Were the 300 chosen because they all had sons and heirs? Historians speculate that this is no coincidence, and that the Persians in both cases chose to deploy at the most inopportune time for their adversaries. The Spartans were known for being devout. The timing of both the battles of Marathon and Thermopylae were close to the Carnea which was usually held in September, and both times the festival prevented the Spartans from fighting at all or in any great number.
After the battle, their prophecies became more pro-Greek.ĭid the Carnea really prevent the full mobilization of the Spartan army? These priests took a highly ambiguous position on the Persian invasion pre-Thermopylae which reflected the grave doubts in Greece that a resistance to the Persians could be successful. The actual corrupt priests were those at the Oracle of Delphi whose prophecies were open to bribery. Leonidas and the 300 would have traveled north with their permission most probably. Thus they would likely have had the decisive word with regard to delaying full mobilization until after the Carnea, and this decision would likely reflected the Spartan consensus position. They were proven hoplites like the ones who fought with Leonidas at Thermopylae, but their political role strongly counterbalanced that of the kings. Ephors were Spartiates elected for a term of one year to lead the government and administer Sparta. 300 diverges strongly from history in this scene. Were the ephors really misshapen, corrupt priests to the gods who forbade Leonidas to go to war? Leonidas meets the Persian envoy who demands a symbol of submission: earth and water. Persian envoys did return again in 481 BC, and their demands were refused more cordially the second time. As it occurred in 491 BC while Cleomenes was still king, he may have been the one to give the order and not Leonidas as depicted in the movie. It would have political ramifications for years to come. Killing an emissary was considered sacrilegious, and the event was a slap in the face to the Persian Emperor Xerxes. The killing of the Persian ambassador did occur and it was critical. Was the Persian ambassador really killed?
Cleomenes died in 490 BC, and when Leonidas became king he may well have been in his fifties already. Because he had not been first in line for succession, Leonidas was sent to the agoge but his older half-brother, Cleomenes, had not trained in the agoge, as he was heir to the throne.
Leonidas did pass through the agoge although this was unusual for kings of Sparta.
What of the personal animosity between Xerxes and Leonidas… did they ever meet?.Was Leonidas refusal to retreat actually based on a Spartan law of ‘no retreat, no surrender?’.Was Gorgo raped, and did Theron conspire against her and Leonidas?.Did the Spartans fight in capes and bare torsos?.Were rhinoceroses and elephants used by the Persians in the battle of Thermopylae?.Did the Persians really lose around 400 ships to a storm prior to the battle?.Did the Spartans encounter the devastation wrought by an advanced party of Persians on their march to Thermopylae?.Did Leonidas really ask the Arcadian allies to declare their occupations?.Were the 300 chosen because they all had sons and heirs?.Did the Carnea really prevent the full mobilization of the Spartan army?.Were the ephors really misshapen, corrupt priests to the gods who forbade Leonidas to go to war?.Was the Persian ambassador really killed?.