Did Spartans really kill messengers?

Question

In the very beginning of the movie "300" we see that Spartans kill messengers from Persia. But somebody told me that killing messengers at that time was equal to losing your honor and that Spartans would've never done that. Does anybody have any knowledge regarding this?

Answer 1

The Greeks didn't think very highly of foreigners, so in the instance of killing a Persian messenger, it probably wouldn't have been considered a blemish on Sparta's honor. In the city-states, foreigners were treated only slightly better than the slaves were, ancient Greece was a very xenophobic culture.

If it were a Greek messenger, you were probably right, and killing him would have been considered an act of barbarism. Greek warfare was very genteel, highly orchestrated affairs. There was a lot of ritual involved, to the point where heralds would be appointed to watch battles and make sure people weren't breaking the rules! Hoplites were extremely expensive to maintain and equip, so battlefield casualties were typically kept at a minimum. Phalanx warfare naturally produces few casualties, battles were more of a shoving match than anything. When one side was breaking rank and falling back, it raised it's spears skyward in signal of defeat. The other phalanx immediately stopped, took them as prisoner, and negotiations between the two city-states resumed, which typically revolved around the loser buying its defeated P.O.Ws back. That was the normal course of war.

Unfortunately, because war was so genteel, the Greeks were frequently eager to wage it. Ancient Greek history is filled with eternal warfare between the fragmented city states, with Greece only uniting during the Greco-Persian wars, and during their wars against Macedon. Macedon shared none of the Greek's delusions about warfare, and their pikemen and cavalry made mincemeat of the Greeks, who were hide-bound traditionalists.

The Greek conquest by the Romans was conducted in a typical Roman manner; Romans fought savagely in their wars, as they viewed war as a life and death struggle, not a political tool. In one instance when the Greeks admitted defeat and raised their spears, the Roman legionaries continued to hack them down. It was only with great difficulty that the Roman General was able to stop his men and conclude the battle.

Answer 2

The story of throwing the messenger into a well is an old one. The movie is more than a little overdone and could have used a little restraint on the part of the special effects people. Considering that the acting, as they say, ran the gamut of emotions from A to B, turning it into a cartoon was a bit much. I did like the fact that they showed about 2 seconds of proper fighting in a phalanx, though. It's a shame they couldn't have extended that..

Answer 3

The spartans were a kingdom made up of freed slaves. They were probably the only ones who seen themselves as honorable. When the messengers showed up they offered more slavery. The spartans wanted to send a message to the God King that non of his followers were going to be spared.

Answer 4

True. They killed a messenger even when their honor code forbids it. That means the 'honor' in their 'honor code' is questionable. I totally despised them for killing the messenger no matter how rude he was or how ridiculous his proposal was.

Answer 5

They didn't kill every messenger. But once the Persians pushed too hard and were rude and arrogant, the Spartans killed the messengers as a message to the Persians. "Don't push us, we will push back."

Answer 6

It really did happen, but the film distorted the chronology. The messengers were killed by king Cleomenes, the half brother of Leonidas, about ten years before the Battle of Thermopylae.

Answer 7

Sorry for the tangeant but: Sparta was not a city of freed slaves.

Sparta had more slaves than any other city state. It was a land where male citizens were in the army and that was their job. Every other job was done by a slave... and so there were more slaves in Sparta than citizens... which is why they were harsh to their slaves.. don't want a revolt (or more revolts)