How Historically Accurate Was Frank Miller's The '300'?

Perhaps as accurate as a fantasy novel and film can be expected to be. The film was based on the Persian Invasion of Greece under the Achaemenid Empire. At that time in history it was the Greeks who were enslaving other communities and Sparta was governed by a military dictatorship. To the Greeks who were fighting amongst themselves most of the time, the rest of the world appeared barbarian; while the Persian's treated most men as equal. Many people, especially in Iran, regarded the film as a propaganda stunt on the part of the west against Iran.

When Sparta is referred to as a free society it is considered by many as a joke because life was even stricter then what it is like in North Korea right now. It is true that the Persian's found it difficult to defeat the Spartans who stood in their way but the actual reason the Persian's failed was because of the Athenians.