queen gorgo speech 300

300 is a 2006 film adaptation of the graphic novel 300 by Frank Miller about the Battle of Thermopylae . This film was released on March 9, 2007.

1 King Leonidas
2 Queen Gorgo
6 About 300 (film)
8 External links

King Leonidas [ edit ]

We will block the Persian coastal assault by rebuilding the great Phocian Wall. And from there, we will funnel them into the mountain pass we call the Hot Gates. Now, in that narrow corridor, their numbers will count for nothing, and wave after wave of Persian attack will smash against Spartan shields. Xerxes' losses will be so great, his men so demoralized, he will have no choice but to abandon his campaign!
[after Daxos and his men withdraw] No retreat, no surrender. That is Spartan law. And by Spartan law, we will stand and fight... and die. A new age has begun: an age of freedom ! And all will know that 300 Spartans gave their last breath to defend it!
THIS! IS!! SPARTA!!!
Spartans! Ready your breakfast and eat hearty, for tonight, we dine in Hell !
[last words] My Queen!... My Wife!... My love...

Queen Gorgo [ edit ]

Councilmen, I stand before you not only as your queen. I come to you as a mother. I come to you as a wife. I come to you as a Spartan woman. I come to you with great humility. I am not here to represent Leonidas. His actions speak louder than my words ever could. I am here for all those voices which cannot be heard. Mothers, daughters, fathers, sons. Three hundred families that bleed for our rights. And for the very principles this room was built upon. We are at war, gentlemen. We must send the entire Spartan army to aid our king in the preservation of not just ourselves, but of our children. Send the army for the preservation of liberty. Send it for justice. Send it for law and order. Send it for reason. But most importantly, send our army for hope. Hope that a king and his men have not been wasted to the pages of history. That their courage bonds us together. That we are made stronger by their actions, and that your choices today reflect their bravery.

Dilios [ edit ]

[Regarding Leonidas' upbringing] From the time he could stand, he was baptized in the fire of combat. Taught never to retreat, never to surrender. Taught that death on the battlefield in service to Sparta was the greatest glory he could achieve in his life.
They have served the dark will of Persian kings for 500 years. Eyes as dark as night, teeth filed to fangs - soulless. The personal guard to King Xerxes himself. The Persian warrior elite. The deadliest fighting force in all of Asia. The Immortals. The god-king has betrayed a fatal flaw: hubris . Easy to taunt, easy to trick. Before wounds and weariness have taken their toll, the mad king throws the best he has at us. Xerxes has taken the bait. "Immortals" - we put their name to the test.
[As the Arcadians join the fight with the Immortals] They shout and curse, stabbing wildly, more brawlers than warriors. They make a wondrous mess of things. Brave amateurs, they do their part.
"Immortals". They fail our king's test. And a man who fancies himself a god feels a very human chill crawl up his spine.
"Remember us." As simple an order as a king can give. "Remember why we died." For he did not wish tribute or song. No monuments, no poems of war and valour. His wish was simple: "Remember us," he said to me. That was his hope. Should any free soul come across that place, in all the countless centuries yet to be, may all our voices whisper to you from the ageless stones: Go tell the Spartans, passer-by, that here, by Spartan law, we lie. So my king died, and my brothers died, barely a year ago. Long I pondered my king's cryptic talk of victory. But time has proven him wise. For from free Greek to free Greek, the word was spread that bold Leonidas and his 300, so far from home, laid down their lives, not just for Sparta, but for all Greece and the promise this country holds! Now, here on this ragged patch of earth called Plataea , Xerxes' hordes face obliteration! Just there the barbarians huddle, sheer terror gripping tight their hearts with icy fingers, knowing full well what merciless horrors they suffered at the swords and spears of 300. Yet they stare now across the plain at 10,000 Spartans commanding 30,000 free Greeks!

Dialogue [ edit ]

Taglines [ edit ].

Tonight we dine in Hell!
Prepare for glory!
They were 300 men, against a million!
A God-King must die!
A beautiful death!
Madness? THIS IS SPARTA!
SPARTANS, What is your profession?
Give them nothing but take from them everything!

About 300 (film) [ edit ]

300 opens on a scene that literally glorifies fascism. The first thing we see is a chasm full of baby skulls, the remains of the infants who were deemed unfit. Leonidas has no visible disabilities, so he gets to live. Then, as a kid, he’s indoctrinated into the warrior society, taught to fight or die, then sent off to survive on his own. He goes into the snow and kills an enormous CGI wolf; a real trained wolf, apparently, would not have looked badass enough. Snyder presents all this as badass shit. And later, he implies that the Spartans were right to kill off all their disabled children, since it’s a hunchbacked troll escapee who ultimately betrays Leonidas.
The Persian side, on the other hand, looks like a lot more fun; the orgy pit, which we’re apparently supposed to see as some sort of appalling gender-fluid hell, looks like a more pleasant place than anywhere in Sparta. We see the emperor Xerxes as a 9-foot dandy with a seductive foghorn for a voice and a face full of jangling piercings. And the way Miller and Snyder depict them is just fascinatingly weird. A couple of early messengers are inky in their exaggerated blackness, and the Immortals, Xerxes’ regiment of elite fighters, are mutant ninjas who, when they get their masks knocked off, look like Jabba The Hutt’s palace guards. There’s also an executioner with crab-claw blades for arms and a massive warty ogre who looks like Sloth from The Goonies and who was played by the former WWF giant Kurrgan (Robert Maillet). The bad guys are so othered that they don’t even seem human.
Tom Breihan, "Zack Snyder’s 300 presaged the howling fascism of the alt-right" , Avclub.com , (8/11/17).
I was surrounded by hundreds of stuntmen, who were amazing. Stuntmen are my favourite people on a film set, but I had this thing that really helped me get through, which was this thought in my head that, ‘If I can train in such a way that they’re actually going, “He is a badass…” – because I know stuntmen and they like actors but mostly they see them as wet blankets. [I wanted] to train in a way so they would actually take their hats off to me, and in a way so that you would believe that they would actually follow you. I was [working out] six hours a day: two hours with them, two hours doing the 300 work-out, two hours with my own bodybuilder… pumping 25 times before each take. But I was also surrounded by a lot of guys putting in a lot of effort. It was great having that unity of purpose both as an army and in terms of what we were trying to make in this movie and in terms of fitness, training and that warrior spirit. It was a very powerful place to be.
Gerard Butler in "Gerard Butler on his six-hour 300 workout, breaking his neck and near-death stunts" by Mark Russell, GQ , (24 November 2016).
What was your actual involvement?
300 is largely faithful to your material. But it takes the character of Queen Gorgo, who only appears in a couple of panels in your version, and gives her a major subplot with a character called Theron, an evil politician. What did you think of that addition?
Frank Miller in "How 300 went from the page to the screen" , by Steve Daly, EW.com , (March 13, 2007).
JA : Obviously, doing this movie probably caused you to do a lot of research on Greek and Persian armies. What was the most interesting thing you learned about this culture and the history of this? Did you get a good feel for that outside of Frank's work?
MP : Did you use any other films as reference materials for this? Something like Ben Hur , Gladiator (2000 film) , or Lord of the Rings ?
Zack Snyder in “Interview With 300 Director Zack Snyder” , Jeremy Atkins, Dark Horse , (3/7/07).
The director says that the film’s (homo)sexual undertones were intended to make young straight males in the audience uncomfortable, because “What’s more scary to a 20-year-old boy than a giant god-king who wants to have his way with you?”
The movie, true to Miller’s vision, is also loaded with sweaty hunks running around in those tight leather Speedos and capes. None of this is played for gay appeal, but could induce snickering among some teens. Snyder shrugs it off. ”Some people have said to me, ’Your movie is homoerotic,’ and some have said, ’Your movie’s homophobic.’ In my mind, the movie is neither. But I don’t have a problem with people interpreting it the way they’d like to.” As long as they buy tickets first.
Zack Snyder as quoted in “300’s director admits using homosexuality to scare 20 year old men" by Michael Jensen, New Now Next , Logo , (3/11/2007).
Q . Has the response from Iran surprised you?
Zack Snyder, "300 - Zack Snyder interview" , IndieLondon .

Cast [ edit ]

Gerard Butler – Spartan King Leonidas
Lena Headey – Queen Gorgo , Leonidas' wife
David Wenham – Dilios, Narrator
Dominic West – Theron
Vincent Regan – Captain Artemis
Michael Fassbender – Stellios
Tom Wisdom – Astinos
Andrew Pleavin – Daxos
Andrew Tiernan – Ephialtes
Rodrigo Santoro – Xerxes
Peter Mensah – Messenger
Stephen McHattie – Loyalist
Giovanni Antonio Cimmino – Pleistarchus
Tyrone Benskin – Persian Emissary

External links [ edit ]

300 quotes at the Internet Movie Database
300 at Rotten Tomatoes
The official 300 site

Action films
Comic book films
Period films
American films
Films based on true stories
Films directed by Zack Snyder
Siege films
Censored films

This will not be over quickly. You will not enjoy this. I am not your Queen!

Share this clip.

Report to moderators

Clip duration: 8 seconds Views: 7546 Timestamp in movie: 01h 33m 23s Uploaded: 16 November, 2022 Genres: action , drama Summary: King Leonidas of Sparta and a force of 300 men fight the Persians at Thermopylae in 480 B.C.

All that God King Xerxes requires is this - 300

Screen Rant

300: 15 quotes that will live on in infamy.

Zack Snyder's stylish historic epic features some great battle scenes, but it's the many 300 quotes that make Leonidas and his Spartans so memorable.

300 is a visually stunning movie that brings to life the epic Battle of Thermopylae and showcases the Spartans' unyielding bravery and discipline.
The movie is not just about action and visuals, but also delivers memorable quotes that highlight the Spartan way of life and the excitement of battle.
Leonidas, the fearless leader of the Spartan warriors, embodies the strength of his people and shows unwavering love for his queen, even in the face of death.

The best 300 quotes are just as memorable as the epic battle sequences in Zack Snyder's stylish historical action movie. The 2007 adaptation of the Frank Millar graphic novel of the same name recounts one of the greatest battles in history — the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BCE. A force of 300 Spartan warriors led by the fearsome Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and some of their Greek allies positioned themselves in the narrow pass at Thermopylae and held back the armies of the Persian god-king Xerxes I (Rodrigo Santoro), with the invading Persian forces estimated anywhere between 200,00 and 2 million in number.

The movie is directed by Zack Snyder and beautifully adapts the stunning art of Frank Miller's original graphic novel. 300 is a thrilling spectacle of glory in combat and stylish cinematography. It is also a rousing underdog story and a thrilling look at the over-the-top yet compelling discipline of the Spartan army. However, the movie doesn't lose itself completely in its visuals, as 300 delivers many memorable quotes in the midst of the bloody mayhem with lines highlighting the Spartan way of life, the excitement of battle, and unblinking bravery in the face of overwhelming odds.

300 is available to rent on Apple TV.

This Is Sparta!: 10 Behind-The-Scenes Facts About 300

15 “you see, old friend i brought more soldiers than you did”, leonidas (gerard butler).

The Spartan army differs from all others as it is made up of men who have dedicated their lives to battle and nothing else. When the Spartans' only allies in the war, the Arcadians, show up, Daxos is disappointed Leonidas brought so few soldiers. Leonidas asks several Arcadian soldiers their professions, with the likes of blacksmiths and sculptors in the group. When he asks the Spartans their profession, they respond with a battle cry — proving that Leonidas has more soldiers despite having the smaller army. It is a humbling moment for the Arcadians but a great moment of Leonidas showing the confidence he has in his band of few yet experienced warriors.

14 "It’s Just An Eye. The Gods Saw Fit To Grace Me With A Spare."

Dilios (david wenham).

While the Spartan warriors prove they are the more skilled and powerful warriors on the battlefield, they are not immune to injury. However, it takes a lot to bring them down or even to admit that they are hurt. Leonidas also demands the most from his soldiers, and when he sees that Dilios is sporting an eyepatch, he questions him about the "scratch." Proving himself a true Spartan, Dilios immediately brushes it off by suggesting losing an eye is no reason to worry. It is a darkly comedic moment showcasing the Spartan's over-the-top commitment to being the toughest warriors in the ancient world.

13 "My Queen! My Wife. My Love..."

Not every 300 quote is about battle and death. Within the intense society they live in, Leonidas and his queen have to be careful not to show any kind of softness or vulnerability. Even when saying goodbye, their love for each other must go unsaid. It makes for a surprisingly heartbreaking moment in the action-packed movie when Leonidas faces his death and his last words are not one of defiance to his enemy, but rather one last declaration to the woman he loves. After being such a strong warrior for the entire movie, that persona wavers somewhat and Leonidas' vulnerability shows as he thinks of her one last time .

12 “Persians, Come And Get Them.”

As the Persian army is about to descend upon the small force of Spartans, one of the Persian commanders shouts the order for the Spartans to disarm. Leonidas responds by letting them know that it is not going to be that easy, punctuating his order with a javelin that impales the Persian officer. The Roman historian and philosopher Plutarch actually recorded this real-life exchange . Supposedly, Xerxes himself actually gave the order for the Spartans to lay down their weapons (as opposed to one of his vassals). Leonidas responded (in ancient Doric Greek) “Molon labe,” a line of defiance still quoted to this day.

How Real Is 300? 10 Inaccuracies & Missing Details Ridiculed By Greek Historian

11 “this is sparta”.

Perhaps the most iconic quote from 300 comes early in the movie and confirms Leonidas is a ruler who will not kowtow to those who threaten his kingdom , regardless of the size of his enemy. He is not afraid to show a barbaric side to the Persian messenger, who cannot believe the recklessness of Leonidas to threaten him. However, the messenger referring to the slight as "madness" proves to be the wrong step to take, and Leonidas lets it be known that such madness is the way of life in Sparta. Gerard Butler's epic delivery has made the quote a part of pop culture that has been parodied endlessly.

10 “Earth And Water? You’ll Find Plenty Of Both Down There.”

According to the ancient Greek chronicler Herodotus, when Persian emissaries traveled through Greece, they asked each city-state to offer “earth and water” as a sign of their submission to King Xerxes. In response to this request, the Athenians flung the Persians down a gorge, while the Spartans hurled them into a well, suggesting that there would be plenty of earth and water at the bottom. A highly stylized version of this well-tossing scene appears in 300 with Leonidas delivering this chilling threat. It cements Leonidas and his people as a civilization that will not bow or be threatened so easily.

9 “Come Back With Your Shield…Or On It.”

Queen gorgo (lena heady).

Before playing the villainous Cersei on Game of Throne s , Lena Heady played the much more likable queen Gorgo in 300 , who delivers this line to Leonidas as he leaves for battle. The meaning is straightforward enough. If a man fled from battle, he would drop his heavy shield to run faster. As such, a man returning with his shield must therefore be victorious, while a dead man could be carried back on his shield. According to Plutarch, this 300 quote was actually spoken by numerous Spartan women as the men left for war at Thermopylae . Though it was the men who went off to fight on the battlefield, the women, like Queen Gorgo, continued to exemplify Sparta's warrior mindset.

8 “Then We Will Fight In The Shade.”

Stelios (michael fassbender).

This is another real-life 300 quote, spoken by the Spartan warrior Dienekes. When he was told how Persian archers could quite literally blot out the sun with their arrows, he casually responded with the line about fighting in the shade — a real historical moment that led to one of the funniest 300 quotes, even given the grizzly context of an ancient battle. Needless to say, Stelios died at Thermopylae, but thanks to reports of the battle that were later preserved by Herodotus, his words live on to the present. The line is spoken in the movie by Stelios, played by Michael Fassbender, once again showing how Spartans face death without fear.

7 "This Is Where We Hold Them. This Is Where We Fight. This Is Where They Die."

The Spartans may have been the great warriors of Ancient Greece, but the reason that a force of 300 soldiers could hold off the entire Persian army was that they chose a tight narrow pass where they were protected on both sides by high cliffs, rendering the Persians' superior numbers meaningless. With these words, Leonidas rallies his men around a steadfast plan . They would hold Thermopylae — “the Hot Gates ”— marking the land where his men spill their enemies' blood in one of the most epic battles of all time.

6 “Immortals. We Put Their Name To The Test.”

The Immortals were an elite unit of Persian warriors chosen from their nobility, and the real-life soldiers were much more impressive than the silver-masked ninjato-wielding demons with warped faces and pointy teeth seen in 300. These spear-carrying heavy infantrymen formed a single unit 10,000 strong — a force so big that if any of them died, they would be immediately replaced by another, making them seem like an immortal army. That is, at least, until they encountered the Spartans. Even the terrifying reputation of Persia's greatest warriors doesn't cause the Spartans to flinch, and they are more than happy to test how immortal they really are.

5 “Haven’t You Noticed? We’ve Been Sharing Our Culture With You All Morning.”

Many of the best 300 quotes come fro Leonidas's refusal to see Xerxes as an equal, let alone a god. The first of these memorable exchanges comes when the Persian king tries to win over Leonidas and his Spartans as allies, saying they had much to offer one another. Leonidas walks among the dead Persians he and his men have just slain and points out that Sparta has already shared its culture, that of the sword. Xerxes certainly chose the wrong man to offer pampering and luxury to as Leonidas is a warrior to his core. Such grim joy in the face of widespread carnage shows why the Spartan warriors were so feared .

4 "You See, Slaughtering All Those Men Of Yours Has, Uh, Well It’s Left A Nasty Cramp In My Leg, So Kneeling Will Be Hard For Me."

There is a sense that Leonidas accepted the chance to meet Xerxes with no intention of coming to an understanding, but rather for the opportunity to mock the so-called 'god-king' to his face. Leonidas patiently listens to Xerxes' offer until the Persian ruler requests only that Leonidas kneel for him. Leonidas feigns consideration before using the request to once again remind Xerxes of the slaughter the Spartans have delivered to the Persian forces, and that kneeling will be out of the question. It is an underrated comedic moment from Gerard Butler whose delivery is fantastic , but the incensed reaction from Xerxes really sells it.

3 "It Won’t Be Long Before They Fear My Spears More Than Your Whips."

While Leonidas has fun teasing Xerxes about the battle, he also takes a moment to highlight the differences between their two armies. Xerxes has come over with a massive army with forces that dwarf the Spartans. However, Leonidas points out that Xerxes has slaves fighting for him, whereas Leonidas has warriors . There is a brutality to the way of life for a Spartan, but Leonidas knows the difference between those who are fighting because it is their way of life and those who are fighting because they are being forced to.

2 “And Before This Battle Is Over, That Even A God King Can Bleed.”

Xerxes offers to make Leonidas a warlord ruling over all of Greece and much of Europe if the Spartan King will submit to Xerxes’s divine will. Leonidas turns the god-king down while also delivering this fitting threat, which has lived on as one of the most memorable 300 quotes. Though Xerxes depicts himself as a god, it does not impress Leonidas. He knows Xerxes is a man like any other, and his Spartans can make this 'god' bleed. Leonidas is aware he will likely die in the battle, but this promise reminds Xerxes that one drop of spilled blood will shatter all notions of his divinity.

1 "Spartans, Ready Your Breakfast And Eat Hardy, For Tonight We Dine In Hell!"

This is a great simple line spoken by Leonidas in 300 as a way of letting his men — and the audience — know that the end has finally come. No matter how many men the Spartans killed, they would eventually join the dead. But this was something to be celebrated, for it meant the Spartans would die a glorious death, which for many of them was all they desired in life. In Gerard Butler's first major action role , his performance as Leonidas is intense throughout the film, but here he manages to convey a tired but resolute conviction of a ruler who knows he's leading his people to their, and his own, end .

Edit source
View history

Gorgo , Queen of Sparta (pronounced /ˈɡɔrɡoʊ/ ; Greek : Γοργώ ) is one of the characters in the films 300 and 300: Rise of an Empire . She was Leonidas's wife.

1.2 300: Rise of an Empire

Biography [ ]

In Greece, Queen Gorgo must make Theron persuade the Spartan council to send reinforcements to Leonidas. He wants her to have sex with him, which she unwillingly does, as he claims how slow and painful it will be. When Theron betrays her in front of the Council, Gorgo kills him out of rage, which spills open a bag of Xerxes' gold from Theron's robe. Marking his treachery, the Council unites against Persia.

300: Rise of an Empire [ ]

Queen Gorgo of Greece tells her men about the Battle of Marathon, in which King Darius I of Persia was killed by General Themistocles of Athens.

As Xerxes' forces advance towards Thermopylae, Themistocles meets with the council and convinces them to provide him with a fleet to engage the Persians at sea. Themistocles then travels to Sparta to ask King Leonidas for help, but is informed by Dilios that Leonidas is consulting the Oracle, and Gorgo is reluctant to side with Athens.

Themistocles learns that Leonidas and the 300 have been killed by Xerxes and returns to Athens to confront Ephialtes, the deformed Spartan traitor, who reveals that Xerxes plans to attack Athens, and is regretful of his actions, welcoming death. Themistocles spares him instead, so he can warn Xerxes that the Greek forces are gathering at Salamis, and then visits Gorgo in Sparta while she is mourning Leonidas to ask for her help, but she is too overcome with grief. Before leaving, Themistocles returns Leonidas' sword, which he took from Ephialtes, who had earlier stolen it, and urges Gorgo to avenge Leonidas.

Gorgo had been narrating the tale to her Spartan army, and leads them to assist in the battle alongside other allied Greeks, outnumbering the Persians. Themistocles urges Artemisia to surrender, but she tries to kill him and is stabbed through the stomach. With her dying breath, she sees Xerxes turning his back on her as he retreats. Themistocles and Gorgo take a moment to silently acknowledge one another's alliance as the rest of Artemisia's army charges with Dilios beginning to attack them. The three then charge at the opposing Persians with the rest of the Spartans behind them.

She is played by Lena Headey .

In the film 300 , Queen Gorgo wears a dress with white cleavage, but when she goes to the council, her dress is brown for the rest of the movie. In 300: Rise of an Empire , her dress was white cleavage again.

Outspoken and unapologetic, Gorgo is a strong lady. She is proud of Sparta, and intends to keep it secure and isolated from other powers, such as the Persians and the Athenians. True to Spartan form she has a love of warfare, but when she has suffered great loss she is able to experience grief. While she does not hold the Athenians in high regard, she does have a degree of respect for Themistocles, even if their relationship is mostly formal. It was only when Themistocles returned Leonidas' sword to Gorgo that she was moved enough to fight alongside him.

She is shown to sacrifice a lot for her beloved Leonidas, as she allows Theron to rape to her, though she hates him very dearly.

Queen Gorgo only appears in the sequel 300: Rise of an Empire with Pleistarchos .

Gallery [ ]

2 Artemisia

Exclusive: Lena Headey talks 300: Rise Of An Empire

Queen Gorgo speaks...

Seven years after she played Queen Gorgo in Zack Snyder 's 300 , Lena Headey returns to the role in sequel 300: Rise Of An Empire.

Also starring Eva Green as the formidable Artemisia, plus Sullivan Stapleton as her adversary Themistocles, 300: ROAE transfers the action to the ocean for a series of stunning sea scraps.

We caught up with Headey to find out what it was like to return to the crazy world of 300 ...

How is it to return to the role of Queen Gorgo after seven years? It was very nice to return. She's slightly older. This time she holds a sword and has a different story.

Zack said this time your mandate was to fight... Yeah, I was, like “Give me a fight. Come on.” You know, because the last movie I sat around while the boys did it all. And I’m a tomboy, so I was slightly jealous.

It’s like if someone came in the room in a ball gown I’d be, like, “Eh, it’s pretty.” [ shrugs ] And then if someone was, like, “I’m doing a big fight.” I’d be like, “I want to do that.” So I did a little one.

How was it to play off the first movie, to get into the script that that Kurt [Johnstad] and Zack [Snyder] crafted – that sets up this parallel storyline. It’s not really a sequel, it’s taking place around the same time. It’s slicing it in a different way and it was kind of interesting for me because you didn’t really see the result of Gorgo losing Leonidas. In the original you have the moment where David Wenham’s character comes back and she finds out.

Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more

But it was kind of nice to play this idealistic, smart woman who stood by her man and said, “No.” Then things change after he is murdered. She's sort of driven by the need to avenge his death.

What's it like doing the work when a lot of the sets and props aren’t physically there? It didn’t feel as odd this time walking on. Of course, we’re in this kind of green bucket and there's half of everything. It’s like the “half world”. The original was bizarre to me because I’d never experienced anything like it.

It was just Zack kind of telling you where everything was going to be. And then this one, I thought, “You know what? These guys, they got skills. It’s going to happen.”

How much do props and costumes inform the character when you’re doing a role like this? It’s more emotional in things like this, I think. When you connect to other actors, that's for me more of an anchor, where you are in terms of the fights and all that. Yes, the swords, and the kind of weird half-sword where they're going to add the real pointy bit later.

That's a weird one because also you don't want to hit someone in the face, you know what I mean? You’re judging the distance. Yes, all of those things help. But it’s kind of a green screen in your own head – your imagination has to take you that little bit extra. Does that make any sense?

You trained a lot with Mark [ Twight ] in the gym. Has any of that training been carried with you, any of Mark’s philosophies? Yeah. I don't think you can't not, once you’ve met Mark. He’s a kind of measure of your own self, which is why I love him. He’s just awesome.

To get to spend time with him, you just have to raise your own game in every way. But I don't carry on, sadly. I do a little bit now and then. Obviously not four times a week, two hours a day because it’s not sustainable. I just wrestle my son instead. That's like an hour’s worth.

Queen Gorgo really exists in history, and even though the film takes place 2000 years ago, it feels very contemporary. Why is this a contemporary story even though it’s rooted in some degree of history? Well, I think emotionally, historic period films need to be contemporary because it’s that funny thing where you think: “In 1610 a guy who lost his son would scream and weep the same as a guy today.”

That carries us through whatever time period we’re in. We’re all human beings. I think that's the element. So if you're present and you're connected emotionally to your material it should carry some impact and some contemporary feel.

300: Rise Of An Empire is out on Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray and DVD on 29 September. Own it now on Digital HD.

The Total Film team are made up of the finest minds in all of film journalism. They are: Editor Jane Crowther, Deputy Editor Matt Maytum, Reviews Ed Matthew Leyland, News Editor Jordan Farley, and Online Editor Emily Murray. Expect exclusive news, reviews, features, and more from the team behind the smarter movie magazine.

A new look at Eli Roth’s live-action Borderlands adaptation has been released – and fans are all saying the same thing

The Godfather director's new movie deemed too "experimental" as it struggles to find a distributor

X-Force is relaunching this summer with Forge in charge, and he's planning to fix the whole world

Most Popular

By Austin Wood 5 April 2024

By Eric Francisco 5 April 2024

By Molly Edwards 5 April 2024

By Joe Donnelly 5 April 2024

By Jordan Gerblick 5 April 2024

By Austin Wood 4 April 2024

By Jasmine Gould-Wilson 4 April 2024

By Josh West 4 April 2024

By Megan Garside 4 April 2024

an image, when javascript is unavailable

The Definitive Voice of Entertainment News

Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter

site categories

300: rise of an empire: film review.

Eva Green and Sullivan Stapleton star in director Noam Murro's sequel to the 2007 film.

By Todd McCarthy

Todd McCarthy

Share this article on Facebook
Share this article on Twitter
Share this article on Flipboard
Share this article on Email
Show additional share options
Share this article on Linkedin
Share this article on Pinit
Share this article on Reddit
Share this article on Tumblr
Share this article on Whatsapp
Share this article on Print
Share this article on Comment

Playing the most vicious, and certainly sexiest, naval commander ever to ride the waves of the Aegean, Eva Green has a one-for-the-ages scene in 300: Rise of an Empire , in which she decapitates an adversary with two deft sword strokes, then, holding his head by the hair, kisses him on the mouth with pointedly derisive hunger. Given his condition, the man does not respond but, given the bestower, it wouldn’t have been surprising if he had … just a bit.

Other than for the pleasure of watching Green try to conquer ancient Greece dressed as a distant forebearer of Catwoman, more is less and a little late in this long-aborning sequel to the 2007 bloodbath that was stylistically extreme and just different enough from anything else in its field to become an international action sensation. Centering on mostly aquatic battles that historically took place simultaneously to the Battle of Thermopylae so fancifully depicted in the earlier film, this follow-up slavishly adheres to the graphic comics-meet-video games look of the original. It would be a mild surprise if box-office results equaled those of the original, which came to $456 million worldwide (slightly more from foreign than domestic tills), but most fans will still probably want to check it out.

THR Newsletters

More from The Hollywood Reporter

Colin farrell to star in edward berger’s ‘the ballad of a small player’ for netflix, ‘sweet dreams’ director lije sarki on sobriety, softball and johnny knoxville’s dramatic turn, crunchyroll bringing anime movies ‘haikyu’, ‘blue lock’ and ‘overlord’ to u.s. theaters, rebel wilson says there’s no amount of money that will get her to work with sacha baron cohen again, cinemacon: theater owners chief michael o’leary calls for more capital investment amid tough times, renée zellweger set to return for new ‘bridget jones’ movie.

Follow MMA Fighting online:

Follow MMA Fighting on Twitter
Follow MMA Fighting on Facebook

Site search

Fight Schedule
Fight Results
Full Archive
DraftKings Nation
Community Guidelines

Filed under:

Latest News

‘This is Sparta!’: Looking at UFC 300 through the lens of the iconic film ‘300’

Share this story.

Share this on Facebook
Share this on Twitter

A film audience in Sparta, some 200 kilo...

It’s finally here. UFC 300 , the card we’ve been waiting for all year, is finally upon us. Given the build up, the expectations for this card are through the roof. After all, this is quite possibly the greatest MMA card ever assembled on paper. Will it deliver? Time will tell, but that’s not why we’re here today.

Once upon a time, the UFC found itself in a bind due to COVID-19, and its solution was Fight Island — a magical place where the UFC could continue putting on fights amid a global pandemic. When Fight Island was first announced, fans’ imaginations ran wild. Would the UFC take this opportunity to do something unique and awesome? A Bloodsport-esque arena? A new cage? Some aesthetic changes to delineate Fight Island as its own, unique thing?

The answer was no. While the UFC is a massively successful business, it’s a creatively bankrupt promotion. No fun shall be had in the octagon, just monochromatic MMA action, preferably with faceless Contender Series drones who all make $10,000 to show and $10,000 to win.

But that’s not us. We have fun here at MMA Fighting. When Fight Island was announced, we did MMA Survivor , and so for one of the most anticipated events ever, we’re doing something something similar. It’s time to talk about UFC 300, and to do so through the lens of the 2006 action film 300 , based on the graphic novel of the same name from the legendary Frank Miller.

“From the time he could stand, he was baptized in the fire of combat. Taught never to retreat, never to surrender, taught that death on the battlefield in service to Sparta was the greatest glory he could achieve in his life.”

This quote is from the opening scene of the film, as Dilios recounts the childhood of King Leonidas in narration, but really, couldn’t this be easily said about both Justin Gaethje and Max Holloway? There might not be two men in the UFC who have been more baptized by fire. Just look at who they’ve fought, and more importantly, how they fought them. The “BMF” title might not be real, but even so, there aren’t two fighters more deserving of competing for it.

On Saturday, Gaethje and Holloway are going to beat the life out of one another in the People’s Main Event and it’s going to rule. (Mike) Heck, it’s probably going to be Fight of the Year. This weekend, we are all “Blessed.”

“Submission? Now that’s a bit of a problem.”

Leonidas says this in response to the Persian emissary calling for him to submit to Xerxes, shortly before front-kicking the man down the pit of despair. (Iconic scene.) It’s also something I imagine Arman Tsarukyan might say to Charles Oliveira while thumping him from top position on Saturday.

Oliveira is the UFC’s all-time leader in submissions, with 16 of his 22 UFC wins coming by way of tap out. But Tsarukyan has never been submitted, and I have to be honest, I don’t think he ever will be. The man is a tank, and an exceptional grappler, in his own right. And unlike guys like Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier, who refused to go to the mat with Oliveira under any circumstances, Tsarukyan is of the Islam Makahachev mold where he’ll be happy to play on the floor with “Do Bronx.”

The inexplicable massive pit in the center of Sparta

Easily the most memorable scene from this entire movie is the above clip where Leonidas punts the dude into a pit that is just sort of there in the middle of an otherwise occupied thoroughfare. Nobody ever explains what the pit is or why it’s there, it’s just a very cool, very weird set piece.

That’s Jalin Turner vs. Renato Moicano. The final fight of the early prelims is awesome. A certified banger. But I still don’t really know what it’s purpose it. In four weeks, the UFC is going to Brazil for a pay-per-view event that looks BAD on paper. That card could desperately use a fight like Turner-Moicano. But for whatever reason, it’s here, and it’s probably going to be cool, even if it makes no sense.

“Come back with your shield, or on it.”

Queen Gorgo says this to Leonidas as he leads his 300 Spartans off to war in defiance of the Carneia, but I’m also fairly certain that this is what Jiri Prochazka’s coaches tell him before every fight.

While UFC 300 features some of the most exciting fighters in the promotion, there may be no greater get-or-get-got guy in the history of MMA than Prochazka — 34 fights into his career, only two have gone to decision. More importantly, all four of Prochaza’s career losses have come by way of finish. Simply put, Prochazka goes out to every fight, and he either comes back with a win, or he goes out on his shield.

“You there, what is your profession?

“I’m a potter, sir.”

“And you, Arcadian, what is your profession?”

“Sculptor, sir.”

“Blacksmith.”

“Spartans! What is your profession?

“HA-OOH! HA-OOH! HA-OOH!”

“You see, old friend? I brought more soldiers than you did.”

This is an exchange between Leonidas and Daxos, who leads a group of Arcadian soldier to oppose the Persian advance. It doesn’t exactly fit because UFC 300 is so stacked with talent that just about everybody involved is a top-tier professional fighter, but it definitely reminded me that just a couple of years ago, Alexandre Pantoja was driving Uber to pay the bills , because the UFC pays its athletes a fraction that other sports entities do.

“Immortals. We’ll put their name to the test.”

Leonidas says this about the famed Persian warriors, but in my head it’s what Justin Gaethje thinks when pondering Max Holloway’s impenetrable chin.

“I’ve fought countless times, yet I’ve never met an adversary that can offer me what we Spartans call a beautiful death. I can only hope, with all the world’s warriors gathered against us, there might be one down there who’s up to the task.”

Stelios says this while looking down upon the vast Persian army, but in my head, it’s Max’s chin looking at the prospect of fighting Gaethje.

“It’s not yours anymore.”

After the Persian scout insults and attempts to attack Stelios, he makes a leap worthy of the Olympics and chops his arm off, leading to this interaction. Coincidentally, the exact same quotes will be heard on Saturday shortly after Kayla Harrison and Holly Holm start fighting.

“We fight as a single, impenetrable unit. That is the source of our strength. Each Spartan protects the man to his left from thigh to neck. A single weak spot and the phalanx shatters.”

Leonidas says this to Ephialtes, the deformed Spartan outcast who attempts to join him in defense of Sparta.

This is pretty obviously Cody Brundage. It wasn’t Ephialtes’s fault he couldn’t fight as well as the other Spartans, he was just born limited. In that same vein, it’s not Brundage’s fault either; he’s just not on the same level as any other person on this card. One of these Spartans is not like the others, and that one is Mr. Brundage.

“This is where we hold them! This is where we fight! This is where they die! Earn these shields, boys! Remember this day, men, for it will be yours for all time!”

Leonidas’ speech to the Spartan soldiers ahead of their first true conflict with the Persian Empire. This goes out our guy Jim Miller, who has been waiting for this day for a long time. UFC 300 is about so many people, but above it all, it’s Jim Miller’s day. Sadly, Bobby Green is the enemy this weekend.

“We do what we were trained to do, what we were bred to do, what we were born to do. No prisoners, no mercy. A good start.”

Dilios in narration after the first battle. This one goes out to Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Cody Garbrandt. It’s not everyday you get an event where the first fight of the evening features two former champions, but that’s just what we have here. Garbrandt and “Figgy Smalls” are going to club each other around until one of them falls down. This is one of my most anticipated fights of the year .

A good start indeed.

“Haven’t you noticed? We’ve been sharing our culture with you all morning.”

When Leonidas meets Xerxes face-to-face to parlay, this is his response to Xerxes calling for peace and shared understanding. This made me think of Aljamain Sterling’s move up to featherweight, and how Calvin Kattar might welcome him to the division, and show him about the culture of 145 pounds. Whether it will be as violent as the Spartan culture remains to be seen, but the outlook is pretty good.

“The world will know that free men stood against a tyrant, that few stood against many, and before this battle was over, that even a god-king can bleed.”

Leonidas says this when he meets Xerxes face-to-face and rejects his offer to serve him.

This one goes out to Nate Quarry, Cung Le, and all the rest of the anti-trust plaintiffs who settled with the UFC last month . The parallels between Dana White and Xerxes are almost too obvious to mention, but just as Leonidas says, in the end, the Persian god-king bled. Granted, it was barely more than a flesh wound, but still, that’s something that no one else ever achieved.

Unfortunately for the sport of MMA, the anti-trust settlement won’t lead to a great uprising of Greek resistance that ultimately defeats the Persian advance. Instead it really is just a scratch, and Saturday will be the great victory feast for Dana White and TKO.

“The personal guard to King Xerxes himself. The Persian warrior elite. The deadliest fighting force in all of Asia: the Immortals.”

Dilios says this in narration right before the first battle between the Immortals and the Spartans. This one goes out to Weili Zhang and Yan Xiaonan. Is it a bit strange that this all-China title fight is taking place in Las Vegas? Yep, sure is. But this fight is still somehow flying under the radar. The current top pound-for-pound female fighter in the sport is about to take on a bona fide No. 1 contender, and like the Immortals, I suspect both women are about to put up one hell of a fight.

Don’t sleep on the co-main event.

“They shout and curse, stabbing wildly. More brawlers than warriors. They make a wondrous mess of things. Brave amateurs, they do their part.”

Dilios talking about the Arcadians who help in the fight against The Immortals, but is also a fitting tribute to Sodiq Yusuff and Diego Lopes. Both men are fine fighters, among the best in their divisions, but they fall short compared to 12 champions and former champions on this card (plus one two-time Olympic gold medalist). More brawlers than warriors, but they do their part.

“Ready your breakfast and eat hearty, for tonight we dine in Hell!”

Leonidas to his soldiers after discovering that Ephialtes betrayed them and led the Persian’s to the goat path, allowing them to outflank the Spartans. But this is also just a great line you, the viewer, ahead of Saturday’s mayhem.

“This will not be over quickly. You will not enjoy this.”

Queen Gorgo says this to Theron after stabbing him in the stomach, and outing him as a traitor. This is also what Jessica Andrade will say to Marina Rodriguez at their face off, right before she bludgeons her around the octagon for 15 minutes or less.

“The old ones say we Spartans are descended from Hercules himself. Bold Leonidas gives testament to our bloodline. His roar is long and loud.”

Dilios says this right before the climactic death of Leonidas (spoiler alert for something that happened 2,500 years ago), but also, this feels just as applicable to Alex Pereira.

At this point would anyone doubt if it came out that Pereira was actually descended from Heracles? The man walks in the light. He won the UFC middleweight title almost as an afterthought and then became a two-division champion on a lark! His battle cry on Saturday will be long and loud, and whether or not he beats Jamahal Hill, he will certainly make Hill bleed.

And that’s good enough I think. We adequately talked all through UFC 300 and Zack Snyder’s only good movie. Now it’s time to sit back and enjoy the show, so I’ll leave you with the same words Leonidas told his men after the rebuffed the first Persian assault and he rejected Xerxes:

“ Unless I miss my guess, we’re in for one wild night .”

Get the latest gear

Mike Tyson Autographed Boxing Glove
UFC Venum Authentic Midnight Edition Jersey
UFC Long Curved Focus Mitts
UFC Authentic Adrenaline Fight Week T-Shirt
UFC Venum Fight Night Replica Full Zip Hoodie
UFC Venum Authentic Champ Midnight Edition Jersey
UFC Leather Speed Bag
UFC Boxing Gloves

Loading comments...

Check your inbox for a welcome email.

Oops. Something went wrong. Please enter a valid email and try again.

Uh-oh, Javascript is required for this site.

Please enable Javascript and hit the button below!

Queen Gorgo

Character analysis.

(Avoiding Spoilers)

Overview ... queen of Sparta. While her husband, King Leonidas, goes off to battle Xerxes and his Persian army, Gorgo remains in Sparta to uphold Leonidas’ honor in the face of corrupt politicians who would take Sparta’s throne as their own in their King’s absence.

Personality … strong-willed, gutsy, and a perfect match for Leonidas. Though her husband is the King on the battlefield, she is Queen of the counsel. With her husband gone, Gorgo must rule with an iron fist, proving she is as much a leader as the King. She is unafraid of violence or other demonstrations of would-be dominance by the ambitious men around her.

Recommendations

Fans of her also like:

Get to Know her in...

In 480 B.C. during Battle of Thermopylae, the King of Sparta led his army against the advancing Persians. The battle is said to have inspired all of Greece to band together against the Persians, and helped usher in the world's first democracy.

Related Characters

To take advantage of all of CharacTour’s features, you need your own personal account. Get entertainment recommendations for your unique personality and find out which of 5,500+ characters are most like you.

Movie Speeches 电影中的演说

Queen gorgo address the spartan apella.

May I give the floor now to the wife of Leonidas and Queen of Sparta.

Councilmen, I stand before you not only as your Queen. I come to you as a mother. I come to you as a wife. I come to you as a Spartan woman. I come to you with great humility.

I am not here to represent Leonidas. His actions speak louder than my words ever could. I am here for all those voices which cannot be heard: mothers, daughters, fathers, sons — 300 families that bleed for our rights, and for the very principles this room was built upon.

We are at war, gentlemen. We must send the entire Spartan army to aid our King in the preservation of not just ourselves, but of our children.

Send the army for the preservation of liberty.

Send it for justice.

Send it for law and order.

Send it for reason.

But most importantly, send our army for hope — hope that a king and his men have not been wasted to the pages of history; that their courage bonds us together; that we are made stronger by their actions; and that your choices today reflect their bravery.

现在请允许我将发言权给予列奥尼达的妻子同时也是斯巴达的皇后.

议员们, 我站在你们面前不仅仅是你们的皇后. 我作为一名母亲来到这里. 我作为一名妻子来到这里. 我作为一名斯巴达的妇女来到这里. 我带着极大的谦卑来到这里.

我不是来这里表现列奥尼达的. 他的行动远比我的言辞响亮. 我来这里是为那些不能被听见的声音: 母亲, 女儿, 父亲, 儿子 — 三百个家庭为了我们的权利, 为了建造这大厅所要维护的原则在流血.

我们在打仗, 先生们. 我们必须派整个斯巴达军队去援助我们的国王, 不仅仅是保存我们自己还有我们的孩子.

为了法律和秩序而出兵.

但最重要的, 为了希望而出兵 — 希望国王和他的人不会被浪费在历史的纸张上; 他们的勇气把我们结合在一起; 他们的行动令我们更加坚强; 你们今天的选择反映出他们的勇敢.

Share full article

Supported by

Review: The '300': Ah, the fine-looking fighters of freedom-loving Sparta

By A.O. Scott

March 8, 2007

300 Directed by Zack Snyder

The film "300" is about as violent as "Apocalypto" and twice as stupid. Adapted from a graphic novel by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley, it offers up a bombastic spectacle of honor and betrayal, rendered in images that might have been airbrushed onto a customized van sometime in the late 1970s. The basic story is a good deal older. It's all about the ancient Battle of Thermopylae, which unfolded at a narrow pass on the coast of Greece whose name translates as Hot Gates.

Hot Gates, indeed! Devotees of the pectoral, deltoid and other fine muscle groups will find much to savor as King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) leads 300 prime Spartan porterhouses into battle against Persian forces commanded by Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro), a decadent self-proclaimed deity who wants, as all good movie villains do, to rule the world.

The Persians, pioneers in the art of facial piercing, have vastly greater numbers — including ninjas, dervishes, elephants, a charging rhino and an angry bald giant — but the Spartans clearly have superior health clubs and electrolysis facilities. They also hew to a warrior ethic of valor and freedom that makes them, despite their gleeful appetite for killing, the good guys in this tale. (It may be worth pointing out that unlike their mostly black and brown foes, the Spartans and their fellow Greeks are white.)

But not all the Spartans back in Sparta support their king on his mission. A gaggle of sickly, corrupt priests, bought off by the Persians, consult an oracular exotic dancer whose topless gyrations lead to a warning against going to war. And the local council is full of appeasers and traitors, chief among them a sardonic, shifty-eyed smoothy named Theron (Dominic West).

Too cowardly to challenge Leonidas man to man, he fixes his attention on Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey), a loyal wife and Spartan patriot who fights the good fight on the home front. Gorgo understands her husband's noble purpose. "Come home with your shield or on it," she tells him as he heads off into battle after a night of somber marital whoopee. Later she observes that "freedom is not free."

Another movie — Matt Stone and Trey Parker's "Team America," whose wooden puppets were more compelling actors than most of the cast of "300" — calculated the cost at $1.05. I would happily pay a nickel less, in quarters or arcade tokens, for a vigorous 10-minute session with the video game that "300" aspires to become. Its digitally tricked-up color scheme, while impressive at times, is hard to tolerate for nearly two hours, and the hectic battle scenes would be much more exciting in the first person. I want to chop up some Persians too!

There are a few combat sequences that achieve a grim, brutal grandeur, notably an early engagement in which the Spartans, hunkered behind their shields, push back against a Persian line, forcing enemy soldiers off a cliff into the water. The big idea, spelled out over and over in voice-over and dialogue in case the action is too subtle, is that the free, manly men of Sparta fight harder and more valiantly than the enslaved masses under Xerxes' command. Allegory hunters will find some gristly morsels of topicality, but you can find many of the same themes, conveyed with more nuance and irony, in a Pokémon cartoon.

Zack Snyder's first film, a remake of George Romero's "Dawn of the Dead," showed wit as well as technical dexterity. While some of that filmmaking acumen is evident here, the script for "300," which he wrote with Kurt Johnstad and Michael Gordon, is weighed down by the lumbering portentousness of the original book.

In time, "300" may find its cultural niche as an object of camp derision, like the sword-and-sandals epics of an earlier, pre-computer-generated-imagery age. At present, though, its muscle-bound, grunting self-seriousness is more tiresome than entertaining. Go tell the Spartans, whoever they are, to stay home and watch wrestling.

Exclusive Interview with Lena Headey, the Queen of '300'

Kevin Winter/Staff/Getty Images

Best Movie Lists
Science Fiction Movies
Classic Movies
Movies For Kids
Horror Movies
Movie Awards
Animated Films

The movie " 300 " is about 300 brave Spartans fighting against immeasurable odds during the historical Battle of Thermopylae. But there’s so much more to the film than handsome, muscular, scantily-clad men involved in fierce combat with their Persian foes. Stunning Lena Headey, who plays Queen Gorgo in the film, sums it up best: "I think it’s about belief and freedom and what the whole world goes through every day. It’s fighting for your heart and just for justice, for what you believe is true. We all do that every day."

Interview With Lena Headey, '300' Star

Queen Gorgo is sexy and beautiful and above all, tough. How did you approach the character?

"I think that the kind of element that's the key to her is, she's rather male in psyche, in terms of pride. You know, whereas you're used to seeing females cry, they cry and the emotion and the way we are, once or twice a month, and I think it was the kind of stoic, stillness of a man she has — even when she wants to give in to it, she doesn't. I mean, she could do with therapy, probably" (laughing).

You were pretty much the only female in the cast surrounded by all these nearly-naked men. Was that kind of strange? "It was. They're such great guys, though. It's just a big group and it was like having loads of brothers wearing nothing. So, you know, the first few days were kind of strange. Then you think, actually, it's a role reversal. We [women] get to wear the clothes for a change, which is not a bad thing in my book."

"This industry is so male-heavy anyway, and it's such a male crowd. But, you know, when you get boys in shorts, it becomes quite girly, let me tell you" (laughing). "The questions about the thighs, the stomach, 'Can you see the…' It's like a big girls' night out."

Were you familiar with the Battle of Thermopylae prior to this film? "Not at all, only when I met Zack [Snyder, writer-director]. He kind of brought the book and I was like, 'Oh my gosh, it's kind of insane.'"

Did you do any research? "I just sat with Zack for like an hour and he told me everything he'd looked into. I mean, it's fascinating. The society is kind of incredible. I'd love to see something about the back story of the men — how they bring up the boys, what happens to the sons, what happens when they're sent out and when they come back."

That would make an interesting prequel to "300." "Exactly. Apparently, they send the boys out from [age] 11 to 16. They're out and then they bring them all back to this table. It's this special ceremony with this table with cheeses and wine . They come down and they're beaten by the men in the village while they're trying to get food. There's this whole crazy battle."

What happened to the females? "Apparently, the women...the men come back and the women are given to the men. They have their head shaved, they're taken to a room, basically raped by the guys. And then they get married because these men are not socialized with women. It's a pretty intense society."

When you first picked up the script, did your vision of the film match what the finished film looks like? "No. Well, I'd seen a ten-minute teaser that he'd done visually, so I had some idea. I only saw it a couple [of] days ago and it just blew my mind. I just thought it was so extraordinary. I was like, screaming. This experience has been such a pleasure. Zack's such a joy to work with. Just to be part of something like this, whether you have two lines or ten lines, it's just such a pleasure and I think it's an extraordinary piece of filmmaking."

"It's beautiful; it's romantic . A girl said it's a 'date movie' and I was like, 'I know what she means.' It's a romance."

Did you have the same reaction as that girl when you watched "300" for the first time? "I thought what surprised me was how much you care about their relationship — about Leonidas and Gorgo — because we really only had one scene to do that with, the love scene and the kind of dialogue beforehand. I found it very powerful. I found it very moving and I believed it. You believe that this foundation — her strength — is kind of behind this battle. She doesn't go 'you're not going!' She's like, 'You go. I'm not going to cry; you just go.'"

The script doesn't call for you to deliver many lines, so how difficult was it to develop that strength in her? "I just think there's a stillness in her and a regality. She's in this deeply male psychological society and she's very male within that. There's a kind of femininity in her dignity. There's only one moment when she loses it at the end and it's not a breakdown. So, I don't know. I just think there's a stillness and there's a listener in her."

How much of a physical set was around you and how much was green screen? "Not as much as the guys. The scene in the Coliseum when I talk to the council was like two pillars and some stairs. So to see them light [up] and moving through it was just, like, extraordinary. I saw myself walking...I was just walking off the stage and it had green curtains. And then Sparta had pillars and floor, but nothing was extended. Everything ended with curtains."

"300" has to be one of the most talked-about films of 2007. Did you ever anticipate when you were signing on that it would become this huge, monster project? "I have to say I think when you meet Zack, and you see the visual, you know immediately it's going to be something pretty extraordinary. I didn't know that people would be so excited to see it. But then you come to think 'why couldn't they?' All the ingredients are there for something special. I think to have something this big in terms of reaching people, it's got such a lot of heart and emotion. It's kind of clever. When I watched it I was like, 'Wow, this really works on every level.' I had rushes of emotion, besides just kind of marveling at it visually."

What was the appeal of working on "300?" "It's a funny thing. You read things as a woman and you think, 'Oh, the female character [Gorgo], she's got a few scenes, blah, blah, blah.' And then you look at it overall and I was like, 'I just want to be part of this.' I just think Zack [Snyder's] fabulous, I really do. There's a generous spirit to him and the cast, and that's very rare in people in this environment sometimes."

"Film, for me, is a process. It's not an end result, it's a process. I think if you can't enjoy that and you don't appreciate everybody that's working and putting everything into it, then it's not worth doing. If you're just into this for the glory and going 'it's going to be on big,' it may never be. You have to enjoy this moment because that's really where it is."

"It's such an experience, my job. It's such a crazy place to work. [ Acting is] very public and your mistakes are seen by loads of people, and your successes are seen by those people. So I enjoy it, but it's all very different. It's like we meet so many people and obviously, you're not going to jell with everybody and mesh, you know? I thought that when I first started out that I'd come home with 700 phone numbers and now I have like two" (laughing). "But you know, it's just a great opportunity to explore the world, as well as meet people."

Are you prepared to be recognized by fans of "300" as Queen Gorgo? "But I look so different in the film!"

You do look different in the film, but when they find out who you are, that's going to cause quite a reaction. Are you ready to be associated with this character? "I just hope I can still get away with...I just don't ever want to be photographed. I mean, I hate that. It's an invasion of privacy."

But you're an actress and it kind of comes with the territory, doesn't it? "Yes, but I've worked for 15 years without being recognized or known pretty much anywhere. I can go anywhere, and for that to change terrifies me. I love my life; I love my anonymity. I love doing what I do, but I like being able to be trashed at parties and nobody's going, 'Look at her! Look at her with watercress in her teeth.'"

And you're doing the television show "The Sarah Connor Chronicles" next? "I just did the pilot. Yeah, a TV pilot ."

Were you looking to transition to television? "I want some constant, and TV's changed so much now, especially in the States. It was a kind of cool project to get into. I just think it will allow me to do other work, to do other movies that necessarily I wouldn't be able to. I think it puts you in a position of being able to take projects that are smaller, that you are interested in, that you wouldn't necessarily be able to do [in movies]."

What was the appeal of playing Sarah Connor? "It's kind of a hard part. It's a single mom with her kid — and the fact that she's holding in her hands this boy that she loves who also is the key to the survival of the world. It's pretty big, so there's a lot to go on there."

Is action your genre? "It's just been the things I've loved and I've been interested in. I just did a film called "The Red Baron," which is...the war story of the German fighter pilot. That's a romantic love story. And then I just did a horror thriller in London, a low budget kind of very visual, very psychological movie. It's pretty twisted. It's kind of about losing your mind and reality and the boundaries of reality and madness."

Do you lose your mind in it? "Yeah, I played two people."

Is she really two people or does she just think she's two people? "It's kind of...it's like which side do you believe? Are you crazy or who knows who's not crazy?"

Jim Carrey on "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," Memories, & Michel Gondry
No Corsets for Kate Winslet in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"
Vince Vaughn Talks About "The Break-Up"
Xavier Samuel Discusses "Adore"
Julia Stiles Falls for a Royal in "The Prince & Me"
Teresa Palmer Discusses December Boys and Daniel Radcliffe
Interview: Hayden Panettiere Discusses "Racing Stripes"
10 Best Michael Scott Quotes
Interview: Reese Witherspoon Talks About 'Walk the Line'
Scarlett Johansson Talks About "Lost in Translation"
Samuel L Jackson Talks 'Black Snake Moan,' Guitar, and Christina Ricci
Will Smith Talks About "The Pursuit of Happyness"
Emma Watson's on Acting and Her 'Harry Potter' Role
Hayden Panettiere Discusses 'Ice Princess'
25 Facts About Scott Clifton

Cast & crew
User reviews

300: Rise of an Empire

Greek general Themistocles of Athens leads the naval charge against invading Persian forces led by mortal-turned-god Xerxes and Artemisia, vengeful commander of the Persian navy.
After its victory over Leonidas' 300, the Persian Army under the command of Xerxes marches towards the major Greek city-states. The Democratic city of Athens, first on the path of Xerxes' army, bases its strength on its fleet, led by admiral Themistocles. Themistocles is forced to an unwilling alliance with the traditional rival of Athens, oligarchic Sparta whose might lies with its superior infantry troops. But Xerxes still reigns supreme in numbers over sea and land. — ahmetkozan
In the wake of the Persians' victory over King Leonidas and his brave Spartans in 300 (2006) , pitiless mortal-turned-god King Xerxes is bent on wiping out Sparta and Athens and conquering Greece. As Artemisia, the ruthless commander of the Persian Navy, assembles a massive fleet of ships and sets sail for conquest, Athenian General Themistocles prepares to defend Greece by sea, striving to entice Queen Gorgo to join the battle and rally more troops to fight for freedom. But with the unstoppable Persian hordes on the verge of victory, the fate of Greece hangs by a thread. In this seemingly unwinnable, once-and-for-all confrontation, can Themistocles lead the charge against the invaders and prevent the rise of an empire? — Nick Riganas
Note: this film is actually a prequel as well as a sequel to the original '300' film (with the events happening before, concurrently, and after the events of the previous film). In the opening scene, Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey) narrates about King Darius (Igal Naor) leading his army of Persians into Greece in the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC during the first Persian invasion of Greece. The Athenian general Themistocles (Sullivan Stapleton) led his own army against them at the shores. The Greeks brutally and effortlessly take down the invading Persians one by one, paving the way for Themistocles to take aim at Darius, who is watching the massacre of his men from his ship offshore. Themistocles raises a bow and arrow, ready to commit the act that would make him known as a legend. He releases the bow just in time for Darius's son, Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) to watch. He runs to his father's side but is too late to save him as the arrow pierces him. Xerxes holds his father in his arms and locks eyes with Themistocles. The latter walks away, with Gorgo stating that he knew in his heart that he made a mistake not to kill Xerxes when he had the chance. Darius is returned to his kingdom to lie in his deathbed. He and Xerxes are joined by Artemisia (Eva Green), Darius's commanding naval officer, said to be as vicious as she is beautiful. She holds Darius's hand. In his dying moments, he tells Xerxes that it is best to leave the Greeks alone, for only the gods can defeat them. Artemisia pulls the arrow out of his chest to end his suffering. For a week, Xerxes sits and mourns the death of his father. On the eighth day, Artemisia holds Xerxes and tells him that his father's last words were not a warning, but a challenge. If only the gods can defeat the Greeks, then, she tells him, he is to become the god king. Artemisia has Xerxes sent into the desert wearing chains until he walks into a cave with a pool of bright gold liquid. Xerxes steps in, with, as Gorgo states, a dark desire for power and revenge. Xerxes emerges with a golden tinge and fiery red eyes, also hairless and a foot taller. Meanwhile, Artemisia kills off all of the former allies of the man that Xerxes used to be. He returns to Persia and stands before the citizens, with Artemisia right behind him. He declares, "For glory's sake...WAR!" The Persians cheer this on loudly. Ten years later (in 480 BC), Xerxes makes plans to lead his army on land through Thermopylae while Artemisia is prepared to ready her navy at sea. The second Persian invasion of Greece begins. In Athens, Themistocles meets with the council to discuss his own naval strategy for taking on the invading Persians. Although the Athenians want to desperately bring the Persians down, they are not keen on sending their men to sacrifice themselves in battle. Themistocles insists that it is in the best interests of Greece that they fight for the sake of freedom, and so he demands that he be brought the best ships to go into battle. He also tells the council he will seek help from the Spartans. Themistocles travels to Sparta to request help from King Leonidas and his army. He walks in on a training session where a group of Spartans beat down on one man as he tries to fight back. The man gets bloodied up good.. Themistocles encounters Dilios (David Wenham), who tells him that Leonidas has already begun to lead his men on foot, adding that he already dealt with the emissary sent from Persia. Queen Gorgo speaks with Themistocles to tell him that the Spartans do not share the same ideal of a free nation in the same way that he does. Meanwhile, a prisoner is brought before Artemisia on her ship. He chastises two of her guards for being Greeks working under a woman with Greek blood but a devotion to an enemy nation. Artemisia grabs her sword and says she may be Greek, but her heart is Persian. She decapitates the man and throws his head off the ship. She sees a soldier on the ship that she is unfamiliar with. "Well, then, allow me to introduce myself", he boasts, before killing off several Persians. He is Scyllias (Callan Mulvey), an Athenian soldier sent to spy on the Persians. He jumps into the sea and avoids being hit by the arrows of the Persians. Scyllias, along with his son Calisto (Jack O'Connell), reports back to Themistocles and his lieutenant Aekylos (Hans Matheson). Scyllias tells them that the Persians are being led at sea by Artemisia. It is believed that she is the sole survivor of an attack on her town. Through a flashback, we learn of her background story. As a child, a helpless and terrified Artemisia watched tearfully as her mother and father were slaughtered right before her eyes. A soldier from the invading side, walks to Artemisia and kicks her square in the face. Over the years, the soldiers raped and abused the girl until they left her on the side of the streets for dead. She is found by the Persian emissary (Peter Mensah; the same one that Leonidas kicked into the bottomless pit in the previous '300' film) and is looked after by him. She planned to return to Greece when she was ready to watch it burn. Over time, the emissary trains Artemisia in combat. She proves to be quick and dangerous, and as an adult, she carries many severed heads of Darius's enemies and brings them to him, earning her the position of his general. Even with this knowledge in mind, Themistocles prepares his strategy for the battle. Aekylos points out that their small navy against the much larger Persian navy outnumbers them and that the mission is suicide. "Such is the plan," Themistocles replies. In the present, Themistocles, confident in his men, leads them all out to the Aegean Sea, where Artemisia is leading her navy. Her general Artaphernes (Ben Turner) tells her that General Bandari (Ashraf Barhom) has prepared his strategy to lead the ships against the Greeks (thus beginning the naval Battle of Artemisium). Themistocles stirs up confidence by encouraging the men to fight with those standing by their side. The Athenians ram their ships into the Persian ships, charging at them with full force and fury. This leads to another bloody fight with many Persians dying at the hands of the Athenians. Scyllias and Calisto fight side-by-side, with Calisto hurling his spears at the Persians. Artemisia, displeased with the results, has Bandari chained and thrown into the sea where he sinks to his watery grave. The generals think she is disappointed with the loss of her men, but she admits to being disappointed in them specifically. She ponders the thought of having somebody standing by her side. The next day, the Athenians cause the Persians to sail their ships through a crevice, causing the leading ship to get stuck and have the other ships crash into it. From atop the cliffs, the Athenians jump in and continue to slaughter the Persians. The second general to lead them, Kashani (Christopher Scieueref) is killed by Themistocles. Scyllias sees Calisto jumping into the fight, but clearly not wanting to see his son get hurt. Artemisia watches from her ship, admiring Themistocles's tactics and command. Artaphernes rides a boat to the shores where the Athenians have set up camp to bring Themistocles onto Artemisia's barge. She commends his skill during the battle when she takes him into her private chambers. She asks him if there happens to be somebody back in Athens for whom he fights. Themistocles states that he has had no time for a family or children. Artemisia offers him a chance to join her so that he will not have to live with conflict or responsibility. The two of them then start having rough, passionate, and violent sex (which her guards can clearly hear). When Artemisia echoes her offer, Themistocles simply states no, and Artemisia angrily throws him off of her, hissing to him that he is no god, but merely a man. Themistocles returns to the camp, warning his men that Artemisia is prepared to bring hell to them. On the next day of battle, the Persian ships release tar into the ocean, along with several guards swimming out to the Athenians with explosives strapped to their backs. The Athenians fight off the guards until Artemisia fires her arrows. The Persians hurl flaming arrows to ignite the tar. Artemisia fires more arrows, striking three into Scyllias as Calisto watches. On one of the Persian ships, a large Persian hurls torches to continue igniting the fires. He is struck with an arrow, and he drops the torch on himself, setting himself ablaze. He falls off the ship into the spilling tar, sending a wave of fire onto an Athenian ship, but also back onto the Persian ship, causing it to explode. Artemisia sends another flaming arrow to hit the back of a Persian with an explosive on his back, just as he climbs onto Themistocles's ship. He orders everyone to abandon ship and he lunges toward the Persian. Before he can strike him, the explosive goes off and destroys the ship, taking Themistocles down with it. Artemisia watches proudly as her enemy sinks. In the ocean, Themistocles sinks among the bodies of his fallen comrades. He sees two serpent-like creatures swim to them and devour them before one lunges at him. Themistocles is snapped out of this dream by Calisto. He realizes this event may have been brought upon him to subdue his ego or to remind him of the mistake of not killing Xerxes. Themistocles walks over to Scyllias's side as he is dying. He urges his friend to continue the fight and tells him something else before finally passing. Themistocles mourns his friend. Calisto asks Themistocles what his father's last words were, but Themistocles says he will tell him in time. Meanwhile on land, Xerxes and his army have just killed off Leonidas and his 300 Spartans after the brutal three-day Battle of Thermopylae (a brief flashback to the previous film). The birds pick at the eyes of the dead Spartans while the Persians continue marching onward victoriously towards Athens. The news of the defeat reaches Themistocles through a messenger. He returns to Sparta to confront Ephialtes (Andrew Tiernan), the deformed hunchback that betrayed the Spartans and sold them out to Xerxes. Seemingly remorseful for his actions, he does not cower when Themistocles lowers his sword to him, saying that there is little beauty in him, and even less in what he's done. Ephialtes adds that Xerxes is leading his army to Athens, preparing to destroy it. Themistocles leaves him alive so that he may carry the message back to the Persians saying that the Greeks will fight to the death. Themistocles goes to speak to Queen Gorgo. Dilios, now half-blind, warns him to not expect a warm welcome. Gorgo is still in mourning of her husband. Although Themistocles urges her to aid in the continuing battle, she refuses to send anymore husbands, fathers, and sons out to be sacrificed any further. He hands her the sword of Leonidas, saying it belongs with her. Gorgo tears up at the sight of it. The Persian army takes Athens. Xerxes holds the head of Leonidas boastfully over the city as his men lay waste to the people and burn everything down. He continues to brag about his victory and states that Themistocles was nothing but a coward. Ephialtes returns to Xerxes and Artemisia to report that the Greeks are continuing to take their battle back into the sea, led again by Themistocles. Hearing his name and realizing he's not dead, Artemisia vows to end the Athenians once and for all. She leaves to prepare her command. Themistocles acknowledges that his men may be weary of continuing the fight, knowing they too would refuse to see anymore bloodshed. He encourages them to act for themselves and leave now if they wish so that they may maintain their freedom, but also encourages them to stay and fight. "Let it be shown that we chose to die on our feet, rather than to live on our knees!" The Athenians cheer. The limited number of Athenian ships face the huge Persian fleet at the sea in their final battle. Themistocles tells Calisto his father's final words, which was to say that he has earned himself a place at the table (he's ready to fight). Once again, both Themistocles and Artemisia are set to lead their men into battle. The climatic naval Battle of Salamis begins. Their ships collide, and the Athenians charge against the Persians, fighting quickly and mercilessly. Not ready to stand idly by, Artemisia wields her two swords and fights against the Greeks, killing off as many as she can on her own. Themistocles rides his horse through the battle until he reaches Artemisia's ship. He reminds her of her earlier offer, stating that he still says no. Angered, she begins to fight him in a duel. He fights with great fury, and she quips that "he fights harder than he fucks". They continue to fight until they hold both their swords at each other's necks. Themistocles continues to refuse the idea of joining Artemisia, and he tells her that it is time for her to surrender. We see Gorgo leading her army of Spartans, having been telling them the story from the beginning, leading into her own rousing speech as they come closer to surrounding the Persian fleet. In addition, armies from other allied nations join in the fight. Themistocles points this out to Artemisia as he still has her with his sword to her throat. He urges her to surrender. She chooses not to, and she grabs her sword to kill, but Themistocles quickly drives his sword into her stomach. Artemisia drops to her knees. In her final moments, she watches as the allied forces surround her navy. Xerxes, watching from the cliff side, turns his back on her. Artemisia finally collapses, dead, just as Gorgo and Dilios step onto her ship to stand by Themistocles. The film ends with the Spartans and Athenians banding together to defeat the Persians once and for all. It was later recorded in history that the naval Battle of Salamis was one of the most decisive battles of the ancient world and the allied Athenian-Spartan victory forced the Persians to retreat from Greece for good.

Contribute to this page

IMDb Answers: Help fill gaps in our data
Learn more about contributing

More from this title

More to explore.