300 Spartan Facts and Trivia

The movie 300 has forever immortalized the battle of 300 brave Spartans in the hearts of mind of all who were fortunate enough to have watched the film. In addition to stunning effects, amazing lighting, and characters that were larger than life while remaining utterly believable to anyone who knows the history of these men this film captured the essence of what it meant to be Spartan in a way the world is not likely to forget anytime soon.

There are quite a few interesting facts and trivia about Sparta that genuine fans of the movie 300 can truly appreciate. Before diving too deeply into facts and trivia it is important to remember that the movie was never presented as being historically factual and always meant to be a creative vision. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t plenty of nice, juicy historical tidbits included in the movie though.

In the movie, Leonidas proclaims “Then we will fight in the shade” when confronted with news of the enemies’ arrows blotting out the sun. In actuality it was Dienekes who made that comment.

Creative license was used in the movie when Queen Gorgo informed the messenger that she was able to speak among men as an equal “because only Spartan women give birth to real men.” This line was actually spoken to an Athenian woman who asked why Spartan women were able to talk openly among men.

Incidentally, Spartan boys went through a rigorous and grueling training, skills, and fitness education. Upon passing a final test of skills and fitness they are able to become full Spartan citizens. A lesser known fact is that the women also go through a similar training experience.

Women who passed the tests were assigned husbands and granted full citizenship. It was believed that these women who were, in their own rights, as strong as the men would bear strong Spartan men for the army.

Spartans believed that only strong Spartan women could produce strong Spartan babies. Queen Gorgo wasn’t exactly speaking out of turn when she made her statement that was incredibly shocking in those times anywhere other than Sparta.

Why did Spartan soldiers wear red? So their blood would not show. Spartans did not believe in any displays of weakness or overt sentimentality. There life was about battle and winning the war. Weakness was not tolerated.

All men, who were citizens of Sparta and able to bear the title Spartan, were soldiers. Those men and women who did not pass the trials were never granted full citizenship and became merchants that comprised the middle class.

The life of a Spartan was not easy and yet these men and women were unwaveringly loyal to Sparta. It was this commitment to training and loyalty to Sparta that allowed these men to overcome the incredible odds they faced and not turn and run from the danger. The film version of 300 does an excellent job of capturing the spirit of these brave men who fought for the best reason in the world, to protect who they were and never be forced to bow to the rule of another.