did leonidas know that the 300 spartans were going to die eventually? was he just trying to buy time for the whole spartan army?
2007-09-24 13:54:33 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Entertainment & Music ➔ Movies
He knew well before he left to fight as did his wife the queen. He was doing what he was trained to do. I loved the movie it wasn't to historically acurate, but was entertaining. It also showed how ignorant, liying, and dishonest politicians are.
2007-09-24 13:59:30 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is hard to know exactly what he thought after 2,500 years! However, Sparta had a religious festival at the time the Persians were approaching the border of "Greece". No army could be sent out during this time of the year. Leonidas took effectively his personal bodyguard with him to block the pass at Thermopylae (?) (plus slaves and other Greeks who joined him later) which didn't contravene the Spartan law. Yes, he must have known there wasn't going to be a return. He was hoping to set an example to the other Greeks (especially the Spartans and Athenians) to resist the invasion instead of surrendering as a few other Greek states had done. In that he succeeded. The film "300" is not based on fact though. It is highly exaggerated and is far from historically accurate.
2007-09-24 21:06:51 · answer #2 · answered by DannyM 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Anybody with common sense and knows simple mathematics would certainly know what he is up against and how flimsy his chances be. It's like three hundred against hundreds of thousands. Surely he knows that they will die. To quote an excerpt.... "King Leonidas stayed behind with 300 Spartans, 700 Thespian volunteers and some 1,000 Helot 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."
2007-09-24 21:15:12 · answer #3 · answered by bowen 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Both.
He knew that if he were killed by the Persians, the Spartan army would be sent out. He also knew that the survival of he and his Three Hundred was less than not likely. He made a stand for as long as he could hold out and sent a messenger back to tell their tale. Under Spartan law, he had no real alternative. This is opinion is based on the movie and Graphic novel.
2007-09-24 21:06:53 · answer #4 · answered by Patrick 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Of course he did. Spartans didn't back down from anything even if they knew that they were vastly outnumbered and had no chance of winning.
2007-09-24 20:57:37 · answer #5 · answered by megalomaniac 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
he was hoping that in time, his story would be made into a CGI action flick,
2007-09-24 21:00:57 · answer #6 · answered by Vegas Man 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i think he knew but he wanted them to die honorably
2007-09-24 20:56:49 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is too old to be talking about now
2007-09-24 20:57:49 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋