"(HORSE NICKERS)" "QUEEN GORGO:" "The oracle's words stand as a warning." "A prophecy." ""Sparta will fall." "All of Greece will fall."" "(YELLING)" "And Persian fire will reduce Athens to cinder." "For Athens is a pile of stone and wood and cloth and dust." "And as dust, will vanish into the wind." "Only the Athenians themselves exist." "And the fate of the world hangs on their every syllable." "Only the Athenians exist." "(GRUNTS)" "And only stout wooden ships can save them." "Wooden ships..." "And a tidal wave of heroes' blood." "Leonidas, my husband..." "Leonidas, your king..." "Leonidas and the brave 300 are dead." "The free men and women of Greece are not bound by a beautiful spartan death." "War is not their love." "Yet he lay down his life for them." "For the promise Greece holds." "'Tis our enemies who forged our freedom in the fires of war." "It was king Darius who came to take our land." "Ten years ago, when youth still burned in our eyes, before this bitter war forced our children to become men." "Ten years ago, this war began as all wars begin:" "With a grievance." "Marathon." "The Persian king, Darius, annoyed by the notion of Greek freedom, has come to Greece to bring us to heel." "He makes landfall at the field of marathon with an invading force which outnumbers the Greek defenders three to one." "And so at dawn, the hopeless Athenians do the unthinkable." "They attack." "They attack the weary Persians as they disembark their ships on shaky legs after a month at sea." "They attack before they can establish their war camp and supply their soldiers." "And who is the architect of this mad strategy?" "A little-known Athenian soldier." "His men call him Themistokles." "He gives the Persians a taste of Athenian shock combat." "(MEN YELLING)" "(YELLING CONTINUES)" "(HORSE NEIGHING)" "(NEIGHING CONTINUES)" "(MEN SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY)" "(YELLS)" "(YELLS)" "QUEEN GORGO:" "All thoughts of glory are gone." "Thousands dead." "Hundreds of them their own." "All for an idea:" "A free Greece..." "An Athenian experiment called "democracy."" "Could this idea be worth it?" "Worth all this sacrifice?" "Themistokles would let the good king Darius decide." "(GRUNTS)" "QUEEN GORGO:" "For through the chaos a moment appeared." "(MAN VOCALIZING MYSTICALLY)" "And Themistokles would seize it." "A moment that would ring across the centuries." "A moment that would raise him from simple soldier to the height of Athenian political power." "(ECHOING) No!" "A moment that would make Themistokles a legend." "(ARROW STRIKES)" "(VOCALIZING CONTINUES)" "Yet even as the praise and glory were heaped upon him," "Themistokles knew in his heart he had made a mistake." "It was Darius's son, Xerxes, whose eyes had the stink of destiny about them." "Themistokles knew he should have killed that boy." "That glorious mistake would forever haunt him." "And so it was Themistokles himself who sent a ripple across the Persian empire and set into motion forces that would bring fire to the heart of Greece." "For as the good king lay dying, all his greatest generals and advisors were summoned to his bedside." "None greater than his finest naval commander, Artemisia." "Her ferocity bested only by her beauty." "Her beauty matched only by her devotion to her king." "Darius favored Artemisia among his generals for she had brought him victory on the battlefield." "In her, he had the perfect warrior protégée that his son Xerxes would never be." "(WEAKLY) So sweet, my child." "My sweet..." "Child." "(BREATHES SHALLOWLY)" "Father." "Xerxes." "Do not repeat your father's mistake." "Leave the ignoble Greeks to their ways." "Only the gods can defeat them." "Only... the gods." "QUEEN GORGO:" "For seven days, Xerxes mourned..." "Paralyzed by grief." "On the eighth day," "Artemisia whispered the seed of madness that would consume him." "Your father's words were not a warning..." "But a challenge." "Only the gods can defeat the Greeks?" "You will be a God-king." "Artemisia gathered the priests, wizards and mystics from every corner of the empire." "They wrapped the young king in cimmerian gauze dipped in ancient potions..." "And set him to wander the desert..." "Till in a delirium of heat and thirst, he stumbled upon a hermits' cave." "(MAN VOCALIZING MYSTICALLY)" "Xerxes passed the vacant eyes and empty souls of the hollow creatures that dwell in the dark corners of all men's hearts." "(FOOTSTEPS SPLASHING)" "And in that darkness, he surrendered himself completely to power so evil and perverse... that, as he emerged, no part of a human man that was Xerxes survived." "His eyes blazed like Scarlet coals." "He was stripped, cleansed, glabrous and smooth." "Xerxes was reborn a God." "Artemisia trusted no one." "So, in the cover of night the palace was cleansed of all Xerxes' allies." "All those he trusted." "All those who had raised him." "All those he had once looked to for counsel were quickly introduced to her wrath." "(CROWD ROARS)" "And as the God-king stood before his people," "Artemisia watched her flawless manipulation take shape." "BOTH:" "For glory's sake..." "For vengeance's sake..." "War!" "War!" "(CROWD ROARS)" "QUEEN GORGO:" "War is coming to Greece in the visage of a monster army over a million strong." "It should be little more than a formality for Themistokles, the hero of marathon, to finish what he began." "Please!" "We must appeal to Xerxes' reason!" "Coward!" "Athens is a city of cowards!" "Shut your cock hole!" "Shut your own!" "I'll kill you!" "Fuck the Spartans!" "Fuck those muscle-bound boy-lovers!" "Silence!" "MAN:" "Silence for the hero of marathon!" "This is a democracy, not a street fight." "Quiet!" "It's Themistokles." "The Persian attack will come from both the north and the South." "The city-states should negotiate a truce." "Yes, yes, we must negotiate." "Negotiate with tyranny?" "Give me one example of when that has ever profited a nation." "You're right." "We must unite." "My fellow countrymen..." "We can only judge the future from what we have suffered in the past." "Now, many of you here stood with me at marathon..." "And for those of you who served and faced the cut and thrust of battle, you know how true peace is forged." "Do not be deceived." "Xerxes, the son of Darius, is a wolf at our door." "Right here, right now..." "We must choose:" "Do we stand and fight for Greece or not?" "Argos..." "Corinth..." "Megara..." "Athens." "Not even Sparta can match the Persians alone." "We must persevere as one nation." "Or we will perish clinging onto our own self-interests." "Send us the ships that we need to defend Greece." "Themistokles will need more than our cities' ships." "He will need our children to join the fight." "(MEN MURMURING)" "And what of Sparta?" "You send every ship that we have to the northern coast of Euboea." "I will go and seek the help of the great Spartans." "(MEN MURMURING)" "Still no word from the messenger you sent to Sparta." "King Leonidas may have been insulted by your generous offer." "Perhaps I need to march into Sparta myself and burn it to the ground." "(BEAST GROWLS)" "Remember..." "When a king is loved as I am..." "Much can be accomplished." "They would be fools to resist my divine power." "Athens is attempting to assemble a coalition." "It'll be nothing more than a patchwork of ships." "Once these waters have been traversed," "I will lead my force across the land." "I will remind the cowards of Greece that we have not forgotten their insolence." "(HORSE SNORTING)" "Rest and water the horses." "It's best I go alone." "Spartans don't get along well with others." "(WARRIORS CHANTING AGGRESSIVELY)" "Aah!" "(COUGHS)" "Spartans." "DILIOS:" "Themistokles." "You old snake." "What brings you this far South?" "I've come to see Leonidas to warn him that the Persians are on the march." "Well, you're too late." "Persian messenger already presented his terms to Leonidas." "Symbolic offering of earth and water." "Spartans!" "Know this and know it well." "(COUGHING)" "That any Spartan's finest moment..." "The greatest fulfillment of all he holds dear..." "Is that moment..." "When he has fought his heart out for the preservation of Sparta..." "And lies dead on the battlefield..." "Victorious." "Now, who is willing to die at our king's side?" "(WARRIORS CHANTING AGGRESSIVELY)" "Themistokles." "You've come a long way to stroke your cock whilst watching real men train." "THEMISTOKLES:" "Queen Gorgo." "Shouldn't he be training them to live at their king's side?" "A new age is dawning, Gorgo." "Won't be long before men rise up and shed the yoke of mysticism and tyranny." "That sounds like a threat." "No." "An opportunity to join the rest of free Greece and stand against a true tyrant..." "Unless, of course, you and Leonidas have already made a deal with Xerxes." "No terms were reached." "Xerxes' messenger was..." "Well, he was rude and lacked respect." "He didn't understand the same threats made in Thebes and Athens would not work here." "This is the birthplace of the world's greatest warriors." "Men whose king would stand and fight and die for any one of them." "Xerxes' messenger did not understand this is no typical Greek city-state." "This is Sparta." "So it was clear to the messenger there would be no spartan submission." "It was clear." "Even now, Leonidas is in counsel with the oracle over his battle plan." "The festival of the Carnea is all that stands in our way." "Surely, the oracle will see we must fight." "Well, then my timing is perfect." "I am commanding a fleet of ships that will represent a united Greece." "I need Sparta to join me." "Give me your ships, Gorgo." "I will make sure that Xerxes wishes he never crossed the Aegean." "You will receive no spartan ships." "We are not interested in a united Greece." "That is your dream, Themistokles, not ours." "All I am concerned with is the preservation of Sparta." "(EXHALES)" "My guards will see you out." "It's funny that you mock freedom here in your selfish isolation." "Yet, freedom, in her wisdom, has chosen you to defend her." "My queen." "Will Sparta join our fight?" "Apparently, the Persians have offered the Spartans something they cannot refuse." "And what is that?" "A beautiful death." "They say you are the bravest of our captives." "They say you are a whore from the eastern seas." "(SPITS)" "You're not the smartest." "Your commander is a Greek." "Just like me." "You Persian men take your orders from a Greek woman." "Yes, my brother." "I am Greek by birth..." "And I have Greek blood running through my veins." "But my heart... is Persian." "(GASPS)" "ARTEMISIA:" "Within hours..." "The Greek fleet will be shattered." "What of our master and the much-feared Spartans?" "There's nothing to fear." "Only king Leonidas and his personal guard of 300 have marched to fight." "They'll collapse instantly." "(THUNDER CRASHES)" "You." "Do you agree?" "Many will perish." "Your confidence leaves me with a strong impression." "It's a curious thing for a simple ship guard to not lower his eyes when questioned by me." "That could've been just a lack of discipline." "But a man's hands do not lie." "They can reveal every imperfection and flaw in his character." "You see, your hands are not rough enough to work the rigging of this ship." "I know every single man beneath my lash." "Can you explain to me how I don't know you?" "Forgive me, commander." "Let me introduce myself." "Seize the spy." "(ARROWS WHOOSHING)" "Coward." "Storm is upon us." "It's just some mad Greek weather." "(KNOCK ON DOOR)" "SCYLLIAS:" "Themistokles." "Come." "(OBJECT TAPPING)" "Calisto." "What is spoken here must not be repeated." "Anywhere." "My son has not earned the right to sit at the table of combat veterans, but you can trust him." "Very well." "Tell me." "A Greek woman commands all of Xerxes' ships to the South." "Artemisia." "I know of her." "Artemisia is murderous by trade with true skill on the sea and she has thirst for vengeance." "Rumors are her entire family was murdered by a squad of Greek Hoplites." "I have heard all the stories." "And the Hoplites spared no one on that day." "(WOMAN SCREAMING)" "(CRYING)" "(SCREAMING CONTINUES)" "(SWORD THRUSTS, SCREAM ECHOES, DIES)" "The story goes that they raped and murdered her entire family." "And then they turned their attention towards her." "(RIGGING CREAKS)" "After years of being kept in the bowels of a Greek slave ship..." "She was discarded and left for dead, where she was found near death by a Persian emissary." "Artemisia vowed that day to return to Greece..." "Only when she could watch it burn." "(GRUNTS)" "She was fed, clothed and trained by the finest warriors of the Persian empire..." "Aah!" "..." "Until no match could be found for her skills and gift with the sword." "The great king Darius was impressed by her commitment." "And she quickly rose to command at his side." "AESKYLOS:" "She has sold her soul to death himself." "Well, some could say that I've sold mine to Greece." "And what do you think?" "Me?" "Yes." "You are the future of this country." "I'm ready to fight." "(CHUCKLES)" "I like him." "He reminds me of you." "We will need every last man." "Well, he is still just a boy." "Much younger have defended our country, father." "Enough!" "You are a dreamer and will speak of this no more." "Themistokles, I've set your plan in motion and my land force will be assembled by the second day." "You will be needed." "I can assure you of that." "And there is bad news." "Leonidas has marched north to the hot gates." "AESKYLOS:" "Bad news?" "With the Spartans at the hot gates, our victory is assured." "If the army were with him." "But between the oracle and the Carnea," "Leonidas has marched to Thermopylae with just 300 men." "So the only thing standing between Athens and total annihilation is Leonidas and 300 Spartans." "I will search out the veterans among them." "Establish some order among the volunteers." "Good." "There's little time to teach these farmhands strategy." "Just keep them well-fed..." "And sober." "Anything else?" "Wouldn't hurt if they could swing a sword." "Well, I'll be damned." "Shit!" "Does your father know that you're here?" "No, sir." "And this shield and sword?" "My grandfather's." "My mother entrusted them to me this morning." "When she gave you her blessing?" "Yes, sir." "With a sharp blade, no less." "Your father is preparing a surprise for our enemy tomorrow." "I choose to fight here." "Now." "Come aboard my ship." "That is where you will fight." "Yes, sir." "MAN:" "We've just over 50 ships." "Persian forces reported a number in the thousands." "Those ships appear hardly seaworthy." "They're nothing like the monster ships of the Persian fleet." "Then we have the advantage." "Speed and maneuverability." "Rest of the city-states have sent anywhere from a handful to a single ship." "Of course, Athens supplied the balance." "We have report that a small advance force of Persian ships have taken refuge from the storm just across the strait." "If the weather breaks, we could hit them at dawn." "An early Greek victory." "MAN:" "The gods have given us an opportunity to wound the Persians and strengthen Greek morale." "A tempting distraction." "But we'll stick to the battle plan." "Today at sundown, we will sail out to meet the main Persian fleet." "We'll attack them in the open water with no shore to narrow the battle." "MAN 2:" "To attack a force of over a thousand ships with our meager force is suicide." "Such is my plan." "ARTAPHERNES:" "Look at their excuse for a Navy." "Their ships are of little threat." "I need a second in command, Artaphernes." "And whoever proves their excellence will earn a place beside me." "General Bandari has offered to lead the first attack." "Bandari." "Commander." "If I let you lead our first offensive, what guarantee do I have that you'll bring me a quick victory?" "My word and my life." "Good." "My rules of engagement?" "Humiliate the Greeks and lay waste to their tiny ships." "BANDARI:" "They'll be dead to the last man." "(SWORD SHARPENING)" "THEMISTOKLES:" "My brothers..." "Steady your hearts." "Look deep into your souls." "For your mettle is to be tested this day." "And if in the heat of battle..." "You need a reason to fight on..." "An idea for which you will give up all that you will ever have..." "You need only to look at the man who fights at your side." "This is the "why" of battle." "This is the brotherhood of men-at-arms." "An unbreakable bond made stronger by the crucible of combat." "You will never be closer than with those who you shed your blood with." "(WHIP CRACKS)" "For there is no nobler cause than to fight for those who will lay down their life for you." "So you fight strong today." "You fight for your brothers." "Fight for your families." "Most of all, you fight for Greece!" "ALL:" "Greece!" "Yeah!" "And there is only one thing to make sure of when the fighting starts." "What's that?" "Don't get killed on the first day." "(LAUGHTER)" "That goes for the rest of you." "(GULLS CRYING)" "The Persian ships are strong at the front but they are weak in the middle." "We attack them there." "Now!" "Attack!" "(MEN SHOUTING)" "Aah!" "(YELLS)" "PERSIAN WARRIOR:" "Aah!" "Ram them!" "PERSIAN COMMANDER:" "Archers, now!" "Now!" "Reverse!" "Now!" "Go through them!" "The enemy's tactics are creative." "The defensive circle leaves no front to assault." "We are losing." "No, you are losing." "Pull back." "Let them have this day." "I'm bored with your failures, Bandari." "I'll not let this wound slow me." "(CHUCKLES) Somehow I believe you." "My blade will be sharp and ready by the morning." "Good." "Tomorrow, you will fight alongside your father." "Not bad for a bunch of farmers." "And poets and sculptors." "Who'd have known a group of untrained men would do so well against such a considerable adversary." "We're going to need all of our strength for tomorrow's fight." "How long do you think we can hold them?" "If my plan is to work... long enough for the Spartans to unite Greece." "Men!" "Who will share their wine with me?" "!" "(MEN YELL ENTHUSIASTICALLY)" "Report." "We are still tallying the losses." "But you must understand, it is extremely difficult, given the sea and the darkness, to get an accurate... (SCREAMS)" "Report?" "ARTAPHERNES:" "Seventy-five ships lost." "Thirty damaged beyond repair." "Twenty could return with a few weeks' work in a safe harbor." "The commander of the Greek force is named Themistokles." "Yes, he is an Athenian general." "He's rumored to have loosed the arrow that felled the great king Darius himself." "(MAN VOCALIZING MYSTICALLY)" "(ECHOING) No!" "(RIGGING CREAKS)" "This Themistokles has shown himself to be quite brilliant in battle." "Which is more than I can say for any of you." "Do you gentlemen find my command unreasonable?" "Is it too much to ask for victory?" "Your disappointment in yesterday's losses is warranted." "My disappointment." "My disappointment is not with my losses." "The meager number of damaged ships and dead slaves means nothing to me." "No, my disappointment... is in these men." "For though I stand among 10,000," "I am alone." "I long for a soul who would stand by my side." "Who I could trust." "Tell me, general Kashani." "Are you that man?" "You will taste your victory by the day's end." "I will make certain of it." "I hope so." "(GRUNTING, CHAINS RATTLING)" "Advance!" "(WHIP CRACKS)" "Now!" "(ALL GRUNTING)" "Don't lose sight of them!" "The Greeks are retreating." "He's got him right where he wants him." "Kashani is a fine tactician." "I was speaking of Themistokles." "Rocks!" "Stop!" "Stop!" "Stop!" "Brace yourselves!" "(YELLING)" "(YELLS)" "(INDISTINCT SHOUTING)" "(MEN SHOUTING)" "(SHOUTING CONTINUES)" "(SHOUTING IN DISTANCE)" "(YELLS)" "(GRUNTS)" "What are you doing here?" "A man's responsibility is to protect his family and his nation." "Who told you this?" "My father." "(YELLS)" "Aah!" "(GROANING)" "You see how Themistokles employs deception with such grace?" "Why is it so much to ask for victory?" "How can I make amends?" "Silence." "You will carry a message for me." "MAN:" "Now they will fear us!" "Now they will fear the Greek men-at-arms!" "Hup!" "THEMISTOKLES:" "He's right!" "Fear the Greek fighting man!" "Fear his sword!" "His shield." "Fear his love for mother Greece." "But most of all..." "Fear his freedom!" "Yeah!" "Yeah!" "Yeah!" "Yeah!" "Yeah!" "Yeah!" "Do not be angry with the boy." "I took him under my command." "Anger is something I reserve for my enemies." "Themistokles!" "Artemisia's ship is being anchored in neutral waters." "She'd like to meet with Themistokles." "How can you guarantee his safe return?" "Well, boy, the only honor for her now will be when she watches your crushed and broken fleet sinking to the bottom of the Aegean..." "And is able to recognize you nailed to the mast of your ship with her sword as you descend to a watery grave." "Why didn't you just say that to begin with?" "Welcome to my humble barge." "We are honored by your presence." "Your barge and you are quite impressive." "Kind words." "Now come, Themistokles, we have much to discuss." "Do you believe the Greeks are descended from the gods?" "I have heard some say that." "And what of you?" "Is there a God in your lineage?" "My men say so." "And based on the last two days' battle," "I'd say there's a spark of the divine in you." "Now who is using kind words?" "My men also say that it was you who slayed the good king Darius at marathon." "Many heroic deeds occurred on that day." "But it was ten years ago, and the facts of battle are often embellished." "This deed, you would remember." "I do what I must to defend Greece." "And I do what I must to defeat her." "For every one Greek killed, you must kill a thousand Persians." "For every ship I sink..." "You must sink a hundred." "I can sustain losses for weeks." "Months, if need be." "My numbers will defeat you and I will take your precious boats with my sword." "I will take your Greek freedom." "Are you asking me to negotiate a surrender?" "No." "I offer you a chance to avoid such misery and join me." "I'm in need of a commander such as you." "Look at the defense you've mounted." "A handful of triremes." "Leonidas with 300 Spartans." "(SCOFFS)" "It's insulting, frankly, that the mightiest empire the world has ever seen is met by this." "I don't blame you, Themistokles." "You fought as if the blood of Poseidon himself was coursing through your veins." "No, I blame Greece." "The squabbling bureaucrats protecting their political hides by sending you here to die." "And yet you still fight." "So there must be..." "What?" "Family back home in Athens that compels you to..." "battle with such passion?" "Truth is, I've had no time for family." "I have spent my entire adult life with my one true love..." "The Greek fleet..." "And my one passion..." "Readying it for you." "(LAUGHS)" "Now, that brings me pleasure, the thought of you pining away for me, forsaking family and love..." "For the promise of a deeper ecstasy." "The ecstasy of steel and flesh..." "Death and life." "Of rage..." "And sweat of muscle." "Of pure joy..." "And deepest sorrow." "Die with me each night and be born again with me each morning..." "As you plant your sword into the hearts of our enemies." "You fight for freedom." "I offer freedom without consequence or responsibility." "Join me..." "At my side." "Breathe each breath with me as if it were your last." "(CLATTER)" "(GASPS)" "(FABRIC RIPS)" "(MOANING)" "(GRUNTING)" "(ARTEMISIA GRUNTING)" "Ahh." "(GROANS)" "(FABRIC RIPPING)" "Aah." "Join me." "(PANTING)" "No." "ARTEMISIA:" "Aah!" "You're no God." "You're just a man." "Be quick with your sword." "(BREATHING HEAVILY)" "You'll not have your death tonight." "Guards!" "Remove this filth from my ship." "Aah!" "(SWORD CLATTERS)" "AESKYLOS:" "Well?" "What have you learned?" "(SIGHS)" "Can Artemisia be beaten?" "The next time that we face her..." "She's going to bring all of hell with her." "(MACHINERY GRINDING)" "Hold!" "Hold!" "Send in my personal guard." "Pull back!" "Retreat!" "Retreat!" "Retreat!" "Retreat!" "Retreat!" "Themistokles!" "In the water!" "Archers!" "On deck, now!" "Archers on deck, now!" "Quickly!" "Starboard side!" "Fire at will!" "(YELLS)" "(INDISTINCT SHOUTING)" "(GRUNTS)" "(GRUNTING)" "(ARROW STRIKES) (GROANS)" "(GASPS LIGHTLY)" "Fight on, boy." "Uh-huh." "Fight on!" "(INDISTINCT SHOUTING)" "Aim for the men on top!" "Up there!" "(GRUNTING)" "(MYSTICAL VOCALIZING)" "Abandon ship!" "Abandon ship!" "Abandon ship!" "(GROWLS)" "Aah!" "(BREATHING HEAVILY)" "QUEEN GORGO:" "The dead have no guilt." "No responsibility." "Themistokles watches the bodies of his men turn the Aegean red with blood." "Were they sacrificed for his ego?" "Or to relieve the guilt of the long-ago mistake at marathon?" "How many men would have been saved if Themistokles had killed that boy?" "Not even his own soul can be sure." "My friend." "We faced the odds." "(WEAKLY) Together." "Listen to me, Themistokles." "You will have to fight..." "With twice as much strength in the morning." "We will fight shoulder-to-shoulder." "No, my son." "You will carry on for both of us." "(WHISPERS INDISTINCTLY)" "(CRIES)" "What did he say?" "I will tell you in time, boy." "Quiet now." "You go and be with your father's spirit." "How many times do you think we will repeat such a tragedy?" "As many times as we must." "We are turning young men into memories." "Do you think I enjoy this?" "Witnessing my friend's final breath?" "Every widow that is made by my decision..." "Every child that will grow without a father..." "They are my choices." "This is the burden of my command." "(CROWS CAWING)" "(SQUAWKS)" "XERXES:" "How easy it is to silence the strong and self-disciplined." "Let my army witness the great warriors of Sparta." "(CROWS CAWING)" "March them past these corpses." "Let them see the cost of daring to challenge the God-king." "King Leonidas and his brave 300 were the finest Greece has to offer." "There will be no saviors to rise up and vanquish us." "Nothing will stop the march of my empire." "(GASPING) Your majesty." "You, take this dead king's sword to Athens." "Let them know that I am coming next for them." "Let them know..." "Athens..." "Their prize jewel of a city..." "Will disappear from the histories." "(HORSE WHINNIES)" "Themistokles!" "(PANTING)" "I bring word from Thermopylae." "Leonidas was betrayed by a hunchback." "The Spartans have been slaughtered." "The hot gates have fallen." "Such a sacrifice." "Now Greece has her martyrs." "Daxos, take that message from the hot gates to every city, every village." "Let every countryman hear your words." "But they are dead." "All of them." "Sparta's sacrifice will be what unites us." "Now, go." "(HORSE SNORTS) Hyah!" "Move all of our ships and men back to the safety of salamis." "And you?" "I will take Daxos' message to Athens." "I was told a hunchback was accountable for the fall of the hot gates." "That he sold out his country, pulled the crimson from his back and replaced it with Persian gold." "What is your name..." "Traitor?" "Ephialtes of Trachis." "I should wet this noble blade with your blood." "You would be right to do so." "There is little beauty about me." "There is little beauty in what I have done." "(PANTING)" "Say what you must." "I beg of you..." "And all of Athens!" "The God-king will burn this city to the ground!" "(MEN MURMURING) MAN:" "What's going on?" "MAN 2:" "What does he mean?" "MAN 3:" "Xerxes!" "Quiet yourselves!" "Leonidas and Sparta's great sacrifice was no defeat." "It was a beautiful victory." "This simple act of valor will allow us to rally each of our city-states and unite Greece..." "For one purpose..." "Against one enemy!" "And you." "You take this message to your God-king." "That we will take whatever ships we have left and finish this in the bay of salamis." "But there will be death and destruction." "Yes, there will be." "Themistokles." "I'm here to speak to your queen." "A warning, Athenian." "You may not receive a warm welcome." "May I offer my deepest sympathies." "I cannot change what has happened to Leonidas, but his sacrifice will not be forgotten." "Do not lecture me on sacrifice and be quick with your words, Athenian." "I request of you the entire spartan Navy." "Every man, every ship that you can spare." "Have I not given enough for your dream of a united Greece?" "Shall I put swords in the hands of my son?" "Our children?" "Would that please you?" "Have I not given enough for your ambitions, Themistokles?" "A king." "Husbands, fathers, brothers." "Sparta will give no more." "This belongs with you." "Avenge him." "(MYSTICAL VOCALIZING)" "QUEEN GORGO:" "The oracle's words stood as a warning." "All of Greece will fall..." "As Persian fire reduces Athens to cinder." "For Athens is a pile of stone and wood and cloth and dust." "And as dust, will vanish into the wind." "Only the Athenians themselves exist." "And the fate of the world hangs on their every syllable." "Only the Athenians exist." "And only stout wooden ships can save them." "Wooden ships..." "And a tidal wave of heroes' blood." "XERXES:" "The Greeks were fools to stand against us." "Leonidas and his pride were no match for the will of a God." "(SLURPS)" "Themistokles was a worthless coward." "And now (SCOFFS)" "This pathetic Navy is barely worth our attention." "If that "worthless coward" had stood at my side, we would have laid the world at your feet." "EPHIALTES:" "My king." "Your humble servant brings you news." "The Greek fleet are defenseless within the bay of salamis." "You need only finish them." "Who commands their forces?" "Themistokles of Athens." "Themistokles is dead." "He is alive." "I have seen him myself." "(SIGHS)" "Ready my troops and armor." "We will attack at once." "Wisdom..." "Would have us send a probing force to confirm it is not a trap." "You would dare to advise me in matters of war?" "I am the God-king." "I am the one who triumphed over Leonidas." "I am the one who laid waste to this showpiece of Athens." "I am your king." "Killing Leonidas and his men only made them martyrs." "And when you razed Athens, you set fire to the only thing of value in this country." "(GRUNTS)" "I will attack the Greeks..." "With my entire Navy." "Artemisia." "Enough!" "Do not forget who put the crown on your childish head." "My king." "Now sit on your golden throne and watch this battle from the safety I provide you." "There, in the distance..." "We witness the destruction of Athens." "Alone, we will face the monster that casts the shadow across our land." "I had prayed that the Spartans would come to lend a hand this morning." "Perhaps they feel they have given enough." "MAN:" "You failed us all." "This is your fault, Themistokles." "Without Spartans, we're just farmhands." "We should've negotiated with the Persians when we had the chance." "You are all right." "Yes, we are down to a handful of boats." "And, yes, we are just farmhands." "We are tradesmen." "We are boys..." "Turned to men through the sacrifice and forge of combat." "I played a dangerous game..." "And I lost!" "If you choose to turn your back on me, on your country..." "I will not judge you." "You are free to leave." "You are still free men." "Very well." "Then let us put our shoulders to work and free those ships from the bosom of Greece." "Today is a privilege to call our own." "A story that will be told for a thousand years." "Let our final stand be recorded to the histories." "And let it be shown that we chose to die on our feet rather than live on our knees!" "(WARRIORS SHOUTING AGGRESSIVELY)" "There is only one thing you need to know today." "Not to get killed." "No." "Your father's last words." "He told me that you had earned the right to sit at the table." "Well, my brother," "I have no more tactics or tricks." "This will be the last battle that we share." "We have fought next to one another for as long as I can remember." "(CHUCKLES)" "Nothing would please me more than to rest this sword." "The preparations that are required?" "Below deck." "Good." "Are you sure that you want to commit everything?" "Yes." "Without Artemisia's command, the Persian Navy is nothing." "We will never be able to reach her." "I will reach her..." "And put an end to this." "There will be no room for a retreat." "I know." "ARTEMISIA:" "Today, the last Greek ships will be destroyed." "Show them no mercy." "Give them no quarter." "Today we will dance across the backs of dead Greeks." "Today we deliver submission." "Today I want to feel Themistokles' throat beneath my boots." "(SHOUTING IN DISTANCE)" "Men!" "Brace yourselves." "Prepare for close quarters." "Attack!" "(WARRIORS YELLING AGGRESSIVELY)" "Your father watches you!" "Hold nothing back!" "Seize your glory!" "(SHOUTING CONTINUES)" "Aah!" "(YELLS)" "I'm not here as a witness!" "(WARRIORS SHOUTING)" "Now!" "And let them send our souls straight to hell!" "(HORSE NEIGHING)" "(YELLS)" "(HORSE NEIGHING)" "Hyah!" "Come on!" "(SCREAM ECHOING)" "(YELLS)" "(HORSE NEIGHS)" "(MEN GRUNTING)" "(MYSTICAL VOCALIZING)" "You offered freedom without consequence or responsibility." "Are you accepting my offer?" "My answer is still no." "(YELLS)" "Aah!" "You fight much harder than you fuck." "(YELLS)" "(GROANS)" "(SHOUTING IN DISTANCE)" "Surrender to me." "Or meet your death." "Who would you fight if not for me?" "No one could challenge your skill." "I would rather die a free man than as a slave." "Even if the chain was attached to you." "QUEEN GORGO:" "It begins as a whisper." "A promise." "The lightest of breezes dances through the rigging as it creaks above the death cries of ten thousand men." "It moves through her hair as gently as a lover's hand." "That breeze, that promise, became a wind." "A wind that is blown across Greece carrying a message told again and again of our lady freedom and how wise she was to charge Leonidas to lay all at her feet." "A wind, my brothers, of sacrifice." "A wind of freedom." "A wind of justice." "A wind of vengeance." "(AGGRESSIVE CHANTING)" "Aah!" "(GROANS)" "You are being surrounded." "All of Greece has united against you." "Delphi, Thebes," "Olympia, Arcadia, and Sparta." "(EXHALES SHARPLY)" "If death comes for me today, I'm ready." "I could lower my sword." "There's still time for you to ready a launch and escape." "It would be a poor choice to force my hand into action." "Now order your ships to disengage and surrender to me." "Surrender?" "(GROANS)" "(SWORD THRUSTS)" "(INDISTINCT SHOUTING)" "(SHOUTING CONTINUES)" "(YELLS)" "(TRIUMPHANT MUSIC PLAYS)" "(YELLS)" "♪ Generals gathered in their masses ♪" "♪ just like witches at black masses ♪" "♪ evil minds that plot destruction ♪" "♪ sorcerers of death's construction ♪" "♪ in the fields the bodies burning ♪" "♪ as the war machine keeps turning ♪" "♪ oh, lord, yeah ♪" "♪ oh, lord, yeah ♪" "♪ oh, lord, yeah ♪" "♪ oh, lord ♪" "♪ day of judgment, God is calling ♪" "♪ on their knees the war pigs crawling ♪" "♪ no more war pigs have the power ♪" "♪ hand of God has struck the hour ♪" "♪ oh, lord ♪" "♪ oh, lord, yeah ♪" "♪ oh, lord, yeah ♪" "♪ oh, lord, yeah ♪" "♪ oh, lord ♪" "(THUNDER CRASHING)" "(OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYS)" "(MUSIC INTENSIFIES)" "(MUSIC SOFTENS)"