Leonidas' visit to the deformed, elderly Ephors and their Oracular Urchin/Sex Slave brings worse news: Sparta cannot wage war against the armies of Persia on the eve of the sacred Carneia festival.Īfter much deliberation, Leonidas decides to defy the oracles' prophecies sort of. King Leonidas of Sparta ( Gerard Butler) refuses to bow to the God King Xerxes' demands for Sparta to submit to the vast power of the Persian Empire.
The comic and film are extreme examples of historical movies being Very Loosely Based on a True Story, as artistic license is liberally employed (more so in the film than in the comic).Ī young, one-eyed Spartan soldier relates to a group of fellow soldiers how recent events came to pass. Miller was introduced to the Thermopylae story through a 1962 Sword & Sandal movie version called The 300 Spartans, which influenced him deeply as a child. In spite of the heavy fantasy influence, the story is based on real events- the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC during the Second Greco-Persian War, as described by the ancient Greek historian Herodotus. A really amazing figure that makes the top 5 for the year.300 is a heavily stylized Battle Epic movie directed by Zack Snyder, released in 2007 and based on a 1998 comic miniseries by Frank Miller. For me, I think the cape they chose to produce for the final product was a better choice, and make for a sharper effects when posing the figure. I really done have anything negative to report other than the cape being cut different and much bigger then what was shown on the box. It’s on a level of it’s own and anybody who is a fan of the movie and is searching out figures to collect, this is a must have addition to your 300 collection. Your not going to find a better representation than Good Smile Figma King Leonidas. Releated Entertainment Earth links: King Leonidas, All Figma & Good Smile Productsĭifferent cut and size cape then what is pictured on box The figure was supplied by sponsor Entertainment Earth.
We have over 40 high resolution images and a full review of King Leonidas from the 300. The Spartans repelled wave after wave of Persian forces, including Xerxes’s personal guard, the Immortals, over several days of brutal combat. The Spartans were joined by 700 Thespians and 900 Helots though these groups reportedly stayed to the rear and engaged only after the Spartans were in battle. Knowing that time was short, King Leonidas took his own personal guard of 300 men north to the narrow pass of Thermopylae, where numbers became less important than skill at close combat. The council of Sparta, noting past grievances against other Greek cities, refused to release the full army of Sparta until after the completion of an upcoming religious celebration. More modern estimates put it at approaching 500,000. In part Xerxes wanted to attain one of his father’s goals, an even larger Persian empire.Īncient reports put Xerxes‘ forces at 1.5 to 2 million people, and with attendants, followers and courtesans, it was stated to have been five million.
In part it was to avenge his father, the great Darius, whose stinging defeat at Marathon, some ten years earlier, had saved the free world. In 480 BC King Xerxes of Persia lead a massive army against the notoriously fractious city-states of Greece. He became one of two Spartan Kings, occupying the throne at the same time in a tense but civil arrangement.
Leonidas’s name meant “lion-like” and he was one of three sons of King Anaxandridas II.