Historical Inaccuracies In The Movie 300

A supporting role in “The 300 Spartans” is Demaratus. He was once a king of Sparta, but eventually he became a traitor and helped fight against his own men at the Battle of Thermopylae. In “The 300 Spartans” he is often seen beside the Persian king, Xerxes, telling him about Spartan culture and bravery. In the movie he says that Persia should not underestimate Spartans. Even with their small numbers he says that they are great fighters who are courageous until the end. The information that the movie says about Demaratus is true and accounts from Herodotus can confirm this. In, The Histories, Herodotus talks about the history of Demaratus. Herodotus says that Demaratus was once a king of Sparta and then was eventually forced into exile by Cleomenes. Once in exile he

The first battle of the Persian War, the Battle of Marathon, took place in 490 BC. King Darius sent troops to Greece which stopped at each Greek island along the way demanding "earth and water," which both literally and symbolically represented submission to the Persian empire. The Battle of Marathon exemplifies the heroic action of the Greeks. The Athenians, led by one of their ten generals, Miltiades, unflinchingly faced the Persians, an army over twice the size of theirs, and triumphed. The Athenians won the Battle of Marathon because they employed superior military strategy. There are some discrepancies, however, between different literary sources about how the Greeks fought the Battle of Marathon. For instance, Herodotus claims that the ten Athenian generals could not decide whether to go into battle. He writes that Miltiades talked the other generals into fighting. Herodotus writes that they waited for days for Miltiades to lead the army, and then they went into battle (Hdt. 6.110-111.2). According to Nancy Demand, however, Herodotus, unaware of the right of the polemarch to make all final decisions, wrote that Miltiades decided when to lead the men into battle, because the longer they delayed the battle, the better chance the Athenians had that the Spartans would make it in time to help. Regardless of any conflict between sources, the heroism of the Athenians cannot be denied. Marathon represents "the victory of a small contingent of men fighting

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

The Greek victory against Persia was largely due to efforts of mainly Athens but also Sparta as well. Athens was responsible for the major turning points of the Persian invasions, while Sparta was responsible for the deciding battle. Miltiades, with his skilful battle strategies, defeated the Persians during their second invasion at Marathon, which gave Athens a confidence boost on their military. During the third invasion, when the Athenians were evacuated to Salamis, Themistocles had devised a plan to trick the Persians which had resulted in Persian army without a supply line. Sparta?s importance had revealed during their sacrifice at Thermopylae and at Plataea, where they provided the most effective part of the army.

In the end of the book the Spartans end up being surrounded, their flanks taken and completely out numbered Xerxes asks Leonidas one last time if he will kneel. In one last act of defiance Leonidas and his men make a final stand and a attempt on Xerxes life fully well knowing that there was no escaping a certain death. Their commitment to their cause was unwavering believing fully in what they fought for they were committed to the point of willfully giving up their lives for their cause and they did so with pride. This one final act ties into how the Marine Corps is very much like the Spartans of old as the

Glory Assignment Historical Inaccuracies: In the movie Glory, there aren’t many inaccuracies to point out but, there are a few. The movie as a whole is portrayed very well. The 54th regiment was a family. They had each other’s backs and were there for one another.

The great Athenian general Miltiades came up with a shrewd battle plan. He decided to thin out the ranks in the center of the phalanx to strengthen the wings. During the battle, the Greek wings crushed the Persian wings and forced them to retreat. At the same time, the Persians in the middle managed to break through the weakened center of the phalanx. Instead of pursuing the retreating Persian wings, the Greek wings moved backward to attack the Persians that had broken through the Greek defenses. The Greek center then turned around so that they had the Persians surrounded. The Persians were slaughtered (5). According to the Greek historian Herodotus, the Persians lost 6400 men while te Greeks lost only 192 (4).

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 Persian Wars were a series of destructive and malevolent battles which occurred in the time frame of 490B.C and 480 – 479B.C. The Greek victory over the Persians in the Persian Wars cannot be attributed to only one factor, more it was a commixture of factors. Such factors include unity, leadership, strategy, tactics and the pre-eminence of the Greek soldier. Each contributing factor was to play a distinctive and pivotal role in the various battles to come, which ultimately would lead to the subsequent demise of the Persians.

The Persians wanted to conquer the Greeks after the Greeks were allies to Aristogoras. Darius, the king of Persia, started to send agents to determine any potential allies in the Greek city-states. They found Argos and supplied the with men and money to get the job done. They failed as Spartans sliced and diced every soldier, as shown in the movie “300.” Spartans always came out on top due to their aggressive and “perfect” military. Athens had their entire fleet destroyed and were controlled by Sparta from there on

Firstly, the story of the 300 Spartans. The movie 300 is based off of the historic Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC. The movie begins with the King of Sparta holding a newborn baby over a cliff. It next shows the spartan men training and preparing for battle at an early age. Sparta was a Greek city which houses the finest warriors, and 300 of these soldiers are chosen to intercept the Persians in the mountain pass of Thermopylae. The Persian King Xerxes lead an Army exceeding over 100,000 men to Greece and was confronted by 300 Spartans. Xerxes waited 10 days for King Leonidas to surrender or withdraw. Tremendously outnumbered, the Greeks held back the enemy for three days before falling to the Persian army. A local shepherd named Ephialtes abandoned the Spartans to inform Xerxes of a separate path through Thermopylae, which the Persians could use to outflank the Greeks (Snyder et al 0-1:57:00).

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 idea that film is a medium in which a director can comment on the ills of society has been around since the first motion picture was made. The problem with this fact is that directors and producers often change the historical facts and even the attitudes of the characters in order stimulate public interest through the striking of some common chord that the public feels vigorously about. The story of William Wallace in the movie Braveheart while historically fairly accurate in the depictions of the battles while leaving out many important facts. Randall Wallace added some plot twists to make the story more appealing to the audience. All the plot twists and inaccuracies that were added in the movie Braveheart have several basic areas

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.

I wonder, are the days of King Leonidas gone forever? I can tell you that I can't wait to see the film "300" because the story has really moved me.