300 Weapons and Strategies Essay Example for Free

300 Weapons and Strategies Essay The movie 300 is an action movie that takes place in 480 B. C near Greece. It is about the famous Battle of Thermopylae that mainly involved both the Persians and the Spartans. The Persian army, led by a king named Xerxes, is in the process of taking over several Hellenic states in Greece. When Xerxes arrives at Sparta to strike a deal with King Leonidas (Spartan Army Leader) that he will have power over all of Greece if he will bow down to King Xerxes, Leonidas responds with retaliation against the Persians. King Leonidas assembles 300 of his toughest Spartan soldiers to take on the Persian army at the passage way of Thermopylae. Although severely outnumbered against Persia’s hundreds of thousands of men, King Leonidas and the Spartans hold off thousands of Persians from entering the passage for a few days. â€Å" Persian King Xerxes lead a Army of well over 100,000†. (IMBD) With Leonidas in battle, back at Sparta, Queen Gorgo( Queen of Sparta)desperately tries to persuade council to send more back up to Thermopylae to help King Leonidas. Unfortunately, the Spartans were betrayed by a recently rejected Spartan tryout named Ephialtes, who decides to pay back King Leonidas for his rejection. Ephialtes ultimately destroyed any chances of Sparta defeating Persia by informing Xerxes about an unknown secret Goat Passage that would lead Persia to the backs of the Spartan soldiers. Xerxes and the Persian army soon defeat Sparta but all in good name. Due to the motivation and courage of the 300 soldiers, they inspired all of Greece to go against Persia and fight. Part 2 After watching the movie, it is clear that most of the war tactics and strategies are very accurate to the actual real life battle that we knew. According to 300 Spartans, â€Å" This unit was produced of 300 Spartiati Warriors who were held in their highest esteem by their fellow citizens in Sparta†. (300 Spartans) So due to Sparta’s vastly outnumbered army size, military order was a major factor when battling. Not only was the order and position of their army an effective strategy, but it also helped favor Sparta and gave a competitive advantage when battling enemies who didn’t have such order. This was a major contribution to why King Leonidas wanted to battle at Thermopylae, also known as â€Å" Hot Gates†. This was a tiny area that made it favorable for smaller forces. â€Å" The pass of Thermopylae consisted of three ‘gates’ where the land narrowed in a favorable position foe a smaller army. The East and West Gates were extremely narrow, however, the Middle Gate while a little wider than the other gates is where the Greek warriors set up their defensive positions. (Spartan Warriors) King Leonidas spent a great deal of time focusing specifically on the training of his soldiers so they could be properly ready for battle. As shown in the movie, his formations for battle highly impacted what the outcome of the war would be. A repetitive battle formation used with Sparta was called the Phalanx. The Phalanx is a formation that lined up a small group of men pushing on the backs of the man in front with their shields giving no room for an enemy to slip by and eventually overcome them. â€Å" Now in actual fighting, it was a big shoving match with the front lines pushing against the enemy and each subsequent line pushing against the back of the men in front. (Military History) This was done by working his way into fighting in a narrow closed off area in hopes of entangling enemies and causing unexpected chaos. This would ensure the full potential of his warriors against Persia. Since Leonidas’ army was so well trained, they had no problem defeating Persian soldiers head to head. So to enhance battling conditions for Sparta, going between mountains, leaving only a small pathway for minimal enemies to get through at a time was standard and a critical way to fight for the best outcome. Now in the movie there is a small scene that shows Spartan soldiers dispersed and fighting one on one with several enemies. This was not an actual occurrence with Spartans because separating would have engulfed themselves with the multitudes of enemies that surrounded them. In the movie it is not entirely depicted correctly as even mentioned by, allexperts. com, â€Å" In actual combat, if the fighting broke down into man on man melee like shown in the movie, the Spartans would be easily overcome. †(Military History/Spartan Battle Tactics) Another important strategy for Sparta during battle was incorporating suitable terrain for their benefit. â€Å"The rugged terrain isolated groups and made the use of chariots and cavalry very difficult†. (Spartan Military) In reality this only seems to make sense but even in the movie there is a scene where Spartan soldiers are pushing enemy troops off a seaside cliff, thus incorporating the use of a rough terrain to their advantage. The movie 300 was very accurate in displaying these strategies several times exactly how they are described to be used in real life by the Spartans. King Leonidas stands his troops in the center of two mountains with a strong line of soldiers close together for support. With the soldiers in perfect Phalanx order, they could simply replace one another in an instant if a soldier ahead died. Perhaps a crucial reason for the use of the Phalanx order in Spartans history and even in the movie, is because back in these ages war was usually fought almost chaotic. Never before has an army seen this kind of developed order on the battlefield which took them by surprise and gave Sparta a huge advantage. Although the Phalanx and the rough terrain were similar in comparison to the movie and actual Sparta history, that can not be necessarily said the same about the weapons used. In ancient history, the Spartans weapons have consisted of a large unwieldy spear called a Dory. This was typically aimed out over their large eight-foot hoplite shield, called an Aspis. This was followed by a chest plate and a solid helmet. Even though the Aspis and the spear were displayed correctly within the movie, a major difference distinguished with the wielded sword. Within the movie is a surplus of swords either called the Spatha or the Kopis. These were typically larger and had a more dangerous appearance to them than the original Lakonian sword. This sword that was actually used in real Spartan history fighting looked almost like a dagger. † The reason the Spartans shortened their sword was just that. It was easier to use in tight confines of the Phalanx and the press of men†. (Spartan Military) But this makes sense due to the fighting strategies used by them. Not only was the weapons slightly off in the movie, but also the use of them is depicted false. When the small Lakonian sword was used, it would have only been used to stab when an enemy went for a slash. In 300, there are several scenes showing Spartans slashing and hacking Persians which is incorrect. All in all, the movie 300 is a somewhat spot on movie with how actual Spartan military forces used weapons and battle strategies. Even with a couple obvious differences, one could argue their similarities.