Lords of the Sea tells the true history behind the upcoming blockbuster 300: Rise of an Empire and how the Athenians established the modern world as we know it. 300: Rise of an Empire is the bloody epic based on the graphic novel. However, the true history behind leading character General Themistocles is a story that also deserves to be told: without him and the courageous exploits of his free men, the world as we know it would never have come to be. When the Athenians lured the armada of Persian King Xerxes into the narrow straits at Salamis, their small navy inflicted a crushing defeat that became a key turning point for world history. Lords of the Sea looks at the remarkable consequences following a September day in 480 BC in Athens, telling the entire story based on the latest historical sources including marine archeaological deposits.