Is '300-the movie' based on true history? Was it really 300 warriors against an army in hundreds of thousands?

Question

Are the historic references about the battle fought between Spartan warriors and Persians reliable and authentic, especially the disparity of proportion in the no. of fighters?

Answer 1

Yes the film is based on an actual event in history, The Battle of Thermoylae 480 B.C. The proportions of the army numbers is incorrect though, however many historians have made the same mistake.

Much of what we know is based on the writings of Herodotus but he himself was not at the battle.

The best estimate of the Greek/ Peloponnesian force is as follows - the Spartan King, Leonidas and his body guard of 300, 500 Mantineans, 500 Tegeans, 400 Corinthians, 200 warriors from Phlius, 120 Orchomeneans, 80 Mycenaeans and 1000 Arcadians.

This amounts to 3,100 warriors, which is less than the commonly accepted total of 4,000, however, the difference of 900 is most likely to be the emancipated Helots who accompanied the Spartiates in the ratio of 3 to 1. This would account for the 4,000 Peloponnesian warriors, to which Herodotus records another 700 from Thespiae and another 400 from Thebes. The historian Diodorus also stated that a 1,000 Locrians and another 1,000 from Phokis increased the ranks to approximately 7,100 Greek warriors.

Now as far as the Persian army is concerned, therein lies the greatest dispute. How was it feasible for Xerxes to amass an army of 2.1 million which consisted of infantry, cavalry, charioteers, Thracians, etc.? The logistics (water, food, etc.) alone show that it was highly improbable in coordinating the mass movement of troops through Asia & Africa into Greece.
Perhaps the most plausible theory as to the size and composition of the Persian army can be found in Peter Green's book 'Xerxes at Salamis' which was later retitled as 'The Greco-Persian Wars'. In his book, Professor Green notes that "The Persian command structure operated - at least, up to corps level - on the decimal system."

It is possible that Herodotus inadvertently recorded the strength of the Persian army by tenfold since he was not present to witness the events of 480 B.C. therefore, he had to rely on the narratives of others which may account for the exaggerated numbers. Instead of 2,100,000 combatants in the Persian army, this number could have translated to 210,000 warriors. This would be a more realistic number, however, it still should be emphasized that the Persian army overwhelmingly outnumbered the Greek garrison led by King Leonidas and his 300 Spartans.

The size of the Persian army has perplexed historians and scholars alike and it continues to this day. Since the numbers of men amassed by Xerxes for the invasion of Greece are impossible to quantify with any certainty, a range is probably the best way to assign a number.

In A.J. Munro's 'Some Observations of the Persian War' which was published in 1902, Munro stated that the six generals of the Persian army each had 60,000 men under their command. Therefore, the generals, Mardonius, Tritantaechmes, Smerdomenes, Masistes, Gergis and Megabyzus had 360,000 infantry and calvary amongst them, however, this does not include the 10,000 Immortals/Companions commanded by Hydarnes. On the other hand Julius Beloch believes that the number is as low as 60,000, therefore, the numbers which historian Peter Green calculated as 210,000 men in his book 'The Greco-Persian Wars' appear to be the most credible.

Answer 2

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RE:
Is '300-the movie' based on true history? Was it really 300 warriors against an army in hundreds of thousands?
Are the historic references about the battle fought between Spartan warriors and Persians reliable and authentic, especially the disparity of proportion in the no. of fighters?

Answer 3

Yes, this was real, and the event stirred up the whole of Greece who fought off the invaders

In the Battle of Thermopylae of 480 BC, an alliance of Greek city-states fought the invading Persian army in the pass of Thermopylae. Vastly outnumbered, the Greeks delayed the enemy in one of the most famous last stands of history. A small force led by King Leonidas of Sparta blocked the only road through which the massive army of Xerxes I could pass. The Persians succeeded in defeating the Greeks but sustained heavy losses, disproportionate to those of the Greeks. A local resident named Ephialtes betrayed the Greeks, revealing a mountain path that led behind the Greek lines. Dismissing the rest of the army, King Leonidas stayed behind with 300 Spartans, 400 Thebans, and 700 Thespian volunteers. Though they knew it meant their own deaths, they secured the retreat of the other Greek forces.The performance of the defenders at the battle of Thermopylae is often used as an example of the advantages of training, equipment and good use of terrain to maximize an army's potential, as well as a symbol of courage against overwhelming odds. The heroic sacrifice of the Spartans and the Thespians has captured the minds of many throughout the ages and has given birth to many cultural references as a result.

300 Spartans who descended from Hercules him self. Taught never to retreat, never surrender. Taught death on the battlefield was the greatest glory they could achieve in there lives. The finest soldiers the world has ever known; the Spartans will stand and fight. A new age has begun, an age of freedom, and all will know that 300 Spartans gave there last breath to defend it.

Answer 4

It was 7-8000 Greeks, which included 300 from Sparta against hundreds of thousands of Persians. The armies of the ancient world were not in the millions, that would've been a practical impoosibility for the technology of the time...

Answer 5

What Is The Movie 300 About

Answer 6

300 History

Answer 7

Read Herodotus. If you are American a parallel is the Alamo campaign where a small Garrison delayed the numerically superior Mexican army. Xerxes would have considered his 480 BC invasion a success as he did sack Athens.
Ten thousand here from Pelops land against three million once did stand.

Answer 8

If spiderman and Superman are real, 300 is real too .
do you really believe 300 soldiers can resist vs army of millions ?
at the next question army of millions how supplied ?
Greek historians was bullshit liars. Modern estimates usually denied them estimates. 3 Million turned to 80,000.
3.000.000/300= 10.000 . every spartan vs 10.000 Persians .

it was good story for Kids before go to bed .

Answer 9

It is true - but I heard there were more than three hundred Spartans and a hundred thousand Persians. I heard it was 300 Spartans and a total of 7000 Greeks against 5,000,000 Persians.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Thermopylae

Answer 10

Yes, the movie "300" is based upon a true story. The 300 Spartan soldiers died in battle keeping the Persians out of Greece.

If you want to know what a Spartan looks like, see Telly Savalis in any of his movies. His parents moved to the States from Sparta.