The battle of Thermopylae, the movie?
Flippin' sweet!!!!
Short history lesson for those who don't know:
Long time ago in Greece, the Persians where invading with a MASSIVE army. The Greek city-states manged to unite themselves to try and fight back, but it wasn't going the greatest. The massive Persian steamrolled, hurtling wave after wave of infantry and light horsemen, with enough archer support to block out the sun.
Anyways, the Persians are advancing, the Greeks are pretty sure they're screwed, then Thermopylae. A small Greek army, of only five thousand (300 elite Spartans), fighting a juggernaut army which could of been 60 times its size in a small mountain pass. Slaughter, right? Not in the way you're thinking. Xerxes, the Persian leader, decided he wasn't going to waste his best troops, so he sent for the "cannon fodder" of the times. The rabble of his army were not the greatest fighters, but he figured by sheer weight of numbers they would win. He was wrong. The Greeks held of thirty thousand the first day and fifty thousand the next.
Xerxes, at this point is pissed, he sends his crack troops, the Immortals, one of the most feared units of the times. Unforetunately for them, the most feared were the Spartans. Xerxes could only watch as his best troops were slaughtered. It seemed the Greeks could hold forever, but the Fates were not so generous. A local Greek told Xerxes of a secret mountain pass that would take him to the Greek's backs. The third day, the battle was much different. The Greeks were almost totally cu off and trapped when King Leonidas of the Spartans sent the other Greeks to retreat, while he and his Spartans fought on. (Also 700 or so Thespians stayed along side them, but they arent as cool.)
A Spartan was raised from birth to know that retreat was unforgivable, that day the 300 fought against the best the Persians had. They battle had dragged on for hours, finally Xerxes decided to end it. He called in his archers, and they finished the Spartans off from a far. To this day, the Spartans who died there are national hereos in Greece.
This movie better be good.
