300

1. 300 By Tommy Bolls and Keith Cissell

2. Historical Background • The Persian Army started an invasion of Greece in 480 BC • King Xerxes threatened to invade the Greek city-states if they didn’t submit to Persian rule • Thebes surrendered to the Persians • The Persian armies had their sights on Athens and to get to them they had to pass through Sparta that promised to never submit to Persian rule.

3. Accuracies • King Xerxes was the king of Persia • The Persian Army of 100,00 threatened to invade Sparta. Sparta fought back with about 300 men but used a narrow pass in Thermopylae to get an advantage. • The Battle lasted 3 days • All 300 Spartans were killed • King Leonidas was the king of Sparta

4. Inaccuracies • Many of the 300 “soldiers” were actually slaves forced against their will • The “This is Sparta” scene never really happened • The Persians didn’t use magic or have monsters • The hunchback, Ephialtes, wasn’t really a hunchback and he never met with Leonidus to join the army. He instead was angry at Leonidus for fighting and not submitting to Persian rule.

5. Movie Facts • Gerard Butler trained for 4 hours a day for 4 months for the role • The possesed oracle dancing scene was filmed under water • Throughout the movie there are 585 deaths • The movie has often been critized for not being historically correct yet director, Zack Snyder, states that the movie never declares itself to be

6. Sources • http://www.ancientgreece.co.uk/war/story/sto_set.html • http://www.cracked.com/funny-3326-300-movie-vs-real-life/