Is there a real historical account that was the basis of the movie 300?

Answer 1

Wikipedia:

In the Battle of Thermopylae of 480 BC, an alliance of Greek city-states fought the invading Persian Empire at the pass of Thermopylae in central Greece. Vastly outnumbered, the Greeks held back the Persians for three days in one of history's most famous last stands. A small force led by King Leonidas of Sparta blocked the only road through which the massive army of Xerxes I of Persia (Xerxes the Great) could pass. After three days of battle, the Persians managed to find a way around the Greek lines, in the classic tale they were led by a local resident, a traitor, by the name of Ephialtes. Dismissing the rest of the army, King Leonidas stayed behind with 300 Spartans and 700 Thespian volunteers and slaves. The Persians succeeded in taking the pass but sustained heavy losses, extremely disproportionate to those of the Greeks. The fierce resistance of the Spartan-led army offered Athens the invaluable time to prepare for a decisive naval battle that would come to determine the outcome of the war.[3] The subsequent Greek victory at the Battle of Salamis left much of the Persian Empire's navy destroyed and Xerxes was forced to retreat back to Asia, leaving his army in Greece under Mardonius, who was to meet the Greeks in battle one last time. The Spartans assembled at full strength and led a pan-Greek army that defeated the Persians decisively at the Battle of Plataea, ending the Greco-Persian War and with it the expansion of the Persian Empire into Europe.[4]

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 as force multipliers,[5] and has become a symbol of courage against overwhelming odds.[5] However, ancient writers first used the Battle of Thermopylae as an example of the superior power of a patriotic army of freemen defending native soil.[6]

There is also a large political significance of the Battle of Thermopylae, in that it was the first occasion in which the independent Greek city-states formed a significant alliance. The Battle of Thermopylae also possibly signified the beginning of the end for the Persian empire–drawing strength from the outcome of the battle, the Greeks as a national body began assaulting the Persian Empire.

Answer 2

Herodotus' account of the actual battle is all we have...exaggerated, but still based on actual events. Most historians believe the Persians fielded 300,000 at most, while the Greek army was somewhere in the neighborhood of 8 to10,000 (including the 300 Spartans). Herodotus claimed the Persians numbered over a million, but any ancient army could hardly be sustained in those days.

Answer 3

The Greek historian Herodotus wrote about the Battle of Thermopylae in "The Histories" in the 5th century B.C. The battle was between the Spartans (Sparta was a Greek city/state) and the Persians. Rome had nothing to do with it.

Answer 4

It was the Spartans and Persians, not Romans. The primary sources for the Spartans and the Battle of Thermopylae include Herodotus and Plutarch.

Answer 5

Legends and artifacts dating back thousands of years have ignited man's imagination for decades to centuries with theories of ancient astronauts and alien beings from other planets. Sightings of "UFOs" or "unidentified flying objects" of varying sizes, shapes and other characteristics have been recorded around the world for hundreds of years, possibly thousands. In popular TV shows, it is claimed that "sky people" are purportedly recorded as having brought advanced culture to the hominids who have lived on this planet. According to these legends, supposedly, this "first contact" had occurred previously, following cataclysm. Some stories relate this civilizing event to have happened several times during Earth's history. Geological, paleontological, anthropological and archaeological data reveal that there have indeed been many cataclysms on this earth, several on a global level, with climate change and mass extinction. The tales allegedly recount that after such a catastrophe, many surviving humans were reduced to the Stone Age but that more advanced humanoids descended from spacecraft and reestablished civilization. Are these claims true? Were these "sky people" aliens? Have there been "aliens" among us all along? Or is it all just an illusion?

Answer 6

The history is primarily derived from artwork, folklore and poetry of Greece. The facts are that the Persian empire did encompass Grecian lands. However, the details of a society of soldiers is less fact and more based on art.

Answer 7

300 was based on the spartan wars
between sparticas and the romans