention of the institutionalized role of older male lovers in the education of young Spartan boys at all, no clear hints either. That said, on another level, "300" is a gay man's wet dream, overflowing with waxed, bare chested, partially nude studs fighting side by side with one another. In fact, you can watch "300" as a gay metaphor with Sparta as the gay community fighting a hopeless battle against te destructions of intolerance by society at large. The small gay community is simply overwhelmed (taking it in the rear no less) and destroyed by the diverse enemies of the larger majority culture. The clear historical homosexual relations that existed in Sparta (and ancient Greece overall) are totally ignored and left out of the film, however, subtle gay friendly scenes abound.

When building a wall to stop the Persian advance the camera seems to delight in working over the mostly nude Spartan soldiers, sweating and straining as they do their work. Gay men everywhere (and women, I'm sure) will be delighted! The scene between Xerxes and Leonidas is very homoerotic as well, with the towering, bare, mostly nude Xerxes putting his huge hand lovingly on Leonidas' shoulder as the Spartan king turns with his back to the powerful, towering Persian king. It's pretty kinky stuff.

Kinky or not, it's still interesting that the film seems to feel that it can only approach ancient homosexuality in an oblique way. Gays in the military might have worked well for the Spartans but, today, in 21st Century America, it's a hot subject, not something to be discussed really. For our Spartans to be heroic warriors, well, gayness wouldn't really work there, not in present day America. Gay people aren't heroic, for starters and are certainly not going to be warriors. In fact, the most effeminate character in the film is the Persian bad guy par excellence, Xerxes himself. Actually, come to think of it, Xerxes comes across as even more effeminate than Leonidas' wife, Gorgo. Gorgo is a survivor kind of woman, willing to subject herself to the advances of a nasty, conniving Spartan politician and then, just as willing to stab him through the gut when he turns against her in front of the Spartan council. We never see Xerxes do anything that can be considered masculine, and, when

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