For decades now, viewers have been keen to witness and relive the glory of ancient Greece and see the might of the greek armies on the big screen on a regular basis.
This Greek backdrop has been the go-to for historical movies and films since the start of cinemas which has resulted in a massive number of excellent historical movies being created over the decades. However, going through this minefield of ancient Greek films to find a worthy one for your time is a difficult and time consuming task which is why we have created this list of the top 5 films about ancient Greece.
300: Rise of an empire
The second film in the 300 series but can also be watched as a standalone film as well. This film is loosely based around the battle of artemisia and the battle of salamis.
Two naval battles that were fought alongside the battle of Thermopylae and pitted a small Greek naval force under the command of the mystical against the large Persian naval force led by Artemisia who is wonderfully played by Eva Green.
This film has amazing battle scenes and use of naval tactics, an interesting plot and magnificent acting by the entire cast making it an enjoyable film for all fans of history and action films.
Main critique of the film is that it does not do a memorable job of bringing the two 300 films togethers and it plays them off as two separate stories with a few characters from the original 300, making a few cameos.
If you’re looking for an action-filled movie with over-the-top fighting season 300: Rise of an empire is our recommendation for you.
Agora
A historical drama which follows the life of Hypatia, an Alexandrian mathematician philosopher and astronomer from her childhood to her eventual death.
This film’s key focus is on the relationship between religion and science as the polytheistic religions of Alexandria continually clash with the beliefs of the growing Christian religion.
This film does a fantastic job of highlighting how difficult it was to advance science and astronomy during this time due to religious constraints and the growing influence of external forces in Alexandria.
Rachel Wise really shines in her role of Hypatia and does a fantastic job of bringing her character to life while all the supporting cast also do a fantastic job further filling out the world.
Plot is also amazing with lots of unexpected twists and turns making this a great film from beginning to end but there are a few critics here as the pacing does stumble a bit and the political situation of the time could have been expanded upon a little bit more.
If you’re looking for a great film that shows a mix of roman Christian and scientific influence on ancient Alexandria then agora is a recommendation for you.
Alexander
An epic historical drama based on the life of Alexander The Great from his childhood in Macedonia to his eventual death at the peak of his power. Alexander is a film with a runtime that can put any Bollywood film to shame with the director’s cup being 3 hours and 25 minutes long.
So this can also be seen as the film’s strong point or weakness depending on who you ask and what kind of movie gore you are. As a story that is being portrayed on the screen is slow paced and meticulously told meaning that large battles and action sequences are few and far between with primary emphasis being placed on the politics and the communication required in the running of an empire and military.
This film stars Colin Farrell, Anthony Hopkins and Angelina Jolie so the acting is great and the secondary cast do a decent job as well but the narration at times can really drag on.
This film really is aimed at the more historically inclined audiences rather than action seekers. If anyone is looking for a movie that does justice to life alexander then this Oliver stone’s adaptation the closer we’ll probably get to seeing his story told on the screen in our lifetime.
Troy
An epic film based on the Iliad by Homer which depicts the various events from the 10 year long siege which sees a massive Greek army besieging the city of Troy to return a runaway bride to her kingly husband.
The Trojan war supposedly took place during the 13th century BC and according to Homer, this war lasted over 80 years. The Trojan war depicts massive battles, genius military tactics and a plethora of famous mythological and historical figures such as Achilles hector and Agamemnon involved in the trojan war.
This film follows the general outline of the Iliad well enough and the cast are stellar flawlessly bringing their characters to life but i do feel that Orlando bloom and Diane Krueger both have slightly lackluster performances and didn’t really share any chemistry on screen.
This is a high budget high quality Hollywood film with several A-list actors so it is safe to say the storyline and plot twists are engaging, the character development and set pieces are awe-inspiring as well.
This is one of the best depictions we have ever seen of the Trojan war and this is a must-see for any fan of epic war films and for someone that is looking for a historical film with a good mix of mythos as well.
300
An epic retelling of the battle of Thermopylae, the last stand of king Leonidas and his 300 Spartans against a massive Persian army led by xerces. We absolutely love this film as it was one of the first historical films.
It will really engage you and make you curious about spartan culture and trying to understand when the film was fact and what was fiction. This movie does a great job of bringing sporting culture and the dedication to the art of war to life.
This film also gives a strong overview of the religious and political influences present in spartan society. The battle scenes cinematography and the fantastic way hand-hand combat is displayed is unparalleled even to this day with the pro S of the spartan army really being brought to the forefront but in a very over-the-top and action-heavy manner.
The cast here are all amazing as well with Gerard Butler and Lena Hadley shining in their roles as king Leonidas and queen Gorgo the plot is also engaging and easy enough to follow without any unnecessary side plots or scenes being thrown in.
However, there are also a few shortcomings to this film as 300 focuses more on action and entertainment over historical accuracy and this film really diminishes the contributions of other Greek armies such as the Athenians played in the battle of Thermopylae.
If you’re looking for historically inaccurate but thoroughly enjoyable films about Greek history and 300 is our top recommendation for you.
Final Words
We just want to thank you for reading this article. We hope you found it to be enjoyable or educational. We make such a list so you can spend more time watching and less time looking for a film.