Go Sparta, It's Your Birthday.

So the Spartans have always been known as a fair and quite fearsome democratic nation, however 300 goes a little deeper. The ideology for Sparta is simply...be free and independant. In the exposition of the film, King Leonidas kicks a Persian messenger into a long lifeless black sinkhole. Although he acted alone he did not act without the "yes, dear, go ahead" nod from his wife, the queen. This is a direct representation of men and women's relations in ancient Sparta. This is not to say that all women were given such authority, but they were given a certain degree of respect from the men. The Spartan women were treated much like women in today's America are treated. We are able to speak up and not fear for our lives, but still don't hold a majority of corporate lead jobs or senate seats. The Persian women were not that lucky. The Persian women were viewed as, well in plain English, as sex slaves or just general slaves, but either way they were destined for some kind of servitude. Xerxes' women filled tent when the disabled Spartan traitor, Ephialtes, was being persuaded to kneel to the "kind god-king", was an eclectic brew of women, some voluptious and some scarred and deformed. But all were forced into Xerxes' herum.

The idea of losing their freedom, angered the Spartans into attack mode and that's just what they did. Freedom was so important to them that they were willing to risk their lives and for some, their childrens lives, to ensure that they could live in freedom not Persian slavery. That mirrors present day America very much. We have armed forces battling for out freedom every day, way more than 300, but willing to give up their right to live for our rights for everything. Pride and honor were their governing values.

The disability of Ephialtes, was warmly welcomed by Xerxes, however King Leonidas was not as open to the idea of having a crippled aid him in an already uneven battle. The Spartans were a gene pool of perfection, but every once in a while there would be a not so perfect creation that would have to be discarded as if it weren't a human life but a weakness in the fabric of an independant society. There is no room for error in Sparta. At the opposite end of the spectrum was Xerxes' misfits which welcomed anyone as long as they would kneel to him and embrace him as a god-king.

300 really did a good job of highlighting the difference is societal views and politics. Although they were very different in the treatment of their citizens, the Spartans and Persians, they both were adamant that their way of life is the correct one.
Sorry it's late! :(
-Kerstin D.