was the movie "300" based on true events in history?

Answer 1

Yes.
In 480 BC there was indeed a batle of Thermopylae

That said, the movie "300 spartans" shows it a bit more thruthfull than this version.

Answer 2

There is a tale in history from Herodotus about 300 Spartans fighting a very large force of Persians at Thermopylae. Though there is a dispute of the acutual number of Persians involved. I have heard numbers from different sources that the number was anywhere from 50,000 to 1 million Persians. The battle is still studied today, for its tactical victory as a stalling action.

Answer 3

what do YOU trhink? do you think it's based on a true event?
it's just a destructive propaganda againt Iran.
Khashayar Shah in this movie is a bald semi-naked ***** with lots of rings on his nose and ears!!! Come on give me a break !
It is a proven scholarly fact that the Persian Empire in 480 B.C was the most magnificent and civilized empire. Established by the Cyrus the great, the writer of the first human right declaration, Persians ruled over significant portions of Greater Iran, the east modern Afghanistan and beyond into central Asia; in the north and west all of Asia Minor (modern Turkey), the upper Balkans peninsula (Thrace), and most of the Black Sea coastal regions; in the west and southwest the territories of modern Iraq, northern Saudi-Arabia, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, all significant population centers of ancient Egypt and as far west as portions of Libya. Having twenty nations under control, encompassing approximately 7.5 million square kilometers, unquestionably the Achaemenid Empire was territorially the largest empire of classical antiquity.

Based on the Zoroastrian doctrine, it was the strong emphasis on honesty and integrity that gave the ancient Persians credibility to rule the world, even in the eyes of the people belonging to the conquered nations (Herodotus, mid 5th century B.C). Truth for the sake of truth, was the universal motto and the very core of the Persian culture that was followed not only by the great kings, but even the ordinary Persians made it a point to adhere to this code of conduct.

I did not expect Warner Bros. Picture company, as one of the world's largest producers of film and television entertainment to ignore the proven obvious historical facts, and damage its own reputation by showing the Persian army at the battle of Thermopylae as some monstrous savages, and thus create an atmosphere of public mistrust in its content, and hurt the national pride of the millions of Persians while doing so

Answer 4

absolutely. although Hollywood has taken its usual liberties with the story, the basics are true to historical fact. if you want to read a great retelling of the greco-Persian wars (when the battle took place) check out peter greens "greco - Persian wars"
FYI: at the same time the battle of Thermopylae was taking place, there was an incredible naval engagement at the straits of Salamis. the naval battle was as important to Greek victory as King Leonidas' holding the hot gates.
also, check out the battle of marathon, which was referenced in the movie.good luck and enjoy

Answer 5

Yes and no. It's loosely based upon the battle of Thermopylae (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Thermopylae ), but there were no orcs or mutants at Thermopylae, nor was Xerxes a drag queen. A much better fictionalized account of the battle is the novel "Gates of Fire" by Steven Pressfield (http://www.amazon.com/Gates-Fire-Novel-Battle-Thermopylae/dp/055338368X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-9964716-9351868?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1174277879&sr=1-1 )

Answer 6

The movie was in fact based upon true events. Although quite a bit skewed, the importance of the event in history was fairly accurately portrayed. For instance, the entire invasion was not a device for Persia's conquering of all of Greece, or Sparta as the movie has you believe. Instead, the Athenians came to ask the Spartans, who were long time rivals of Athens, for help in defending "Greece" ( the term is in quotations due to the fact that Greece was a collection of city states that fought more with themselves than anyone else, that is until the battle of Thermopylae) from Persian attack and the burning of Athens. Indeed, the intent of the Persian army was merely to burn Athens to the ground for the support of the Ionian rebellion many years earlier. The battle of marathon was the first Persian attempt to accomplish said task. However, it met with complete disaster as the Greek army drew the Persian forces into the center of their line, falling back so that the flanks surrounded the incoming forces, nullifying their cavalry and surrounding the Persian forces. Their retreat marked a great victory for Greece. A messenger was dispatched from Marathon and ran 26.2 miles to deliver the message "Nike", which is Greek for victory. Hence the modern marathon being the same distance and the trademarked name of the Nike company. This victory severely angered the Persian empire however, and under the leadership of king Xerxes, another larger force of around 150,000 to 500,000 men and hundreds of ships were sent to Greece to burn Athens to the ground and exact Persian revenge.
The Persians were not in fact demonic as they were portrayed in the movie. The Persian kingdom was in fact very generous with it's conquered peoples. Once conquered by the Persian empire, cities were allowed to maintain their own social rule as they had before. the difference was that taxes were paid to the Persian empire rather than just the city. They did have soldiers called immortals who wore veils over their faces, covering their features. They were called immortals because as one died, another was ready to take his place. There were no beasts as depicted in the movie, just foot soldiers and calvary (which were never used due to the narrow pass at which the battle was fought). The battle itself was masterminded by the Athenian Themistocles, who held of the Persian fleet in the straight above Thermopylae so that Leonidas could hold the pass. Leonidas was accompanied by about 7,000 other Greek soldiers. After learning that the Persians discovered the pass through the mountain, Leonidas sent the bulk of the Greek army in retreat to fight another day and with a larger force. He, along with his 300 Spartans and about 1000 thespians stayed to face the Persians in order to buy time for the other city-states to rally their forces AND because the oracle did in fact tell him that he would have to sacrifice his life to save Sparta. In the end, their sacrifice did in fact unite the city-states under the idea of a free "Greece", which was loosely understood before this event, that drove their victory over the Persian empire many years later. It is understood that because of this battle and because of this sacrifice and the inspiration it caused, the cradle of democracy and the modern western world was saved from the Persian war machine and complete ideological extinction. Democracy and freedom would have flourished nowhere else.
Among other truths in the movie are the the points of dialog where Leonidas retorts to the Persian army "come and get them!" which in Greek is pronounced molon lude ( I believe, don't quote me) and the spartan soldier retorting "all the better, we shall have our battle in the shade" to the boast that Persian arrows will blot out the sun.
Overall, it remains true to the point of the story, but takes LARGE artistic leniency in its expression of that point. To me that's fine. I didn't go to see the movie for a history lesson, nor should anyone expect that. It's wonderful and fun movie, beautifully done in respect to the point of the story, but not the situations. If you really want to know the history of Thermopylae and what happened, as well as the events that led to and from it, the books are the best way to go.

Answer 7

Yes, the battle of Thermopylae.

Answer 8

NO NO NO NO, HOW YOU PEOPLE SAY YES? WHAT DO YOU KNOW? YOU'RE TOCHING YOUR DOCKS AND WATCHING 300 AND SAY YES???????????
IT'S BETTER TO READ MORE BOOKS THAT WHICH ONE IS TRUE!