300 Page #4

...the mad king

throws the best he has at us.

Xerxes has taken the bait.

Spartans, push!

Immortals.

We put their name to the test.

Father!

My king!

Arcadians, now!

Go! Show the Spartans what we can do.

Go!

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.

To our king!

And our honored dead.

Whom will Xerxes dare to send next?

Whom?!

There's nothing that can stop us now!

Even the king allows himself

to hope for more than glory.

Such mad hope, but there it is:

"Against Asia's endless hordes,

against all odds, we can do it.

We can hold the Hot Gates.

We can win."

Dawn.

Whips crack. Barbarians howl.

Those behind cry, "Forward!"

Those in front cry, "Back!"

Our eyes bear witness

to the grotesque spectacle...

...coughed forth from the darkest

corner of Xerxes' empire.

When muscle failed...

...they turned to their magic.

One hundred nations descend

upon us, the armies of all Asia.

Funneled into this narrow corridor,

their numbers count for nothing.

They fall by the hundreds.

We send the severed bodies and the

fragile hearts back to Xerxes' feet.

King Xerxes is displeased

with his generals.

He disciplines them.

Xerxes dispatches his monsters

from half the world away.

They're clumsy beasts...

...and the piled Persian dead

are slippery.

- You still here?

- Somebody's gotta watch your back.

Not now, I'm a little busy.

Regroup!

Astinos!

My son!

Astinos!

No!

Day wears on.

We lose few...

...but each felled is a friend,

or dearest blood.

And upon seeing the headless body

of his own young son...

...the captain breaks rank.

He goes wild, blood-drunk.

The captain's cries of pain

at the loss of his son...

...are more frightening to the enemy

than the deepest battle drums.

It takes three men to restrain him

and bring him back to our own.

The day is ours.

No songs are sung.

Your gods were cruel to shape you so,

friend Ephialtes.

The Spartans, too...

...were cruel to reject you.

But I am kind.

Everything you could ever desire...

...every happiness you can imagine...

...every pleasure your fellow Greeks

and your false gods have denied you...

...I will grant you.

For I am kind.

Embrace me as your king

and as your god.

Yes.

Lead my soldiers to the hidden path

that enters behind the cursed Spartans...

...and your joys will be endless.

Yes! I want it all.

Wealth. Women.

And one more thing...

...I want a uniform.

Done.

You will find...

...I am kind.

Unlike the cruel Leonidas,

who demanded that you stand...

...I require only...

...that you kneel.

Beautiful night.

Yes, but I did not ask you here

for small talk, Theron.

You can be sure of that.

You never spared words with me.

Can I offer you something?

A drink, perhaps?

Is it poison?

I'm sorry to disappoint you,

it's only water.

I'm told it's been arranged for you

to go before the council.

Yes.

I need your help in winning votes

to send the army north to our king.

Yes.

I can see it,

the two of us standing together.

Me, politician. You, warrior.

Our voices as one.

But why would I want to do that?

It proves you care for a king who right now

fights for the very water we drink.

True.

But this is politics, not war.

Leonidas is an idealist.

I know your kind too well. You send men

to slaughter for your own gain.

Your husband, our king,

He's broken our laws

and left without the council's consent.

- I'm simply a realist.

- You're an opportunist.

You're as foolish as Leonidas if you think

men don't have a price in this world.

All men are not created equal.

That's the Spartan code, my little queen.

I admire your passion.

But don't think that you...

...a woman, even a queen...

...can walk into the council chamber

and sway the minds of men.

I own that chamber...

...as if it were built with these hands.

I could crush

the life out of you right now.

You will go before the council,

but your words will fall on deaf ears.

Leonidas will receive no reinforcements,

and if he returns, without my help...

...he will go to jail or worse.

Do you love your Sparta?

Yes.

- And your king?

- I do.

Your husband fights for his land

and his love.

What do you have to offer...

...in return for my word

that I'll help you send our army north?

What does a realist want with his queen?

I think you know.

This will not be over quickly.

You will not enjoy this.

I'm not your king.

Dilios.

I trust that scratch

hasn't made you useless?

Hardly, my lord. It's just an eye.

The gods saw fit to grace me

with a spare.

My captain?

Curses the gods and mourns alone.

Leonidas!

We are undone.

Undone, I tell you. Destroyed.

Daxos, calm yourself.

Our hunchback traitor led Xerxes' Immortals

to the hidden goat path behind us.

The Phocians you posted there

were scattered without a fight.

- This battle is over, Leonidas.

- This battle is over when I say it is over.

By morning, the Immortals will surround us.

The Hot Gates will fall.

Spartans! Prepare for glory!

Glory? Have you gone mad?

There is no glory to be had now.

Only retreat or surrender. Or death.

Well, that's an easy choice

for us, Arcadian.

Spartans never retreat.

Spartans never surrender.

Go spread the word.

Let every Greek assembled

know the truth of this.

Let each among them

search his own soul.

And while you're at it, search your own.

My men will leave with me.

Godspeed, Leonidas.

Children!

Children.

Gather round.

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.

...gave their last breath to defend it.

My friend.

I have lived my entire life

without regret until now.

It's not that my son

gave up his life for his country.

It's just that I never told him

that I loved him the most.

That he stood by me with honor.

That he was all that was best in me.

My heart is broken for your loss.

Heart?

I have filled my heart...

...with hate.

Good.

Dilios...

...let's take a walk.

Yes, my lord.

But, sire, I am fit and ready for battle.

That you are, one of the finest.

But you have another talent

unlike any other Spartan.

You will deliver my final orders

to the council...

...with force and verve.

Tell them our story.

Make every Greek know

what happened here.

You'll have a grand tale to tell.

A tale of victory.

Victory.

Yes, my lord.

Sire, any message...?

For the queen?

None that need be spoken.

Hundreds leave.

A handful stay.

Only one looks back.

Spartans!

Ready your breakfast and eat hearty...

...for tonight we dine in hell!

May I give the floor now...

...to the wife of Leonidas

and queen of Sparta.

- What's this?

- This is nothing.

Councilmen...

...I stand before you

not only as your queen.

I come to you as a mother.

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