The 'This is Sparta' meme originated from the 2006 fantasy war film 300, based on Frank Miller’s comic series. In the scene, King Leonidas, played by Gerard Butler, responds to a Persian messenger’s threat by shouting the iconic line before kicking him into a deep pit. The moment went viral shortly after the film's trailer release due to Leonidas's exaggerated facial expression and the sheer intensity of the delivery. It became a staple of early YouTube 'Sparta Remixes' and image macros, symbolizing aggressive defiance or the rejection of 'madness' in favor of one's own conviction.