She leads the fleet in the Greek campaign. Soon she becomes Darius and Xerxes’ most trusted commander. She develops her skills at the Persian court after one of Darius’ emissaries saves her.

In the movie: Artemesia cultivates a hatred of the Greeks after her family is slaughtered by hoplites and she is whored by them until well into her teens. Artemesia Eva Green plays the most Persian of femme fatales, a bloodthirsty, slave-driving, double-bladed, vengeful, curse of a woman. Sadly, the brave cavalry charge over and under the roiling waters of Salamis is no so much a fiction as it is a wet dream. However, once again, he did not kill Artemesia as “Rise of an Empire” tells us. He led the fleet brilliantly into battle at Salamis and elsewhere during the Persian Wars. He also was the founder of the Athenian navy, securing the construction of hundreds of ships in a remarkably short span of time. Themistocles was no doubt instrumental in forming the league of Greek city-states that went to battle at Salamis. Defeat at Marathon, of course, changed that. The Greek cities were too small a prize at the time for the king himself to deal with. Themistocles played no part in killing Darius – because neither Darius nor his son Xerxes were anywhere near Marathon at the time. That title went to Miltiades, a dethroned tyrant whom the Athenians entrusted to defeat the Persians. In truth: Themistocles was one of the subordinate generals leading the Athenian army at Marathon.

At the Battle of Salamis he smashes the Persian fleet and slays Artemesia, the enemy commander. Themistocles leads the charge to unite Greece in order to face the Persian threat. He even shoots the arrow that fells the king of Persia himself. In the movie: Themistocles led the Athenians into battle at Marathon ten years earlier, leading a surprise attack on the disembarking Persian forces of King Darius – Xerxes’ father. Characters Themistocles “Rise of an Empire’s” replacement for Leonidas is one of the mocked “boy-lover” Athenians, Themistocles. Bearing that in mind, how does “Rise of an Empire” stack up to 300 when it comes to real history? Let’s take it step by step. But the salient points of the last stand at Thermopylae were entirely accurate – Ephialtes may not have been a hunchback, but he sure as hell betrayed the Greeks, so much so that his name became a synonym for “nightmare”. What set apart the first 300 movie was its manipulation of historical events to create a box office spectacle of the grandest kind. The sequel to 300 lives up to its predecessor’s reputation, with more than enough blood, gore and sex to sooth the most fervent of fans.

300 rise of an empire movie category