For those who enjoyed watching the movie 300 Spartans like myself, many of you may have wondered how much of the movie was true. It's hard to believed or imagine that many years ago people dressed like that, spoke like that, and had to fight like that. But amazingly, the events of the 300 Spartans were true but not to exact detail that was depicted in the movie. I found an article on the internet that does a comparison betweent the movie and actual events and it's very interesting.
According to the article, there was an actual King Leonidas and Xerxes did exist. Xerxes is the scary looking king that thought he was a god. The Spartans also fought against the "Immortals". The Immortals were the Imperial Guard Regiment that protected the Persian rulers during the time of the Greco-Persian Wars. What was not true, was in the movie the Spartans foughts nearly naked. However, in real history, the Spartans had body armor.
In the movie, the Spartans were portrayed as righteous and the "good" guys. Actually, according to the article, they were not as good as they were made out to be in the movie. They actually fought and conquered neighboring areas to obtain more land and resources. According to Frank Miller, author of the novel 300, he says, "They [Spartans] were the biggest slave owners in Greece. But at the same time, Spartan women had an unusual level of rights."
So what part of the movie was true? A shocking fact to the Spartans was that they actual did get rid of "unfit" offspring. Spartan boys did leave at the age of 7 for warrior training. And King Leonidad did consult with an oracle to help with his decision to go to war. If you've never seen this movie, it's worth watching if not for the suspensful action scenes and incredibly tone and ripped Spartan bodies, it's fun to just compare the facts and myths. To read more on the facts and myths of the movie, click on the link below.
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The 300 Spartans
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