https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmUzVjMzpVotFpvTfLZtcWyQdZWE4ciaqgEUMxzcYZjq9i/FlyerMaker_10042021_143600.png
##### <center>[source](https://pixabay.com/photos/romans-gladiator-spear-hoplite-60601/)</center>
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Greetings everyone,
As a movie lover and a strong fan of medieval movies, it is with great pleasure that I participate in @belenguerra's recent [contest](https://steemit.com/hive-119812/@belenguerra/more-than-3000-subscribers-another-huge-achievement-mas-de-3000-suscriptores-otro-gran-logro) within the [Steem Geography](https://steemit.com/trending/hive-119812) community. I really took a stroll down memory lane to see the various historical/cultural movies I have watched as there are just so many to choose from. I finally decided to go with one **300**, one of the greatest movies of all time.
This movie paints a picture of the **battle of thermopylae** fought between the Greek states led by the king of Sparta (Leonidas) against the Empire of Xerxes. For a 2006 movie, it does well to present the hoplite fashion of warriors engaging in close combat as way back as around the era of the Persian wars. Now let's take a look at the cast.
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https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmPBS2XP3uCwJHb4ygJJTeooqGhsoQEpnZ21yCBWzaqpLA/FlyerMaker_10042021_133445.png
#### <center>SOME LEAD ROLES</center>
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Being one of my favorite actors, **Gerard Butler** plays the lead role as King Leonidas and the commander of the Spartan army. I don't think there was a better fit for the role considering his physique and the charisma such a role required. We have also seen him play lead roles in the likes of **The Mummy** and **Dracula**.
**Rodrigo Santoro** plays the role of Xerxes which was quite exemplary as the 6 ft 1 Brazilian actor manages to portray the life of the 8 ft 5 giant. This is a fearless leader who thinks of himself as a god king perhaps because of the enormous wealth he has at his disposal.
It goes without saying how fierce a warrior and leader Queen Gorgo was. Played by **Lena Headey**, the people of Sparta had a mother to lean on and so did King Leonidas. In fact, she was the source of counsel for the King himself.
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https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmPBS2XP3uCwJHb4ygJJTeooqGhsoQEpnZ21yCBWzaqpLA/FlyerMaker_10042021_133445.png
#### <center>TRAILER</center>
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<iframe width="1217" height="507" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UrIbxk7idYA" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
##### <center>Official trailer by Warner Bros</center>
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https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmPBS2XP3uCwJHb4ygJJTeooqGhsoQEpnZ21yCBWzaqpLA/FlyerMaker_10042021_133445.png
#### <center>ABOUT THE MOVIE</center>
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During the Persian invasion of the Greek city states, they sought to conquer as many cities as they could with brute force and through the sending of emissaries as a sign of mercy. No state or country dared to defy the King of the Xerxes empire as they feared to meet his wrath. As such all states went into submission upon the arrival of his messengers and agreed to their proclamation of ownership of a vast portion of their land and water.
It wasn't until they brought their arrogance to the gates of Sparta where both the Queen Gorgo and King Leonidas defied King Xerxes and slaughtered all his messengers into a deep pit within their lands. This bring us to my favorite scene of the entire movie.
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<iframe width="1106" height="622" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4Prc1UfuokY" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
###### <center>Leonidas rejects the offer of Xerxes and slaughters his messangers</center>
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Spartans are very proud and produce great warriors. This was the more reason why the king needed to either defeat them in combat or force them into submission to make a statement to the whole of Greece.
From infancy, spartans are trained to be fearless warriors and to not succumb to any form of weakness. With this mindset, Leonidas teamed up with a few Greek cities along with his own 300 Spartans and marched to face Xerxes. This battle was held in 480 BC at **The Hot Gates** also known as **Thermopylae** and lasted for 3 days. Before this battle, the battle of **the marathon** had already taken place so Xerxes had more warriors to spare.
Within the narrow costal gateway of Thermopylae, the spartans fought with their last strengths for their country and honor. It was quite amazing how a couple hundreds of men managed to hold off thousands of men. It looked as if the Spartans could emerge victorious overall.
In the end, it came down to the betrayal of the hound that led to their defeat and in the ever emotional words of Leonidas, he said to him.
>"May you live forever".
But like promised, he made the "god king" bleed before he died which can be seen in the scene below.
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<iframe width="1099" height="622" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/R-6M5FukAoE" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
###### <center>Death scene of king Leonidas and the scratching of Xerxes with his spear</center>
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https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmPBS2XP3uCwJHb4ygJJTeooqGhsoQEpnZ21yCBWzaqpLA/FlyerMaker_10042021_133445.png
##### <center>RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION</center>
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Although some parts of this movie are fictitious for the purposes of movie creation, most parts of the story it portrays tallies with what we learn from the history books. This includes the setting, the battle grounds, the size of the Persian army, and so on. However, some parts are clearly exaggerated such as the level of strength exhibited by the Spartans as well as their utter lack of emotions.
Yet, this is definitely one of my favorite movies which is why I recommend it to all medieval and history movie lovers out there.
https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmVhjopmp1ai7hRZKTFUSFaT6rJcSFzVpAw7CXxy7a1thy/FlyerMaker_20112020_005439.png
Thank you for your attention.
<center>cc; @belenguerra, @worldgeography</center>