The movie trailers for "
300" seem to be popping up more and more often these days (or maybe I'm just watching at the right time), and I, for one, am excited about the flick. I know it's based on a
Frank Miller graphic novel series which is based on history. We've all played the "telephone" game and know what happens when events are adapted over time and in different mediums. I'm bright enough to know that the movie will differ greatly from the actual, but, since I'm bored and there's nothing good on TV (I don't watch "Lost"), I decided to do a little research.
--Xerxes, the Persian king, decided to attack the Greek people in 480 BC.
--Two key battles took place on August 11, 480, or so history (Herodotus) would have us believe that they were simultaneous. Other sources beg to differ. (1) King Leonidas and the Persians fought a land battle in Thermopylae. (2) a Greek fleet, led by Themistocles and containing mainly Athenian triremes, engaged the Persian transport fleet off Artemisium. Here's a general
image of the area. Both Thermopylae and Artemisium were seen as narrow passages where the Greeks could hold off the Persians despite smaller numbers.
--At the time, the pass of Thermopylae was only wide enough for one chariot to pass through.
--Leonidas had anywhere from 4,000-11,200 members in his army. Reports vary on that number. However, 300 of the (presumably) men were Spartans.
--Only 300 Spartans joined Leonidas because of the Olympics and
Carneia. Missing either event reportedly angered the Gods, so most men stayed behind.
--The size of the Persian army has been the subject of much debate. Herodotus numbered them over 2,600,000 (a number which he roughly doubled to include servants and other support). Historians believe that enormous number to be rubbish, but it's fairly clear that Xerxes had a few more people at his back.
--Upon coming to Thermopylae, Xerxes tried to get Leonidas to surrender. This five-day period will undoubtedly show up in the movie and is the source of two famous Greek quotes. One, when Xerxes requested that the Greeks put down their arms, Leonidas responded with "Come take them." Two, as seen in the trailers, Herodotus writes, "It is said that on the eve of battle, (Dienekes) was told by a native of Trachis that the Persian archers were so numerous that, when they fired their volleys, the mass of arrows blocked out the sun. Dienekes, however, undaunted by this prospect, remarked with a laugh, 'Good. Then we'll have our battle in the shade.'"
--Xerxes' scouts saw the Greeks wrestling and combing their hair in preparation for the battle. The Persian king laughed and thought the opposition was engaging in childish acts.
--Xerxes first sent the Medes and Cissians (or Elamites) to attack the Greeks. One report numbers the first wave at 10,000, but they could not stand up to the fierce Greek soliders and their long spears.
--Xerxes then called upon his elite unit, the Immortals. Another 10,000. But they were equally unsuccessful. The Spartans kept luring their attackers into the narrow pass, thus eliminating the inequality of numbers and gaining an advantage with their long weapons. Some reports suggest the Persian officers forced more and more men to continue attacking and dying.
--Late in the second day, a Greek man named Ephialtes came to Xerxes and told the king of a hidden mountain path that would allow the Persians to encircle the Greeks. The Persians used a night attack to dispatch of the 1,000 Phocians which guarded the mountain path.
--Leonidas learned of the actions. Many Greeks subsequently left, either of their own volition or under Leonidas' orders. 300 Spartans, 700 Thespians, and 400 Boeotians/Thebans stuck around.
--The end came on the next day. Tales tell of Leonidas' death, and a subsequent struggle in which the Spartans are trying to carry away their king's body. The Spartans won out, for a while, but they were eventually all killed.
--The final contingent of Greek troops retreated to a hill and were slaughtered by a shower of Persian arrows.
--Xerxes found Leonidas' body after the battle and beheaded the Spartan king.
So, yeah, there you go.
