300 is not a myth!!!

[Shadow Wolf]

^ every scene they have created is historically accurate, read the sources by Plutarch and Herodotus and you will see that the movie is as close as it can possibly be to accurate. Maybe dress code, and some minor details have been distorted but the bulk of the movie is perfect.

Other than the armor the Spartans wore, and the obvious (such as a guy with bladed hands, the Immortals being monsters, etc), there are many, many historical flaws;
-King Leonidas did not live to see the end of the battle.
-There were many more Greeks present, as where some of there own slaves.
-Eventually, the Spartans armor and weapons began to break, and they resorted to fighting with their fists. Personally, I am disappointed this was not in the movie.
-Arrows blotting out the sun? The number of arrows required to do that is simple an impossible amount. Also, breaking arrows off a shield that easily will not happen.
-The festival was already celebrated by the time the battle of Thermopolyae. The festival was however being celebrated during the battle of Marathon, and the Spartans refused to send immediate aid at the request of the Athenians, because they would not interrupt a religious festival.
-Xerxes was faced with heavy losses, even after the Spartans lost their weapons and armor. He ordered the volley of arrows to kill the remaining Spartans so he would not suffer any more heavy losses. Not because the Spartans refused to surrender to him.

 

[lillitruthseeker]

why couldnt you break arrows off a shield? that seems so doable -- you forgot the way they made the freaky Persian king like 12 feet tall and all gay like -- i bet that wasnt real either

 

[Azakel]

why couldnt you break arrows off a shield? that seems so doable -- you forgot the way they made the freaky Persian king like 12 feet tall and all gay like -- i bet that wasnt real either

You ever try and break an arrow there it's not easy, and I don't mean the metal ones now a days ether.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

why couldnt you break arrows off a shield? that seems so doable -- you forgot the way they made the freaky Persian king like 12 feet tall and all gay like -- i bet that wasnt real either

I forgot about the godly appearance of Xerxes.
But for the arrows, running a spear down your shield, especially that slowly, will not shatter and clear the arrows. Even then, arrows were thick and sturdy. It did make for good visuals though.

 

[lillitruthseeker]

i guess so but it was still one of the best movies i have seen in a long time -- it totally rocked -- now nod your head cause ya know that i'm right : )

 

[Azakel]

i guess so but it was still one of the best movies i have seen in a long time -- it totally rocked -- now nod your head cause ya know that i'm right : )

:yes: it was a good movie ^_^

 

[Shadow Wolf]

i guess so but it was still one of the best movies i have seen in a long time -- it totally rocked -- now nod your head cause ya know that i'm right : )

I never said it wasn't a good movie. Just not a good history lesson.

 

[Don Penguinoini]

Damn! Im right!!

 

[Quoth The Raven]

Actually, they was wearing full plated armor. What they wore in the movie 300 would have had the Persian army laughing. Heavy armor consist of much more than a helmet, cloak, and speedos.

Yeah, but in terms of eye candy on a big screen, you have to admit that the helmet, cloak and speedos combo wins out every time. Never let the facts get in the way of keeping a group of buff men in minimum clothing, that's my motto.

 

[CelticRavenwolf]

I think that the whole point of the movie 300is being overlooked in the debate between what they got right and what they got wrong.

The movie begins with Dilios narrating the story of the Battle of Thermopylae to the soldiers, bolstering their courage for the war to come. Everything in the movie implies that it is a tale far grander in the telling - larger than life wolves, elephants and rhinos, monsters and the hideously disfigured. "The beasts[elephants] they rode were huge! They must have been 10, no 20, no! 30 feet tall!" It's not supposed to be a brutally realistic play-by-play of actual events, but the glorified Spartan version which downplayed the part that other warriors played and upscaled the heroism of the Spartans and the horrors they faced with a laugh. It's a pretty, pretty movie; artsy in all its forms.

And as far as I'm concerned those men can dance around in speedos all they want. Rrrowrr!

 

[Chanolgy]

It is pretty much 300 Spartans vs persians but the Persians where going up a steep slope and the road was so small they were in line so tjhe Spartans just got them 1 by 1

 

[methylatedghosts]

The movie rendition of it nowhere near fact, so in that sense it is a myth.
I mean come on, what soldier would fight in a speedo?

There is only one. But he is so much more than a soldier. He is...

Chuck Norris!!!

 

[methylatedghosts]

It's not supposed to be a brutally realistic play-by-play of actual events, but the glorified Spartan version which downplayed the part that other warriors played and upscaled the heroism of the Spartans and the horrors they faced with a laugh. It's a pretty, pretty movie; artsy in all its forms.

This. You know the story of the fish that got away right? It was THIS....(gesturing with hands, slowly spreading apart) big. It had a billion teeth! Its fins cut like HUGE razors. It's huge black eyes were the size of grapefruit. It must have dragged the boat along for 10 miles.

Reality: It was a shark, and this person had never seen one before - never mind hooked one and tried to fight it before the string snapped. No-one else he was talking to had seen nor heard of one before either. That's what the imagery was, and that's the kind of thing the movie was after.

 

[yossarian22]

There is only one. But he is so much more than a soldier. He is...

Chuck Norris!!!

Thank you for a thoroughly unpleasant image.

 

[Azakel]

It is pretty much 300 Spartans vs persians but the Persians where going up a steep slope and the road was so small they were in line so tjhe Spartans just got them 1 by 1

Plus the few 1,000 other Greek "soldiers" that where there. Historians give then credit, so do I.

 

[CelticRavenwolf]

This. You know the story of the fish that got away right? It was THIS....(gesturing with hands, slowly spreading apart) big. It had a billion teeth! Its fins cut like HUGE razors. It's huge black eyes were the size of grapefruit. It must have dragged the boat along for 10 miles.

Reality: It was a shark, and this person had never seen one before - never mind hooked one and tried to fight it before the string snapped. No-one else he was talking to had seen nor heard of one before either. That's what the imagery was, and that's the kind of thing the movie was after.

Exactly! :yes:

 

[Shadow Wolf]

It is pretty much 300 Spartans vs persians but the Persians where going up a steep slope and the road was so small they were in line so tjhe Spartans just got them 1 by 1

While the narrow path to reduce the number of Persians that could fight at one time did happen, and that was the plan, there were originally much more than 300 Spartans. There were also many Athenian soldiers, and even slaves fighting. When it got down to 300 was when King Leonidas ordered everyone to leave, which I believe was just after the Spartans were betrayed and the Persians surrounded them.
But damn I'm still upset they didn't include the Spartans fist fighting against the Persians.

 

[Don Penguinoini]

Can wait till i get this on blu-ray!

 

[gnomon]

It is pretty much 300 Spartans vs persians but the Persians where going up a steep slope and the road was so small they were in line so tjhe Spartans just got them 1 by 1

No. It was more than that.

 

[Don Penguinoini]

there were among 10000 greeks, of which a lot were helots, spartan slaves, the other greeks died out fast, the spartant lived it out for hte final showdown with the gay god, xerxes