[Patriot Rich]

The Spartans did do fairly well at Thermopylae according to what we know. Although they did have help, while some of the Greeks marched away the 700 Thespians held their ground too and were wiped out in an equally heroic fashion. It's not so much how they fought, which we we'll never know exactly, but the self sacrifice of it.

[Mazzini]

(Original post by Pensivedore)
I really wanted Athens to win. Although, you can't really deny that it was a good move (joining forces with Persia), since their navy absolutely sucked. Athens deserved to win, but they did slack a bit nearing to the end of the war, just look at the Sicilian Expedition and being influenced by people like Alcibiades. *Sigh* at least Sparta got what was coming to them at the battle of Leuctra in 371.

Precisely.

[Nikstar95]

(Original post by Converse Rocker)
Haha

I doubt we will ever know the true numbers of the battle, and that includes the amount of help the Spartans had as well as the size of the Persian invaders. I think it's safe to assume they were massively outnumbered though.



Just beat me to it *Without trying to derail the thread, 300 isn't that good of a film...*

HAHA!!! .. although I loved the movie... and also the spoof "meet the spartans" it was

[Clip]

(Original post by Pensivedore)
I really wanted Athens to win. Although, you can't really deny that it was a good move (joining forces with Persia), since their navy absolutely sucked. Athens deserved to win, but they did slack a bit nearing to the end of the war, just look at the Sicilian Expedition and being influenced by people like Alcibiades. *Sigh* at least Sparta got what was coming to them at the battle of Leuctra in 371.

They never got siege warfare.

[Converse Rocker]

(Original post by Nikstar95)
HAHA!!! .. although I loved the movie... and also the spoof "meet the spartans" it was

As soon as those Spartans started trekking through the icy conditions with nothing but a dishcloth covering their gonads, I kind of lost hope...

The whole valiant last stand of the 300 at Thermopylae has been exaggerated, but I still find the event itself, and the Spartan way of life, really interesting.

History Channel once showed a programme about it if anyone is interested, gives a slightly more realistic viewpoint and highlights some weapons, etc:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NHmO...eature=related

[big-bang-theory]

(Original post by ChampEon)
It has to be because of that film 300, which is almost entirely historically inaccurate (perhaps it was meant to be fictional). I laughed at the parts where they show the Persian king Xerxes as a half naked, bald, pierced, androgynous, voodoo god king!! He was just a typical king with a beard as far as I'm aware.

Meet Xerxes:

[Converse Rocker]

(Original post by big-bang-theory)
Meet Xerxes:

You mean Xerces wasn't a God King with various facial piercings and a voice deeper than Batman?

Spoiler:

Show

My life is a lie...

[big-bang-theory]

(Original post by Converse Rocker)
You mean Xerces wasn't a God King with various facial piercings and a voice deeper than Batman?

Spoiler:

Show

My life is a lie...

Nah, but he did a hell of a lot running and liked to carry staves... But then who knows, maybe he had a phase that we just don't have any survivng coins from where he decided he was totally up for the rugged pierced look.