

At that time, they were celebrating their religious festival called “ Carnea”, in honor of Apollo Carneios. When the Spartans were informed of the advancement of the Persian army and the need to march their forces to Thermopylae, there were confronted with a problem. However, this is not how the events really took place. The “300” movie shows Leonidas defying the corrupted Spartan political leadership and charging with his elite guard to Thermopylae, to defeat the Persians by themselves. If they managed to keep the advance of the Persian army on Thermopylae for a short time, maybe the fleet would have the opportunity, if the conditions were favorable, to get a decisive victory. The landscape of Thermopylae could help the Greeks gain some advantages that could neutralize the superior numbers of the Persian army: the straits hindered the development of the enemy’s ground forces, while the small strait of Artemisium ruled out a possible encirclement of the collaborating Greek fleet. So, they changed their battle plans and decided to make their stand at Thermopylae. However, they soon abandoned this plan because they could be circled easily from the west and they were not sure of the intentions of the Thessalian people, who indeed allied with the Persians soon after. The plan originally was to stop the invasion at the valley of Tempi, south of Olympus. No one dared to think that it would be possible to make a decisive blow against the Persian land troops. The hope of the Greeks was the new Athenian fleet. Spartans would be leading the infantry and the Athenians the navy. Knowing the overwhelming numbers of the enemy, the Greek war council decided that it was important to have two decisive battles, one by land and one by sea. The Athenian general and politician Themistocles was also in the council and he was the key figure in uniting the Greek powers and devising the battle plans. During the war council, many Greek city-states took part, among which was Sparta, Thebes and Thessaly. The strategy for countering the Persian invasion was discussed in a war council that took place in Isthmus of Ancient Corinth. For the first time in Greek history, there was an alliance with the foremost purpose to unite all anti-Persian forces in the whole Greek world.
#HOW ACCURATE IS THE MOVIE 300 FREE#
There were coordinative efforts between many Greek city-states (most of those that were still free and have not already fallen under the Persian rule). The film hints that the Spartans were the only Greek resistance against the Persians - the only big Greek force that cared to stop the Persian invasion. Let's start with the geopolitical reality of the time. So, let’s see what the actual differences were between the "300" movie and the historic battle of Thermopylae. However, he clarified that his work was not a realistic representation of the historic battle of Thermopylae, but a free version of the battle that contains several fantastic elements. He walked the battlefields and took into account the historical elements in the writing of the work. the Historical Eventsįrank Miller, author of the graphic novel "300" on which the homonymous film was based, said that he traveled to Greece and researched history as much as he could. Nevertheless, since the movie was the reason that many people around the world discovered this part of history and the glorious battle and sacrifice of the 300, let’s see what the movie got right and wrong, and go beyond it by discovering the real events and who the Spartans really were. Therefore, historical inaccuracies are unavoidable and excusable since the film is not based on real history but on a fantasy graphic novel. The "300" movie is based on the eponymous comic book by Frank Miller (creator of "Sin City"), which presents only a free version of the battle, enriched with several fantastic elements. Zack Snyder's film was not shot in order to teach history lessons. He guides a force of 300 heroic Spartan warriors towards the battlefield and a few hundred more Thespians join their forces.

King Leonidas, despite the objections of the Senate and the ominous oracles, decides to confront Xerxes' numerically superior forces in the strait of Thermopylae. The Spartans, however, being proud and honorable warriors, could not accept such an offer. In 480 BC, the King of Persia, Xerxes, demands the subjugation of Sparta to his rule.

The film '300' focuses on one battle during the long Greco-Persian Wars, the armed conflicts between the Persian Empire and the Greek city-states of the time.
