When was 300 based

Civil war was constant in Greece, but being that Xerxes wanted to add Greece to his empire the choice to come together to fight and put their own issues aside was necessary. During the battle, the alliance fell apart and most of the Greeks retreated except Leonidas and his men, but they were not the only group of men to stay, Thespians willingly stayed behind and stood beside the Spartans to fight the onslaught of Persians.

The movie makes reference to the retreat and it also makes reference that a small number stayed behind to face the enemy. This small number is the Spartans that the movie is based upon, hence the name The movie, however, does not mention that the Thespians willingly and Thebes unwillingly stayed and risked their lives as well.

It is true that the Spartans were very diligent in regard to their military training and their stand at Thermopylae should be seen as courageous, but aside from that, Spartans were no more than barbaric people. When the young males were sent to the Agoge, they were beaten severely on a daily basis.

Some of the boys were killed in training. Also, they were fed such small portions that they were forced to go out and steal food. If they were caught they were beaten, but not because they stole the food, rather because they got caught. A powerful statement that gripped the audience, but unfortunately it is false as well.

The "" Movie vs. S S Star Smith Author. Add to cart. I've shown this movie to world-class historians who have said it's amazing. Although these many city-states vied with one another for control of land and resources, they also banded together to defend themselves from foreign invasion.

Twice at the beginning of the fifth century B. In B. Under Xerxes I, the Persian army moved south through Greece on the eastern coast, accompanied by the Persian navy moving parallel to the shore. In the late summer of B. Leonidas established his army at Thermopylae, expecting that the narrow pass would funnel the Persian army toward his own force. For two days, the Greeks withstood the determined attacks of their far more numerous enemy.

A local Greek told Xerxes about this other route and led the Persian army across it, enabling them to surround the Greeks. Much of the Greek force retreated rather than face the Persian army.

An army of Spartans, Thespians and Thebans remained to fight the Persians. Leonidas and the Spartans with him were all killed, along with most of their remaining allies. In September B. Leonidas achieved lasting fame for his personal sacrifice. Hero cults were an established custom in ancient Greece from the eighth century B. Dead heroes were worshipped, usually near their burial site, as intermediaries to the gods. Oh, I've chosen my words carefully, Persian.

Perhaps you should have done the same! Messenger : This is blasphemy! This is madness! King Leonidas : Madness? King Leonidas : This is Sparta! Sign In. Play trailer Action Drama. Director Zack Snyder. Gordon screenplay. Top credits Director Zack Snyder. See more at IMDbPro. Trailer Clip A Guide to the Films of Zack Snyder. Featurette Interview Photos Top cast Edit. David Wenham Dilios as Dilios.

Dominic West Theron as Theron. Greek historian Plutarch 46 A. But if it was puny and deformed, they dispatched it to what was called 'the place of rejection', a precipitous spot by Mount Taygetus, considering it better both for itself and the state that the child should die if right from its birth it was poorly endowed for health or strength.

Conversely, a respectable man who admired someone else's wife noted for her lovely children and her good sense, might gain the husband's permission to sleep with her -- thereby planting in fruitful soil, so to speak, and producing fine children who would be linked to fine ancestors by blood and family. With impressive art and writing, the graphic novel's story is limited only by one's imagination.

As shown in the film, on a young Spartan male's seventh birthday, he would leave home to begin an education and training regime known as the agoge. In addition to separation from one's family, the agoge involved cultivation of loyalty to one's group, loving mentorship, military training, hunting, dance and social preparation. The literal translation of agoge is 'raising'. The boys lived in groups agelae, herds under an older boy leader.

They put their loyalty to their group above their family. Even after they were married, they would not eat dinner with their wives until they were 25 formal agoge training ended at age Sons of the King were the only males exempt from the agoge.

A Spartan boy's right of passage was not to kill a wolf, it was to sneak out and murder a slave Helot. If you were discovered, then you would be punished severely, not for taking the life of another human being, but rather for getting caught.

Murdering a slave was meant to train you in the art of evasion. Perhaps the biggest problem with the movie is that the film leaves the audience believing that the Spartans were the only Greek force to lead an attack against the Persians. The movie leaves out the decisive amphibious battle that took place in the straits adjacent to Thermopylae, where allied Greek fleets led by Athens held off the Persian fleets.

Soon after, this Athenian led fleet saved Greece by destroying the Persian fleet during the Battle of Salamis, which marked the turning point in the war. Sparta and Athens working together also marked the beginning of Greece as a unified nation, instead of a collection of warring city-states.

Prior to these battles, it was originally the Athenians who had asked Leonidas to help them defend against the Persians. The real Persian King Xerxes had a beard and was much shorter. He never went to the front line at the Battle of Thermopylae as his character does in the movie Actor Rodrigo Santoro portrays the 9-foot-tall Xerxes in the film. Rodrigo, who starred on ABC's Lost , is around 6'2".

His height and voice were both altered for the role of the Persian King. Director Zack Snyder talked about Xerxes' exaggerated features in an interview, " He was out of scale of his voice, not that it wasn't commanding. King Leonidas consulted the Oracle at Delphi. Similar to the movie, the Oracle was located in a temple that had been erected over a small chasm. The Oracle was a woman considered to posses a certain prophetic wisdom, often spiritual in nature.

She was consulted prior to all major undertakings such as wars, the founding of colonies, etc. She would usually babble something almost incoherent, and the elders priests would take her word.

Like in the movie, she advised the Spartans that a king's death would save Greece. Some historians believe that this is why King Leonidas decided to stay and fight until death at the Battle of Thermopylae, instead of falling back to regroup. The Persians didn't bring any charging elephants or rhinos to the Battle of Thermopylae. This was a liberty taken by author Frank Miller and the filmmakers, in order to add to the movie's elements of fantasy.