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"Mature Content Warning!" |
| “ | If death comes, I'm ready. | „ |
| ~ Artemisia. |
Artemisia, played by Eva Green is the main antagonist of the second movie of the 300 series, Rise of an Empire, and the overarching antagonist of the entire series since she is responsible for all the events that happen in the story. She is the the Navy Commander of the Persain Fleet and serves under King Xerxes who tries to conquer all of Greece.
Her Evil Ranking[]
Debatable Validations[]
- While it's possible she cared about the Persian officer who took pity on her after finding her on the streets, adopted her and took care of her since there is a scene of the two of them training together, there is not enough proof in the film that Artemisia actually cares about him because their relationship is not explored beyond that.
What Makes Her Heinous?[]
- She served under King Darius as an assassin and a flashback shows that she has killed many of his enemies, severing their heads, and has brought them as trophies to her King.
- When Darius on his deathbed after being severely injured advises his son, Xerxes, to stop the war with Greece because only a god could defeat them, Artemisia plucks out the arrow of his chest to let him die and stop his speech.
- She then manipulates Xerxes into believing that Darius' words were a challenge and that he needs to continue the conquest against Greece and that he needs to become a god to defeat his enemies. This makes her directly responsible for the war that is depicted in the series and for all the deaths that were a result of said war.
- She kills all of Xerxes' close advisors and friends, so that she would be the only one he would listen to. Artemisia used this to further manipulate Xerxes for her own ends.
- She regularly executed her own men if they displease her by throwing them off-board.
- She beheads a Greek captive and then kisses his head.
- She leads her fleet in battle attempting to destroy Themistocles' fleet and then help Xerxes conquer all of Greece.
What Makes Her Inconsistent?[]
- She has an incredibly tragic backstory. When she was a young girl, a group of Greek soldiers killed and raped her family and burned her home in front of her eyes. They then took her as a slave and regularly beat her and raped her for years. Then they threw her away on a random port but by the time they were finished with her, she was barely alive and she would have died if a Persian emissary hadn't taken pity on her and hadn't adopted her and introduced her to the Persian court. Her tragedy is so horrible that it makes her a Scapegoat and it explains her hatred for the Greek and why she wants to conquer all of Greece despite being a Greek herself.
- She loves her family and the flashback of her as a young girl shows her crying when she sees the Greek soldiers killing and raping them.
- Even though she plucks out the arrow from King Darius' chest to put an end to his life and stop him from talking to his son, Xerxes, about leaving Greece in peace and then twists his words to manipulate Xerxes into launching an invasion against Greece, she still seems somewhat saddened by Darius' death. There are tears in Artemisia's eyes as Darius is dying and after she plucks out the arrow from his chest, she still has a saddened expression.
- Even though they are enemies, Artemisia falls in love with Themistocles. She has a passionate sex with him and is upset after he refuses to join her side but she still doesn't order her men to kill him even though he is on her ship. After she thinks that Themistocles has died in the battle, Xerxes calls him a "worthless coward" and Artemisia is upset and defends him, stating that if Themistocles had joined her, she would have laid the world at Xerxes' feet. When she finds out that Themistocles had survived, she fights him again and gives him a second chance to join her.
- In one scene, she displays an insecurity stating that even though she is surrounded by 10000 men, she still feels alone and that she longs for a soul she could trust and be by her side. She has a sad expression for a few seconds while saying this.
- She has some sense of honor. When Xerxes calls Themistocles a "worthless coward", she defends him against Xerxes' accusation, stating that with him at her side, she would have been able to conquer all of Greece even if this was mostly done because she had feelings for him. When Themistocles disarms her and has her at his mercy, she accepts her situation with dignity and says "If death comes for me today, I am ready!" without trying to beg for mercy. When Themistocles offers her to surrender, Artemisia takes her weapon, charges at him and gets killed because she prefers to die free than live as a captive, showing that she doesn't fear death.
- Her death is played for sympathy. There is a sad music in the background and Artemisia first grabs Themistocles by the shoulder before falling to her knees while the two of them stare at each other for a few seconds and Artemisia witnesses how the Greek destroy her fleet before finally dying.
External Links[]
- Artemisia on the Villains Wiki
- Artemisia on the Magnificent Baddie Wiki
- Artemisia on the 300 Wiki
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 Inconsistently Heinous
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Live-Action Features See Also | ||