Themistocles travels to Sparta to request help from King Leonidas and his army. He also tells the council he will seek help from the Spartans.
Themistocles insists that it is in the best interests of Greece that they fight for the sake of freedom, and so he demands that he be brought the best ships to go into battle. Although the Athenians want to desperately bring the Persians down, they are not keen on sending their men to sacrifice themselves in battle. In Athens, Themistocles meets with the council to discuss his own naval strategy for taking on the invading Persians. The second Persian invasion of Greece begins. Ten years later (in 480 BC), Xerxes makes plans to lead his army on land through Thermopylae while Artemisia is prepared to ready her navy at sea. He declares, "For glory's sake.WAR!" The Persians cheer this on loudly. He returns to Persia and stands before the citizens, with Artemisia right behind him. Meanwhile, Artemisia kills off all of the former allies of the man that Xerxes used to be. Xerxes emerges with a golden tinge and fiery red eyes, also hairless and a foot taller. Xerxes steps in, with, as Gorgo states, a dark desire for power and revenge. Artemisia has Xerxes sent into the desert wearing chains until he walks into a cave with a pool of bright gold liquid. If only the gods can defeat the Greeks, then, she tells him, he is to become the god king. On the eighth day, Artemisia holds Xerxes and tells him that his father's last words were not a warning, but a challenge. For a week, Xerxes sits and mourns the death of his father. Artemisia pulls the arrow out of his chest to end his suffering. In his dying moments, he tells Xerxes that it is best to leave the Greeks alone, for only the gods can defeat them. He and Xerxes are joined by Artemisia (Eva Green), Darius's commanding naval officer, said to be as vicious as she is beautiful. Darius is returned to his kingdom to lie in his deathbed. The latter walks away, with Gorgo stating that he knew in his heart that he made a mistake not to kill Xerxes when he had the chance. Xerxes holds his father in his arms and locks eyes with Themistocles. He runs to his father's side but is too late to save him as the arrow pierces him. He releases the bow just in time for Darius's son, Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) to watch. Themistocles raises a bow and arrow, ready to commit the act that would make him known as a legend. The Greeks brutally and effortlessly take down the invading Persians one by one, paving the way for Themistocles to take aim at Darius, who is watching the massacre of his men from his ship offshore. The Athenian general Themistocles (Sullivan Stapleton) led his own army against them at the shores. In the opening scene, Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey) narrates about King Darius (Igal Naor) leading his army of Persians into Greece in the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC during the first Persian invasion of Greece. Note: this film is actually a prequel as well as a sequel to the original '300' film (with the events happening before, concurrently, and after the events of the previous film).The synopsis below may give away important plot points. The Persian Empire seems on the verge of victory, though when Xerxes and Artemisia learn that Themistokles lives, they realize the fight won't be over until he takes his final breath. In the aftermath of that skirmish, Themistokles is presumed dead and Athens falls.
But later, after Artemisia's attempt to seduce Themistokles to her side proves unsuccessful, the spurned naval commander deals a devastating blow to her Greek opponents. When the Greeks enjoy an early victory over Artemisia and her soldiers, however, it appears that Themistokles' unconventional tactics are more effective than the Persian Empire's formidable brawn. Meanwhile, Leonidas' former advisor and wife Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey) is reluctant to sacrifice any more Spartans in a fight that appears to be unwinnable. As the ruthless Artemisia (Eva Green) assembles a massive fleet of ships and sets sail for conquest, Greek general Themistokles (Sullivan Stapleton) strives to rally his countrymen to fight for freedom, and he manages to gain the upper hand over the invaders by confronting them at sea. WarnerBros.In the wake of the Persians' victory over King Leonidas and his 300 Spartans, the God King Xerxes (Santoro) appears poised to conquer Greece.