Analysis Of The Movie ' 300 ' The Battle Of Thermopylae '

Gates of Fire By: Steven Pressfield Subject Person- Spartan Warriors Place- Greece 480 B.C. Event- Battle of Thermoplae. Concept- Xeones recounts his life leading up to the battle. Object- Greek city-states consisting of 300 Spartan Warriors, 400 Thebans, 700 Thespian Volunteers And around 900 Helots Fought The Persian Empire at the pass of Thermopylae. Reason For Choosing Book Prior to reading this novel I had some knowledge of the Battle of Thermopylae. I watched the movie 300last year and it is based on the battle of Thermopylae and the lifestyle of the Spartan Warriors. Summary Gates of Fire tells the story of a young Greek boy, Xeones, who is the sole Hellenic survivor of the epic battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC. After

“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

The Battle of Thermopylae, which Herodotus recorded in his writing The Histories, was one of the most arduous and notable battles of western history. Herodotus was an extremely significant historian who lived during the 5th century B.C. In this primary source writing, he portrays how Xerxes was superstitious and tyrannical, how the battle informs you about the Spartan culture, how the values of Greek promoted society, and he displayed how significant the Persian invasion was on Greek development, for example, their political and intellectual expansion. The Persian King Xerxes

The Battle of Thermopylae was fought between an alliance of Greek city-states, led by King Leonidas of Sparta, and the Persian Empire of Xerxes I over the course of three days, during the second Persian invasion of Greece. It took place simultaneously with the naval battle at Artemisium, in August or September 480 BC, at the narrow coastal pass of Thermopylae. The Persian invasion was a delayed response to the defeat of the first Persian invasion of Greece, which had been ended by the Athenian victory at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC.

Scholars, artists, authors, and filmmakers in recent years have been interested in Herodotus’s depiction of the Battle of Thermopylae, creating several different versions and interpretations of the story across multiple forms of media. The legendary battle of Thermopylae, in 480 B.C.E, demonstrated the strength, courage and bravery of the Spartan Army that went up against the Persians. The Spartans held off the Persian army of Xerxes for two days until their position was flanked by a secret trail. However, in the face of unbeatable odds and with the knowledge of a victory being almost impossible, they fought with the utmost confidence in themselves and proved that the Spartan army was one of the strongest armies in Greece, even though they were eventually defeated. Although, some of the representations of the battle in today’s media do not accurately tell the same story that Herodotus did. Frank Miller and Zack Snyder depict the Battle of Thermopylae with more action and entertainment in their versions to appeal to a larger audience. Thus, by analyzing Herodotus’ description of The Battle of Thermopylae, as well as Miller’s and Snyder’s versions, today’s media have portrayed the original story differently in order to captivate a larger audience.

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.

The legendary Spartan King, Leonidas and 300 of his formidable royal body guards, led a coalition of Greek warriors against a much larger opponent, the Persian King Xerxes. Against the odds, the Greeks stood their ground and deterred Xerxes’ Army for three days at the Thermopylae Pass, known as the Hot Gates. Xerxes might have won the tactical battle, yet, the Spartans proved superior training, equipment, and intimate familiarity with the terrain were critical force multipliers. The Spartan power, willpower, and determination came from an undying sense of patriotism and duty. 300 Spartans and countless Greeks may have lost their lives at the Thermopylae Pass, nonetheless their courage rallied the Greek states to fight and prevail against a tyrant. The in-depth preparation, tactical expertise, loyalty, and courage these warriors displayed are the defining factors that made this battle a strategic win for the Greeks and would ultimately lead to the Persian Kings defeat.

This website had actual information on the battle itself. This helped us gain information on events that took place in the battle that we didn't know about. We applied this information to our project by adding facts/events that happened in the battle in our video.

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).

Moreover, in the Battle of Thermopylae, Persian forces led by Xerxes outnumbered the Greeks yet again. However, the militant Spartans took up arms and were able to defeat the large Persian army. Thermopylae allowed the Greek forces to come up with various tactics and strategies in order to defeat Persia. Next, the Battle of Salamis was a naval battle between several Greek city-states and Persia. This battle forms the turning point of the Greco-Persian Wars since it ultimately “saved Greece from being absorbed into the Persian Empire and ensured the emergence of Western civilization as a major force in the world.” The ending of the Battle of Salamis left the Persian army trapped in Greece, which paves the way for the final battle of the war, the Battle of Platea. In the battle, the “Greek army came and defeated the weakened Persians, the Persian Wars were over”. The mark of the ending of the Greco-Persian wars gave way to Athens arising from the ashes as the dominant and central city-state of Greece, which then provides political and cultural advancements during its golden age.

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

I found four major internal conflicts present in the film: Leonidas’ unspoken love for his wife, Captain’s unspoken love for his son, Ephialtes’ desire to be needed and wanted, and Queen Gorgo’s struggle to determine how far she will go to help her husband. I believe the film is meant to be symbolic for freedom and the need for people’s sacrifice in the name of freedom. In the film there are 300 Spartans standing up to Xerxes and his, supposedly, millions of soldiers. The 300 not only willing put their life on the line they consider it an honor to fight and die for the freedom of their city and its people. 300 also has bit of irony in it, too. The 300 Spartans quite possibly could have held back Xerxes at Thermopylae if it had not been for Ephialtes. Ephialtes felt betrayed by Leonidas so, he informed the Persian command of a hidden trail that would allow them to flank the Spartans and ultimately lead to their defeat. The film is able to make the characters very relatable. There are plenty of close-ups and intense scores of music during important moments to help build emotion. These moments allow you to feel what the characters are feeling and help you to experience their internal struggles.

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.