Any person in a full Spartan outfit was essentially identical to every other Spartan, which would have made character identification harder. The Cracked article points out that the discrepencies were made intentionally, to create a more engaging film. The tactics employed in the movie are entirely inaccurate, and the spartans wore a LOT more armor, as well as far more frequently wore helmets, all of which were plumed. 700 men from other cities stood beside the 300 to fight a delaying battle so the majority of the force could escape the betrayal. The Spartans only took the front line the first day, each following day that spot was taken by another group of soldiers. The Persian army was at most 200,000 men strong. Sparta HAD thrown a diplomat down a well, but it was a decade before the war. Summary of the PDF: Athens caused the war by supporting a rebellion against Persia. This page takes my advice (in advance) and lists the accuracies instead. There are important differences in Spartan motivation, the reason such a small force was sent, Persian army size, chronology (especially the well incident), and equipment.Ĭracked says the movie was saved by its inaccuracies.

I've found an interesting PDF which discusses the differences (link is to actual PDF). The battle scenes are complete fabrications - the Spartans pay lip service to their proper formation, but abandon it for individual heroics at the earliest opportunity.Įssentially, it would be easier to ask what is correct about the movie than to list the differences. In the movie, many of the enemy soldiers are deliberately made to be monstrous and non-human.Īdditionally, the movie pays only lip service to the thousands of non-Spartan soldiers who fought (and died) there. The Persian army wasn't composed of monsters, to start.

Frank miller sparta