The movie 300 was based off of a graphic novel, but both are just cultural and artistic expressions of a historical event. Though both are exaggerations of what actually happened there are many parts that are based on actual events. Over the course of this paper a handful of aspects of both 300 and The Battle of Thermopylae will be compared. There are many stories and retellings of the Battle of Thermopylae of varying facts, the main focus will be of key components that show up in both items.
The largest aspect you see in both the movie 300 and the Battle of Thermopylae is the number of Spartan hoplites. The number of Spartan hoplites came to 300 in both the movie and history. Another likeness between the two is the leader of the Spartan hoplites, Leonidas. He was also the one that essentially kick the war off. Of these first two items they are probably among the most recognizable to anyone that knows the story of the Battle of Thermopylae and have seen or know of the movie 300.
Other similarities between the movie 300 and the Battle of Thermopylae is the deal that Ephialtes made with Xerxes to show his army the way around the Spartan soldiers using a mountain path used for herding goats. This betrayal by Ephialtes was what brought the downfall of Leonidas and the 300 Spartan hoplites. Ephialtes betrayal of his homeland earned his name an everlasting stigma where his name gained the meaning “nightmare”. One of the most exaggerated between the movie and history is that of the Immortals. They were the elite force in Xerxes massive army, and albeit skilled they were likely not inhuman warriors. The movie portrays them as superhuman almost even though the Spartan hoplites defeated them, they were also defeated according to history also. The final similarity is that of Xerxes army size. Many historians
