The 300 Spartans - actors, characters and roles

All actors and their roles in the film "The 300 Spartans"
The 300 Spartans (1962)
Timing: 1:54 (114 min)
The 300 Spartans - TMDB rating
6.404/10
125

Actors and characters

Photo Richard Egan #245948Photo Richard Egan #245949Photo Richard Egan #245950

Richard Egan

Richard Egan
Character King Leonidas
Photo Ralph Richardson #92950Photo Ralph Richardson #92951

Ralph Richardson

Ralph Richardson
Character Themistocles of Athens
Photo Diane Baker #85487

Diane Baker

Diane Baker
Character Ellas
Photo Barry Coe #221764Photo Barry Coe #221765Photo Barry Coe #221766

Barry Coe

Barry Coe
Character Phylon
Photo David Farrar #101766Photo David Farrar #101767

David Farrar

David Farrar
Character Xerxes
Photo Anne Wakefield #245951Photo Anne Wakefield #245952

Anne Wakefield

Anne Wakefield
Character Artemisa
Photo Donald Houston #90555Photo Donald Houston #90556Photo Donald Houston #90557

Donald Houston

Donald Houston
Character Hydarnes
Photo Robert Brown #55840Photo Robert Brown #55841Photo Robert Brown #55842
Robert Brown
Character Pentheus
Photo Laurence Naismith #62893

Laurence Naismith

Laurence Naismith
Character First Delegate
Photo Ivan Triesault #85492

Ivan Triesault

Ivan Triesault
Character Demaratus
Photo Charles Fawcett #316295
Charles Fawcett
Character Megistias
Photo Sandro Giglio #107536Photo Sandro Giglio #107537
Sandro Giglio
Character Xenathon
Photo Anna Raftopoulou #264633
Anna Raftopoulou
Character Toris
Photo Yorgos Moutsios #264637
Yorgos Moutsios
Character Demophilus of Thespiae
Nikos Papakonstantinou
Character Grellas
Photo Kieron Moore #264638Photo Kieron Moore #264639

Kieron Moore

Kieron Moore
Character Ephialtes
Photo John Crawford #62904

John Crawford

John Crawford
Character Agathon the Spartan Spy

What's left behind the scenes

  • Filming took place in Greece, in the area of the settlement of Perachora on the Peloponnese peninsula.
  • Approximately 5,000 Greek army personnel participated in the battle scenes.
  • Inspired by the film, Frank Miller created a graphic novel about the feat of the 300 Spartans, which was adapted into a film by Zack Snyder in 2007.
  • The film states that only Leonidas' bodyguard detachment – 300 men, plus 700 Thespians – participated in the battle (warriors from other city-states are mentioned several times, but do not appear in the film). In reality, the army opposing the Persians numbered around 7,000, of whom approximately 4,000 were lost.
  • Several times in the film, Xerxes is referred to as "king of kings." Although this title (Shahanshah) originates from the Achaemenid era, it did not become the official title of Iranian rulers until the Sasanian period, with Ardashir I being the first to be known as Shahanshah.
  • Sources (Herodotus) indicate that Spartan warriors wore beards and long hair, which, according to legend, they combed before the battle at Thermopylae. However, in the film, both Leonidas and the other Spartans, with a few minor exceptions, are clean-shaven and have short haircuts.
  • The exiled Spartan king Demaratus tells Xerxes at a feast about the Spartans, and in response to the Persian king's question about the rulers of Sparta, replies: “Do not count the one who stole my throne; he does not rule the country, he is merely a usurper.” He is referring to the co-ruler Leonidas, King Leotychidas II (of the Eurypontid family). At the same time, history shows that Demaratus was exiled not by Leotychidas (who belonged to the same family as himself), but by his co-ruler from the Agiad family, Cleomenes the Mad, the elder brother and predecessor of Leonidas on the throne.
  • Before the first attack, Xerxes explains his cunning plan to Hydarnes and Mardonius, saying that he ordered the heavy cavalry to be placed behind the infantry and suddenly launched into the attack. However, at that time the Persians could not have had heavy cavalry – the first heavy armored cavalry – cataphracts – appeared among the Iranian peoples with the Sacae and Parthians, three centuries later. During the Achaemenid period, the cavalry in their army was represented exclusively by horse archers, who participate in the attack.
  • When Xerxes is brought the body of his brother, he exclaims in grief and anger: “Cyrus!... My brother! How did this happen?” The real Xerxes did not have a brother named Cyrus; his younger brother was Masistes, and there is no information about his participation in the campaign against Greece. Later, he rebelled against the king and was killed along with his family.
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