The 300 Spartans
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Rudolph Maté
Produced by	Rudolph Maté George St. George
Written by	George St. George Gian Paolo Callegari Remigio Del Grosso Giovanni d'Eramo Ugo Liberatore
Starring	Richard Egan Ralph Richardson Diane Baker Barry Coe David Farrar
Music by	Manos Hadjidakis
Cinematography	Geoffrey Unsworth
Editing by	Jerry Webb
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	August 1962
Running time	109 mins.
Country	United States
Language	English
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

The 300 Spartans is a 1962 film depicting the Battle of Thermopylae. Made with the cooperation of the Greek government, it was shot in the village of Perachora in the Peloponnese. It starred Richard Egan as the Spartan king Leonidas, Ralph Richardson as Themistocles of Athens and David Farrar as Persian king Xerxes, with Diane Baker as Ellas and Barry Coe as Phylon providing the requisite romantic element in the film. In the film, a force of Greek warriors led by 300 Spartans fights against a Persian army of almost limitless size. Despite the odds, the Spartans will not flee or surrender, even if it means their deaths. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 398 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (501 × 755 pixel, file size: 95 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) This image is of a poster, and the copyright for it is most likely owned by either the publisher or the creator of the work... Rudolph Maté (January 21, 1898 - October 27, 1964) was an accomplished cinematographer and film director. ... Richard Egan Richard Egan (July 29, 1921 - July 20, 1987) was an American actor. ... Sir Ralph David Richardson (19 December 1902 – 10 October 1983) was an English actor, one of a group of theatrical knights of the mid-20th century who, though more closely associated with the stage, did their best to make the transition to film. ... Diane Baker (born February 25, 1938) is an American actress. ... Manos Hadjidakis (Μάνος Χατζιδάκις) (October 23, 1925–June 15, 1994) was a Greek music composer. ... Twentieth (20th) Century Fox Film Corporation (known from 1935 to 1985 as Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation) is one of the six major American film studios. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... // Events Dr. No launches the James Bond film series, the longest-running motion picture franchise of all time, running more than 40 years. ... For other battles at Thermopylae, see Battle of Thermopylae (disambiguation). ... Perachora is an inland settlement in the Loutraki-Perachoras municipality of the Corinthia prefecture in the periphery of Peloponnese in Greece. ... Greece and the Peloponnese The Peloponnese or Peloponnesus (Greek: Πελοπόννησος Peloponnesos; see also List of Greek place names) is a large peninsula in southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth. ... Richard Egan Richard Egan (July 29, 1921 - July 20, 1987) was an American actor. ... For modern day Sparta, see Sparti (municipality). ... For other uses, see Leonidas (disambiguation). ... Sir Ralph David Richardson (19 December 1902 – 10 October 1983) was an English actor, one of a group of theatrical knights of the mid-20th century who, though more closely associated with the stage, did their best to make the transition to film. ... Themistocles (Greek: ; c. ... This article is about the capital of Greece. ... Persia redirects here. ... Xerxes I of Persia (sometimes known as Xerxes the Great, in old Persian, 𐎧𐏁𐎹𐎠𐎼𐏁𐎠[2]) was a king of Persia (reigned 486–465 BC) of the Achaemenid dynasty. ... Diane Baker (born February 25, 1938) is an American actress. ...

The picture was noted for its Cold War overtones,^[1] repeatedly referring to the independent Greek states as "the only stronghold of freedom remaining in the then known world", holding out against the Persian 'slave empire'. For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ...

Frank Miller saw this movie as a boy and said "it changed the course of my creative life".^[2] His graphic novel 300 is about the Battle of Thermopylae, and was the basis for the 2007 film 300. This article is about Frank Miller, the comic book writer and artist and movie writer and director. ... 300 is a historically-inspired comic book limited series (later collected into a single hardcover volume) written and illustrated by Frank Miller with painted colors by Lynn Varley. ... For other battles at Thermopylae, see Battle of Thermopylae (disambiguation). ... 300 is a 2007 film adaptation of the graphic novel 300 by Frank Miller, and is a fictionalized retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae. ...

Plot

Xerxes I of Persia leads a vast army of soldiers into Europe to crush the small city-states of Greece to fulfil not only the idea of "one world ruled by one master", but to avenge the defeat of his father, Darius I of Persia, at the Battle of Marathon ten years previously. Accompanying him are Artemisia I, the Queen of Halicarnassus who beguiles Xerxes with her feminine charm, and Demaratus, an exiled king of Sparta whose warnings Xerxes pays little heed to. Xerxes I of Persia (sometimes known as Xerxes the Great, in old Persian, 𐎧𐏁𐎹𐎠𐎼𐏁𐎠[2]) was a king of Persia (reigned 486–465 BC) of the Achaemenid dynasty. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... Darius I the Great (c. ... Belligerents Athens, Plataea Achaemenid Empire Commanders Miltiades the Younger, Callimachus â€ , Arimnestus Datis â€ ?, Artaphernes Strength 7,000 to 9,000 Athenians, 1,000 Plataeans 20,000 to 60,000 a Casualties and losses 192 Athenians, 11 Plataeans (Herodotus) 6,400, 7 ships captured (Herodotus) a These are modern consensus estimates. ... Artemisia was the name of two queens of Halicarnassus in the 5th century BC and 4th century BC. The first Artemisia was the daughter of Lygdamis and was set up as the tyrant of Halicarnassus by the Persians, who were at the time the overlords of Ionia, after the death... Halicarnassus (Ancient Greek: ; Turkish: , modern Bodrum) was an ancient Greek city on the southwest coast of Caria, Anatolia (Asia Minor), on a picturesque, advantageous site on the Ceramic Gulf (Gulf of Kos, Gulf of Gökova). ... Demaratus, king of Sparta from 515 until 491 BC of the Eurypontid line, successor to his father Ariston. ... For modern day Sparta, see Sparti (municipality). ...

In Corinth, Themistocles wins the support of the allies and convinces both the delegates and the Spartan representative, Leonidas I, to grant Sparta leadership of the force. Outside the hall, Leonidas and Themistocles agree to fortify the pass at Thermopylae until the rest of the army arrives. After this, Leonidas learns of the Persian advance and travels to Sparta to spread the news. Corinth, or Korinth (Greek: Κόρινθος, Kórinthos; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a Greek city-state, on the Isthmus of Corinth, the narrow stretch of land that joins the Peloponnesus to the mainland of Greece. ... Themistocles (Greek: ; c. ... For other uses, see Leonidas (disambiguation). ... For the clipper ship, see Thermopylae (clipper). ...

In Sparta, fellow king Leotychidas is fighting a losing battle with the Ephors over a festival that is due to take place, and that the army should wait until after the festival is over to march, by which time the Persians will have conquered Greece. Leonidas secretly decides to take his personal bodyguard of 300 men to the pass, who are exempt from the decisions of the Ephors and the Gerousia. They are reinforced by Thespians and other Greek allies. Leotychidas [Leotychides, Latychidas] (c. ... An ephor (Classical Greek ) (from the Greek , epi, on or over, and , horaō, to see, i. ... An ephor (Classical Greek ) (from the Greek , epi, on or over, and , horaō, to see, i. ... The Gerousia was the Spartan senate. ...

After days of fighting, Xerxes grows angry as his army is "slaughtered like sheep" by the Greeks, with the Spartans in the forefront. Leonidas further pressures his men after receiving word that the remainder of the Spartan army will only fortify the isthmus in the Peloponnese and will advance no further. The Greeks constantly beat off the Persians, and Xerxes begins to consider withdrawing to Sardis until he can equip a larger force at a later date. Just then, he receives word from Ephialtes of a goat-track through the mountains. Rewarding Ephialtes greatly, Xerxes sends his army onward. Greece and the Peloponnese The Peloponnese or Peloponnesus (Greek: Πελοπόννησος Peloponnesos; see also List of Greek place names) is a large peninsula in southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth. ... A recent view of the ceremonial court of the thermae–gymnasium complex in Sardis, dated to 211—212 AD Sardis, also Sardes (Lydian: Sfard, Greek: Σάρδεις, Persian: Sparda), modern Sart in the Manisa province of Turkey, was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Lydia, the seat of a proconsul under... For other uses, see Ephialtes (disambiguation). ...

Once Leonidas realises this, he sends away the Greek allies to alert the cities to the south. Being too few to hold the pass, the Spartans instead attack the Persian front, where Xerxes is nearby. Leonidas is killed in the meleé. Surrounded, the survivors refuse to leave his body and are annihilated by arrowfire. After this, the Battle of Salamis and the Battle of Platea end the Persian invasion, which could not have been organised without the help of the 300 Spartans who defied the tyranny of Xerxes at Thermopylae. For other uses, see Battle of Salamis (disambiguation). ... Battle of Plataea Conflict Persian Wars Date August, 479 BC Place Plataea Result Greek victory The Battle of Plataea took place in 479 BC between an alliance of Greek city-states and the Persians. ...

Cast

• Richard Egan as King Leonidas, Agiad King of Sparta
• Ralph Richardson as Themistocles of Athens
• Diane Baker as Ellas daughter of Pentheus, Queen Gorgo's niece
• Barry Coe as Phyllon son of Grellas, a Spartan in love with Ellas
• Anna Synodinou as Queen Gorgo, Leonidas' wife
• David Farrar as King Xerxes of the Persian Empire
• Anne Wakefield as Artemisia, Queen of Halicarnassus
• Ivan Triesault as Demaratus, exiled Euripontid ex-King of Sparta
• Nikos Papakonstantinou as Mardonius, Persian general
• Donald Houston as Hydarnes, Persian general leader of the Immortals
• Robert Brown as Pentheus, Spartan soldier second-in-command to Leonidas
• John Crawford as Agathon, Spartan spy and soldier
• Charles Fawcett as Megistias, Spartan priest
• Kieron Moore as Ephialtes of Trachis
• Yorgos Moutsios as Grellas, a Spartan in Xerxes' camp
• Dimos Starenios as Samos, a goatherd living in the vicinity of Thermopylae
• Anna Raftopoulou as Toris, Samos' wife
• John Contes as Artovadus, Persian general
• Michalis Nikolinakos as Myron, a Spartan
• Laurence Naismith as unnamed Greek delegate
• Marietta Flemotomos as unnamed Greek woman at shield ceremony

Richard Egan Richard Egan (July 29, 1921 - July 20, 1987) was an American actor. ... For other uses, see Leonidas (disambiguation). ... Sir Ralph David Richardson (19 December 1902 – 10 October 1983) was an English actor, one of a group of theatrical knights of the mid-20th century who, though more closely associated with the stage, did their best to make the transition to film. ... Themistocles (Greek: ; c. ... Diane Baker (born February 25, 1938) is an American actress. ... Gorgo was the daughter and the only child of Cleomenes I, King of Sparta during the 6th and 5th centuries BC. She was the wife of her uncle, King Leonidas I who fought and died in the Battle of Thermopylae. ... Xerxes I of Persia (sometimes known as Xerxes the Great, in old Persian, 𐎧𐏁𐎹𐎠𐎼𐏁𐎠[2]) was a king of Persia (reigned 486–465 BC) of the Achaemenid dynasty. ... Artemisia was the name of two queens of Halicarnassus in the 5th century BC and 4th century BC. The first Artemisia was the daughter of Lygdamis and was set up as the tyrant of Halicarnassus by the Persians, who were at the time the overlords of Ionia, after the death... Demaratus, king of Sparta from 515 until 491 BC of the Eurypontid line, successor to his father Ariston. ... Mardonius was a Persian commander during the Persian Wars with Greece in the 5th century BC. He was the son of Gobryas and the son-in-law of Darius I of Persia, whose daughter Artozostra he had married. ... Donald Houston (November 6, 1923 — October 13, 1991) was an impassive, hardworking Welsh actor whose first two films - The Blue Lagoon (1949) with Jean Simmons, and A Run for Your Money (1949) with Sir Alec Guinness - were highly successful. ... Hydarnes, son of Hydarnes, was an eminent Persian, the commander of the Ten Thousand Immortals during the time of the Persian Wars with Greece. ... Kieron Moore (born 5 October 1924 in Skibbereen, County Cork, Ireland; died 15 July 2007) was an Irish film actor whose career was at its peak in the 1950s and 1960s. ... For other uses, see Ephialtes (disambiguation). ... Laurence Naismith (born 14 December 1908 in Surrey, England; died 5 June 1992 in Queensland, Australia) was an English actor who starred in many great well known films, such as Richard III, Jason and the Argonauts, (1963), Sink the Bismarck! (1960) and as Captain Edward Smith of the RMS Titanic...

References

The International Herald Tribune is a widely read English language international newspaper. ... is the 67th day of the year (68th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... -1...

External links

• The 300 Spartans at the Internet Movie Database
• The 300 Spartans at the Battle of Thermopylae

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