The movie “The 300 Spartans” directed by Zack Snyder from 2006, is based on a historical event gone down in history as one of the most famous battles between the Persians and the Greek from ancient times, the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC. The intense, graphic and violent movie follows the Greek´s rather small army compared to the Persians and their attempt at protecting their motherland against the Persian invaders. King Xerxes of the Persian Empire wish to conquer all of Greece. However, King Leonidas´ army of Spartans are known for their astonishing talents on the frontline. With two opposing armies ready to go to war, viewers are introduced to a series on horrific battles that together make up the Battle of Thermopylae. The Persians outnumbered the Greek enormously. The Persian army confronted the Greek with an army of over 100,000 soldier whilst the Greek lined up an army of around 7000 soldiers (Cartwright, 2013).
There are several parts to the movie that does not complement the actual historical battle. The first major inaccuracy in the movie starts from the political system in Sparta at the time. The film represents the senate as a group of old men who are not wanted by the Spartan citizens and are evil. However, in reality the members of the Spartan senate were respected and accepted by the its citizens. In addition, the movie shows King Leonidas as the only king of Sparta but in actuality, Sparta had two kings at the time and the movie does not pick this up (A history of ancient Greece). In the movie, the Spartan soldiers are shown fighting in barely any clothing but a red cape and leather underwear. This is inaccurate as the Spartans in fact wore heavy body armour and kilos of war gear made out of iron (Spartan Military).
The story line revolves mainly around the Spartan soldiers with a glimpse of Arcadian soldiers and makes the viewers believe that Spartans were the only army fighting the Persians. However, historian Herodotus which is the main source for the battle in 480 BC stated that there were around 7000 soldiers that confronted the Persians at the mountain pass (Herodotus on Thermopylae – Livius). The movie portrays the Persians as evil, freaks and monstrous creatures that are enslaved by King Xerxes and includes oversized elephants and war rhinos. As a matter of fact, the Persians were perfectly normal human beings, well trained and not slaves. Furthermore, the movie portrays the King of Persia as a giant which is inaccurate. In addition to this, King Xerxes is seen having a dialog with King Leonidas which Herodotus never mention. A scene in the movie shows King Leonidas at a mountain top meeting the five Ephors to tell them about his war plans and get their approval. The scene portrays the five Ephors as mutilated creatures which is inaccurate because the Ephors were the second highest authority in Sparta after the Kings and they were not mutilated creatures (Ephors and Elders).
Despite some of the inaccuracies in the film, there are several scenes in the film which are historically accurate based on the event. The director has managed to highlight the fact that the Persian army outnumbered the Greeks enormously. In addition, the battles went on for 3 days in which the Spartans were able to hold the Persians back for 2 of them. As well as this, it is accurate that there was a traitor that revealed the hidden path to the Persians but it is not accurate that the traitor wished to be a part of the Spartan army or that the traitor had disfigured features (“Herodotus on Thermopylae – Livius).
It is important to note that the movie has been inspired by the graphic novel based on the same historical event. I believe the director has mainly portrayed Spartans as the only army that fought the Persians because Spartans were known as the best warriors. They were fierce and athletic, and had the best soldiers in Ancient Greece. Their only job was to be soldiers and serve in the military their entire life. As we can infer from the director´s filmography, Zack Ryder has over indulged in certain graphic and violent appearances in the movie to make their role more obvious. By way of example, the traitor character is grossly disfigured so that viewers know his behaviour later on is very out of place, unfavourable to the Spartans and that his reason to betray was because the Spartans could not accept someone different. The same can be said for the Immortals. They are intimidating yet very disfigured to show that they are wicked and should be disliked by the viewers. This is not an accurate portrayal of the soldiers as they would not be looking like that at all in the actual battle.
I believe the film has been changed to fit how modern people see this event. It makes the perfect storyline that “only” 300 heroic Spartans are going to war against the leading empire that is Persia. The movie glorifies violence and creates the perfect image of 300 brave soldier going to war for their beloved country. Not to mention a king that loved his country and people so much that he fought to death alongside them. To modern people, it makes a good romantic concept that a king lays down his life in a courageous and desperate attempt at protecting his motherland. It is seen as a historical period where the leaders fought alongside their soldiers compared to modern days where leaders send soldiers to war. It is a storyline that sells and modern people love it.