The part about the Spartans being much better fighters than the Persians is historically accurate according to http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~sparta/topics/essays/academic/alamo.htm The Persians, being slaves, weren't really motivated to fight. Also, the Persian forces were light infantry who were trained and equipped for quick maneuvering. Whereas the Spartans had heavy armor and long spears. The Spartans, by choosing the Hot Gates, made all the advantages of light infantry useless. There was no maneuvering to be done. The Spartans couldn't be outflanked because the cliffs protected them. The light infantry, equipped with their short swords, couldn't get close enough to the Spartans with their long spears without getting stabbed.

At they end when they were surrounded, I thought the dome of shields was a neat idea. It retains some of the advantages of the phalanx, although it's not very mobile.

I didn't care for the Queen's sub-plot. They should have cut it.