Persian Rugs in the Film 300

300 is a movie about a group of three hundred Spartan warriors, led by their king, holding of a massive horde of Persian troops (near a million) for several days in order to buy time for the rest of Sparta to mobilize for war. The movie is exremely violent and graphic, but in a stylized, artistic way. It is based around good storytelling, and although the protagonist is more of a martyr than a character (very little development/character arc), his story is compelling.

The visuals are simply stunning, and one of the very best parts of the film is actually when the 'enemy camp', so to speak, is portrayed. The Persian empire is shown to have immense opulance, riches beyond the wildest imaginings of the spartan Spartans. (It's funny where that word comes from). They have gold and silver and glittering jewels and beautiful women and food and wine and incense and all manner of delicacies and deliciousness.

Included in the set that the filmmakers created for the opposition were a number of Persian rugs, selected both for authenticity and for brightness and intricacy. They feature very bold colors, reds, greens, and golds, rich purples as well. The god-king Xerxes, enlargened and smoothed digitally, imposes from atop a throne. Many of the scenes feature antique rugs and tapestries, which help lend an historical air to the sets. They make you feel you are several thousand years ago, living this adventure.

It is the small details like this that really make the movie. Clearly the director, artists, and set designers had to find real objects to use on the sound stage. Even though much of the movie was created using computer graphics imaging, they definitely had to commission a few old antiques, as well. These can be seen during the scene when the deformed Spartan goes over to the other side to strike a deal with Xerxes.