300 Quotes for daily inspiration (99)
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OptimistMinds
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Author bio
The Optimistminds editorial team is made up of psychologists, psychiatrists and mental health professionals. Each article is written by a team member with exposure to and experience in the subject matter. The article then gets reviewed by a more senior editorial member. This is someone with extensive knowledge of the subject matter and highly cited published material.
300 – The Movie
“300” is a fierce evocation of the ancient Battle of Thermopylae in which King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and 300 Spartans fought to the death against Xerxes and his massive Persian army.
Facing invincible chances, their bravery and sacrifice inspire all Greeks to unite against their Persian enemy, which is extremely important for the preservation of democracy.
2,500 years ago, wars were fought between an empire with an area of 8 million km2 and a Greece divided into several city-states.
It seemed to be the biblical struggle between David and Goliath.
An empire with numerical superiority could destroy Greek civilization, along with its ideas and culture.
But history teaches us that quality is often better than quantity, and the Battle of Thermopylae proves this.
A group of Greeks under the command of King Leonidas and his Spartans would face the largest army ever assembled in antiquity.
The Battle of Thermopylae was not, however, a decisive battle in the Greco-Persian wars, but it revealed the ideal of the people to sacrifice themselves in the name of freedom even 2200 years before the great modern revolutions.
The 300 cast include Gerard Butler as King Leonidas, Lena Headey as Queen Gorgo, Dominic West as Theron, David Wenhan as Dilios and many other notorious names that will make you hold your breath from the beginning until the end of the 300 movie.
Famous 300 Quotes
- “Give them nothing! But take from them everything!” – King Leonidas
- “Freedom isn’t free at all, that it comes with the highest of costs. The cost of blood.” – Queen Gorgo
- “For he did not wish tribute, nor song, nor monuments nor poems of war and valor. His wish was simple “Remember us. Remember why we died”. Talking about King Leonidas – Dilios
- “Spartans! Prepare for glory!” – King Leonidas
- “Taught never to retreat, never to surrender. Taught that death on the battlefield in service to Sparta was the greatest glory he could achieve in his life.” – Dilios
- “- Stelios: It’s an honor to die at your side. – King Leonidas: It’s an honor to have lived at yours.” – Stelios
- “It is not a question of what a Spartan citizen should do, nor a husband, nor a king. Instead, ask yourself “what should a free man do?” – talking to King Leonidas – Queen Gorgo
- “If they assassinate me, all of Sparta goes to war. Pray they’re that stupid. Pray we’re that lucky.” – King Leonidas
- “Persian: Our arrows will blot out the sun!
King Leonidas: Then we will fight in the shade.” – Persian
- “Spartans! Ready your breakfast and eat hearty, for tonight, we dine in Hell!” – King Leonidas
“- King Leonidas: My heart is broken for your loss.
– Captain: Heart? I have filled my heart with hate.” – King Leonidas
“- Xerxes: It isn’t wise to stand against me. Imagine what horrible fate awaits my enemies when I would gladly kill any of my own men for victory.
– King Leonidas: And I would die for any one of mine.” – Xerxes
- “Easy to taunt, easy to trick.” – Dilios
- “That was his hope, should any free soul come across that place, in all the countless centuries yet to be. May all our voices whisper to you from the ageless stones “Go tell the Spartans, that here by Spartan law, we lie”. “- Dilios
- “I am here for all those voices which cannot be heard: mothers, daughters, fathers, sons, three hundred families that bleed for our rights. We must send the entire Spartan army to aid our king in the preservation of not just ourselves, but of our children. Send the army for the preservation of liberty. Send it for justice. Send it for law and…” – Queen Gorgo
- “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, and all will know, that 300 Spartans gave their last breath to defend it!”
talking to children – King Leonidas - “Hundreds leave, a handful stay. Only one looks back.” – Dilios
- “What makes this woman think she can speak among men?” – talking to Queen Gorgo- Messenger
- “You have many slaves, but few warriors. It won’t be long before they fear my spears more than your whips.” – King Leonidas
- “There’s only one woman’s words that should affect the mood of my husband. Those are mine.” – Queen Gorgo
- “We did what we were trained to do, what we were bred to do, what we were born to do! – Dilios
- “- King Leonidas: A Spartan’s true strength is the warrior next to him. So give respect and honor to him, and it will be returned to you. First, you fight with your head…
– Queen Gorgo: Then you fight with your heart.” – King Leonidas - “We are with you. For Sparta, for freedom, to the death!” – Stelios
Inspirational 300 Quotes and Dialogs
- “There’s no room for softness. No place for weakness. Only the hard and strong may call themselves Spartans.” – Dilios
- “- Xerxes: There will be no glory in your sacrifice. The world will never know you existed at all!
– King Leonidas: The world will know that free men stood against a tyrant, that few stood against many, and before this battle was over, even a god-king can bleed.”
We’re in for one wild night.
Spartan King Leonidas
Spartans! Ready your breakfast and eat hearty, for tonight we dine in Hell!
Spartan King Leonidas
No retreat, no surrender. That is Spartan law. And by Spartan law we will stand and fight, and die.
Spartan King Leonidas
A new age has come: an age of freedom. And all will know that 300 Spartans gave their last breath to defend it.
Spartan King Leonidas
This is where we hold them! This is where we FIGHT! This is where they DIE!
Spartan King Leonidas
Remember this day, men, for it will be yours for all time.
Spartan King Leonidas
Give them nothing! But take from them everything!
Spartan King Leonidas
[After Xerxes offered to make Leonidas Warlord of his Empire, if he would only kneel before him] You are generous, as you are divine, oh king of kings. Such an offer, only a madman would refuse.
But the idea of kneeling, it’s, uh, you see, slaughtering all those men of yours has left a nasty cramp in my leg so kneeling will be hard for me.
Spartan King Leonidas
There’s no reason we can’t be civil, is there?[Stated while chewing on an apple as his soldiers spear wounded enemies.]
Spartan King Leonidas
[Xerxes is brought to Leonidas on a massive gold throne carried on the back of his servants] Let me guess. You must be… Xerxes.
Spartan King Leonidas
[After being threatened with the deaths of the Spartan women] Clearly you don’t know our women.
I might as well have marched them up here, judging by what I’ve seen.
Spartan King Leonidas
The world will know that free men stood against a tyrant, that few stood against many, and before this battle is over, that even a god-king can bleed.
Spartan King Leonidas
Spartans! PUSH! Spartans! Prepare for glory!
Spartan King Leonidas
[Response to Daxos (an Arcadian) saying their choices were to retreat, surrender, or die.]
Well that’s an easy choice for us, Arcadian; Spartans never retreat. Spartans never surrender!
Spartan King Leonidas
[After dropping his helmet and his shield whilst being asked to submit] You there, Ephialtes, may you live forever.
Spartan King Leonidas
“Give them nothing, but take from them everything.” ― Frank Miller, 300
- “Remember us,
Should any free soul come across this place,
In all the countless centuries yet to be,
May our voices whisper to you from the ageless stones,
Go tell the Spartans, passerby:
That here by Spartan law, we lie.” ― Frank Miller, 300
- “O Stranger, send the news home to the people of Sparta that here we
Are laid to rest: the commands they gave us have been obeyed.
Ὦ ξεῖν’, ἀγγέλλειν Λακεδαιμονίοις ὅτι τῇδε
κείμεθα, τοῖς κείνων ῥήμασι πειθόμενοι.
[Epitaph of the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae]” ― Simonides
- “His helmet was stifling, it narrowed his vision. And he must see far. His shield was heavy. It threw him off balance. And his target is far away.” ― Frank Miller
- “Hydarnes: When we attack today, our arrows will blot out the sun!
Leonidas: Good; then we will fight in the shade.” ― Frank Miller
- “Return with the shield or on it” ― Frank Miller, 300
- “Go now, run along and tell your Xerxes that he faces free men here, not slaves” ― Frank Miller, 300
- “Xerxes: It isn’t wise to stand against me, Leonidas. Imagine what horrible fate awaits my enemies when I would gladly kill any of my own men for victory.
King Leonidas: And I would die for any one of mine.” ― Frank Miller
- “Worse than knowing I needed out, I didn’t know what I needed back into. Even when I could feel there was something else beyond the edges of any color in the street or window where no one waited even to just totally ignore me, I couldn’t recognize it enough to know how to want it harder. Along each street it was as if I were waiting for some hole to swallow my face. Each moment it didn’t make the going into the next step that much less worth doing. This is what life had always felt like. In my mind, expecting the absence of something or someone there before me made the presence in its place feel like the punch line to a routine no one was performing. And where I couldn’t find a way to laugh, I became my own stand-in, over and over, like painting white over a window from the inside.” ― Blake Butler
- Captain Artemis: I had 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 had stood by me with honor. That he was all that was best in me.
- Stelios (first lines, to Leonidas): We are with you, sire! For Sparta, for freedom to the death!”
- Theron: This will not be over quickly. You will not enjoy this. I am not your King. [As he forces Gorgo to have sex with him in exchange for assistance in the council]
- Wounded child: It’s quiet now. They came from the blackness.
- Delios (narrating): Whips crack, barbarians howl. Those in the back cry …
Persian Commander (cracking whip): Forward!
Delios (narrating): Those in front cry …
Persian Soldier (as he is stabbed by Leonidas): Back!
- Gorgo: So, what does a realist want from his queen?
Theron: I think you know.
- Leonidas (decides to visit the small Persian contingent): Captain, I leave you in charge.
Captain: But my king …
Leonidas: Don’t worry, Captain. Remember, if they assassinate me, all of Sparta goes to war. Pray they’re that stupid. Pray we’re that lucky. Besides, there’s no reason we can’t be civil, is there?
Captain: None, sire. [thrusts his spear into a Persian’s chest]
- Leonidas: Before you speak, Persian, know that in Sparta, everyone, even a king’s messenger, is held accountable for the words of his voice. Now, what message do you bring?
Persian Messenger: Earth and water.
Leonidas (pauses): You rode all the way from Persia for earth and water?
Gorgo: Do not be coy or stupid, Persian. You can afford neither in Sparta.
Persian Messenger: What makes this woman think she can speak among men?
Gorgo: Because only Spartan women give birth to real men.
- Leonidas: Daxos. What a pleasant surprise.
Daxos: This morning’s full of surprises, Leonidas.
Arcadian soldier: We’ve been tricked.
Arcadian: Only a few of them? That is a surprise.
Daxos: Silence! We heard Sparta was on the warpath. We were eager to join forces.
Leonidas: If a bit of blood you seek, you’re welcome to join us.
Daxos: But you bring only these handful of soldiers against Xerxes? I see I was wrong to expect Sparta’s commitment to at least match our own.
Leonidas: Doesn’t it? [points to a soldier next to Daxos] You there, what is your profession?
1st Arcadian Soldier: I’m a potter … sir.
Leonidas: And you, Arcadian, what is your profession?
2nd Arcadian Soldier: Sculptor, sir.
Leonidas: Sculptor. And you?
3rd Arcadian Soldier: Blacksmith.
Leonidas (turning towards the Spartans): Spartans! What is your profession?
Spartans: Harooh! Harooh! Harooh!
Leonidas: See, old friend, I brought more soldiers than you did.
- Leonidas: Dilios, I trust that scratch hasn’t made you useless.
Dilios: Hardly, my Lord. It’s just an eye. The gods saw fit to grace me with a spare.
- Leonidas: My captain?
Dilios: Curses the Gods and mourns alone.
Other Mental health quotes which you may like
Below are other mental health quotes which may be of interest to you:
Conclusions
“300” is a fierce evocation of the ancient Battle of Thermopylae in which King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and 300 Spartans fought to the death against Xerxes and his massive Persian army.
If you are a huge fan of 300 we’d love to know what you love about the movie, which 300 quotes inspired you most, so do not hesitate to leave a comment in the comments section!
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