300: The Battle Of Thermopylae

While Herodotus in theory refers to Persians as the opposite of Xerxes and the Persians, so Leonidas and the Greeks are viewed as God-Like or Immortals. Later on in the story, Herodotus describes a man named Demaratus speaking to the Persian king Xerxes, he says, “You are now face to face with the first kingdom in Greece and with the bravest men”(Herodotus 7.209). This quote explains how Demaratus tells Xerxes that Leonidas and his men are the bravest people he knows. This claim helps supports Herodotus idea of portraying the Greeks as stronger then the Persians for it gives another person's perspective on how strong the Greeks were. Herodotus shows that not only did other people need to say how strong the Greeks where, you could also see how strong they were on the battlefield. In the text, Herodotus says,“They would turn their backs in unison as if they were in flight, where whereupon the enemy would pursue them with much noise and shouting: then the Spartans, just when the Persian were upon them, would wheel around, face the enemy and inflict heavy losses on them. Some Spartans also feel, but not may”(Herodotus

“THIS IS SPARTA”, a famous quote from the Hollywood movie 300 (2006), is this movie by Zack Snyder true to what really happen? Sparta was a city-state in south west of Ancient Greece with a strict set of eugenics. Sparta was one of the two biggest and strongest city-states and is considered to have the strongest Army of its time. Persia was the super power of its time, it had expanding borders due to conquering and Persia had it eyes on Greece. After first failing to conquer Greece ten years earlier, Persia had returned to finish the job. The Battle of Thermopylae is the story of Sparta and its allies defending against the much bigger

300 is a Hollywood film that focuses primarily on ancient Greece and the battle of Thermopylae as reminisced from history and partly from Frank Miller’s novel, 300. The battle of Thermopylae was a war in which the alliance of Greek city-states such as Athens and Greece went to war against the Persian King Xerxes. Moreover, the movie strictly focuses on the last stand of King Leonidas and his men. According to historical evidence, it is known that the battle between Greece and the Persians consisted of not only the

In all versions of the Battle of Thermopylae, Leonidas and the Spartan army are seen as tough soldiers who grew up under harsh conditions. Spartans typically leave home to begin training on their

Imagine having to face impossible odds, if failed, would kill you. This is exactly what the Spartans had to face when they were protecting their home. The movie 300, directed by Zack Snyder tells the story of the courage and solidarity of King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and his army of three hundred Spartans who fought the army of King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) and his colossal Persian army to their deaths. In 300, producers cover the Spartan life, the Spartan women, and the Battle of Thermopylae.

will learn why Leonidas was chosen to be king of Sparta and commander of the Spartan military. The

In 480 BC, when the Persian horde, estimated by some historians to range from 300,000 to 1.7 million soldiers, landed on the shores of Thermopylae, the Persian King Xerxes sent emissaries to the leaders of the Greek city-states demanding their surrender and patronage to the Persian Empire (Frye, 2006). Despite the massive threat that was encamped on the shores off the Gulf of Maliakos in small town known as Trachis, the Greeks refused. Sparta, known for their superior military might, were chosen by the Greek leaders to lead a coalition of Greek warriors to defend their homeland from the invading Persian army (Frye, 2006).

The battle of Thermopylae occurred in 480 BC and marked the second invasion of the Persian War. Thermopylae was a region in the central east coast of Greece near Athens. Initially the pass at Tempe, near Thessaly was chosen to defend Greece, though this pass proved difficult to defend as there were three passes in which the Persian can simultaneously attack. The Greek fighting force that arrived at Thermopylae consisted of Thebans, Thespians, Phocians, Spartan Helots and King Leonidas’ personal guard of 300 Spartiates hoplites. There were other Greek solider but they were to infinitesimal to take note. The rough estimate of the Greek Defenders numbered from 4000-7000. They were able to hold of the Persians for a couple of days, until Xerxes the Persian king discovered a pass to outflank the Greek defenders, thus allowing him to slaughter the Greeks. Thermopylae was in all respects a defeat.

The Battle of Thermopylae of 480 BC was between the Spartans and the Persians. King Leonidas of Sparta was declared to lead his men to march to the pass of Thermopylae to guard the pass from the Greek city-states. Leonidas went

The Battle of Thermopylae of 480 BC was between the Spartans and the Persians. King Leonidas of Sparta was declared to lead his men to march to the pass of Thermopylae to guard the pass from the Greek city-states. Leonidas went to the Oracle to find out what was going to happen in the battle. The oracle revealed that he was going to die. He knew that he would not be the only one dying, but he also knew that the sons of his men would continue their lineage. While the Spartans marched to the pass, they acquired more men from neighboring Greek city-states. The Persians were going through the pass to get to the Greek city-states to conquer them,

The inaccuracies consist of the number of soldiers, the role of women, and the strong theme of unnecessary skin showing. This movie tells the tale of 300 Spartans trying to hold off Xerxes. While there were 300 Spartans, this film neglects to mention that they were not the only ones fighting. Although Spartans were very isolated in their beliefs and thoughts, they had teamed up with other Greek city-states. Their actual statistics in regard to the number of men in the army was closer to 7000 (“300…life”, Cracked).

Leonidas was the king of the Spartans during the time of the Persian War. The Spartans were the elite of the elite when it came to military strength. One of the greatest displays of his courage and honor was in his last battle, The Battle of Thermopylae. At the Battle of Thermopylae the Persians were trying to come down into Greece through the mountain pass Thermopylae. The odds were heavily against the Greeks with the Persians numbering in the hundreds of thousands and the Greeks only having a couple thousand Athenians and only 300 Spartan warriors under the command of King Leonidas. The Greeks stopped-up the pass with phalanxes and were slaughtering the Persians. The battle was looking like a major victory for the Greeks until the Persians discovered a back-road on a mountain pass and were about to surround the Greeks. King Leonidas told the remaining Athenian Greeks to flee back to Athens while he and his 300 hundred Spartans held off the Persians. The Spartan army caused massive damage to the Persian army by killing off thousands of them. All the Spartans died in that battle, along with Leonidas, but this weakened the Persians and allowed the

The battle of Thermopylae was the Greek’s first stand against the massive army of King Xerxes, and was the most influential battle of the entire war. Up to this point, the Persian army was seen as too massive and powerful to be stopped. The once warring city-states of Greece knew they couldn’t stand against the Persians alone, and knew in order to defend their homeland they would have to unite. A unity of command was agreed upon; King Leonidas of Sparta was chosen to lead the Greek forces. He was chosen to lead because of the unsurpassed warring abilities the Spartans were so well known for made him perfect for the objective of stopping the Persians.

The Battle of Thermopylae goes down in history for being one of the most heroic feats of bravery in any war. The Spartan King Leonidas led 300 Spartan warriors in a fight to block the Persian Army from passing into Greece through a two meter wide pass through the mountains of Thermopylae. The Persian army that vastly outnumbered the Spartans was beat back for two days and during those defeats they suffered heavy losses that outweighed the Spartans 20 to 1. All was lost on the third day after a traitor revealed to the Persian King Xexres that

On the morning of September 17, 480 B.C, the day known throughout history and Hollywood as the last stand of the 300 Spartans. King Leonidas and the brave Spartans faced imminent death as they fought the overwhelming 200,000 Persian soldiers. History sees this event as the battle of Thermopalae, but to Hollywood and most viewers it is better known as the movie- 300 directed by Zack Snider. The movie is very unique as it brings to light the events leading up to the one of the greatest last stands in history displayed by the Greeks. But what makes the movie memorable is the Speech given by Dilios played by actor David Wenham in the final scene. Dilios 's speech captures the attention of many for expressing passion, logic, and credibility to call his Greek army to arms as they charge against the Persians facing imminent doom.