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A review on Gates of Fire - Steven Pressfield
In 480 BC the Persian Empire was once again trying to invade ancient Greece. Under the reign of King Xerxes, an invincible army of a recorded 2 million was marching downwards to enslave all Greeks. An elite force of three hundred Spartans tackled the suicide mission of stalling the Persian wave of doom.
They fought in the narrows of Thermopylae and held on for 6 days, ultimately being forced to battle with their bare hands and teeth before being defeated. Their spears may have been broken, but their spirit remains adamant. Their valour changed the course of history and became the matter of legend. Steven Pressfield meticulously weaves history and fiction together to create a riveting account of that era's most famous clash. A truly fascinating read.
***The Author***
The 1943-born Steven Pressfield lavishly constructs his stories using a very unique style. His characteristic techniques are worth savouring and reading at least one of his works is strongly recommended if you are interested in literature and/or writing.
Most critics focus on the chilling way he gloriously recounts battles, narrating them in an epic fashion worthy of Homer's ageless tales. He deals with historic clashes of great importance and manages to transcend their essence to us, reading about them millennia afterwards. His clever and careful use of native vocabulary also aids in the immersion of the reader.
Personally, I find another aspect of his narrative even more interesting and notable: Pressfield puts you not in the position of the hero, as is standard fare, but tells his story through the eyes of the frightened friend, concerned family and lacking soldier. An ingenious trick that makes it much easier to convey the awe-inspiring qualities of the undaunted hero.
Characters getting the "first-person" treatment are not just means to an end either, as they are fully developed and intrigue the reader to care about them, adding yet another layer to the larger story.
***The Story***
After his army's victory in Thermopylae, King Xerxes fervently wanted more information on the rare soldiers that confronted his limitless army, those reckless Spartans that faced insurmountable odds and refused to surrender even though their only alternative was gruesome death.
Amongst the battlefield full of fallen Spartans and their allies, only one Greek was found that had any hope of surviving. Indeed, after extensive care provided by Persia's top surgeons, Xeones regained enough strength to speak and was asked to recount his "infantryman's tale" of the Spartan way of life and the events leading to and including the battle of Thermopylae.
... serious/comic, stead-fastness/panic. He shows how the native people sometimes fled in panic, sometimes calmly continued with business as usual amidst full-blown battle, and occasionally looted the dead and the living, all the while remembering that their ancient land had seen many battles and occupations; this was just another. He shows us the evolution and maturation of the American Army, with Captain Bruce Pirnie on the morning of February 14, 1943 during the Battle of Sidi bou Zid saying, "We were scared and green" (340) and then with the victory on May 13 of that same year.
The Greek army’s greatest warrior during the Trojan War, Achilles was born of the goddess Thetis and the mortal Peleus. (Murnaghan, 1997, p.xxv)“Strong, swift and godlike” as Lombardo translating Homer puts it (1997, p.5), his presence on the battlefield reverberated fear through his enemies. Being a general in the Achaean army, his original rationale as to engage...
...roops to the rear to replenish Greece. Greeks had viewed Thermopylae as a critical moral and culture lesson to be learned. That free men fought willingly with pride and valor against those that were forced. Who do you think had more fear? Freedom won in the end. It was always the will to train and fight and develop proper skills that kept this Army on track. The Spartans had a great leader that boosted there pride and motivation throughout the conflict. Spartans knew how to be real men, fathers, husbands and warriors. They fought for their family, country and comrades in arms. Most importantly, they fought for what they believed in. No enemy has ever enslaved their children and raped their women and as long as brave men fight like on that ridgeline then freedom will always be alive.
In 646 BC the Persian armies, led by Cyrus, conquered the Greek city-state of Ionia, in Asia Minor. Despite the mildness of Persian rule, the Ionians did not like their conquerors. The Persians seemed barbaric to the cultured Ionians. The main objection to Persian rule, however, was that Ionians had been accustomed to self-government. The Persian king Darius I, who ruled over the conquered land of Ionia, was an all-powerful ruler. The Ionians never accepted the monarchy, and in 499 BC, they revolted against the Persians. Athens and another mainland polis, Eritrea, sent warships to help the Ionians, but Darius 1 of Persia soon defeated the Ionians. Darius then decided to punish the mainland Greeks for aiding the rebels revolt. Darius was so obsessed with punishing the Greeks that he employed a slave, whose sole responsibility was to say to him three times a day, at every meal, “Remember the Athenians”.
It turns out that the Persians were retreating for good, and the battle had concluded. The late September seas were too rough, the sailing season was coming to an end, and Xerxes did not want to take the risk of losing any more triremes, and, or, troops. The Greek underdogs had done it. Although they did not understand the significance of that day at the time, it was one of the most important days in history, and significantly changed the course of the world we live in today.
In 490 B.C, King Darius made his final push towards Athens. The Athenians were waiting for the Persians to arrive, ready to fight. It seemed crazy for Athens to retaliate against the Persians at this point. Historians still wonder why the Athenians and their 10,000 soldiers stood up to the Persians and their 25,000 soldiers, but this is because of their gallantry. The Athenians valued pride over cowardice.. Athenian men, since childhood, were inspired by tales of the Odyssey, Iliad, etc, and were taught to never turn their back on their country in times of hardships. These books and their upbringing, not only instilled a sense of nationalism, patriotism, and loyalty, but also them strive for fame achievable during war. Although it might have seemed foolish to fight the Persians, the Athenians were intelligent; in fact, they were relying on their strategic intelligence to overcome the difference in their army size. Ultimately, loyalty and the desire for fame inspired the Athenians to take such bold actions. These traits coupled with their intelligence led to the Athenians’ victory.
His leadership is extremely significant to the military through this battle. King Leonidas was the captain and leader of the Spartan and combined Greek armies throughout the Battle of Thermopylae. More importantly he was chosen to lead the military into battle. If a Persian triumph had happened in the Battle of Thermopylae, Athens would have been miserable. The Persians trooped easily though the gory passage and on the capital. Fortunately, the city had been banished to Salamis and a trivial resistance waited for Xerxes. Nevertheless this little protection was rapidly slaughtered and Athens was then scorched to ashes. The folklore of Thermopylae cannot be downgraded to a three-day clash where the Persians who are perceived as antiheroes of this conflict, triumph. The daring "hold to the last man" engagements of the Spartans even later when Leonidas died are recollected to this day. Nowadays at Thermopylae, there are two basic testimonials of the fight. The utmost inspirational is of a Spartan directing his small sword onward. In this battle, the model for a perfect leader is born. When an enormous opponent army approaching to dominate and overpower a society, a courageous and knowledgeable leader who will sacrifice his existence for his nation. Thermopylae was not a confrontation that transformed the way society looks at life. Also, I do not believe that this battle prevented
The Battle of Thermopylae was fought between an alliance of Greek city-states, led by King Leonidas of Sparta, and the Persian Empire of Xerxes I over the course of three days, during the second Persian invasion of Greece. It took place simultaneously with the naval battle at Artemisia, in August or September 480 BC, at the narrow coastal pass of Thermopylae . The Persian invasion was a delayed response to the defeat of the first Persian invasion of Greece, which had been ended by the Athenian victory at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC. Xerxes had amassed a huge army and navy, and set out to conquer all of Greece. The Athenian general Themistocles had proposed that the allied Greeks block the advance of the Persian army at the pass of Thermopylae,
The Battle of Thermopylae, dated back to approximately 11 August 480 B.C.E., compromised of soldiers from Greek Cities and three hundred Spartan
However, during the Battle of Thermopylae, they set aside their differences and fought together against their common Persian enemy (Video 7:00.) Leading the attack against the Persians was Leonidas, the Spartan King. He chose who got to go into battle and was the one who stood and fought until death (Video 7:47.) The 300 Spartans as Thermopylae were not the only ones who fought till death. The king of Persia, Xerxes, was preparing a naval attack on Thermopylae that would “pinch” the spartans into submission by attacking them on both sides of the pass. However, 200 Greek warships were sent to dispel of the Persian sneak attack (Video 9:20.) The warships were lead by Themistocles who was a Athenian politician and a military commander. If Leonidas or Themistocles were to fail in protecting the pass, Thousands of Athenians would become enslaved or killed along with many other Greek city states (Video
The Battle of Thermopylae was one of the first battles that involved the Greeks and the Persians. During this battle, only 300 Greeks faced off against thousands of Persians. The Greeks
Xerxes was not too happy with Leonidas, and as a result, he sent “The Immortals” to attack the Spartans, but “The Immortals” were defeated as well. The Persians attempted with many different methods to defeat the Spartans, from using different animals to chemists and barbarians. These methods proved to be successful because a few of the Spartan soldiers were killed. In Sparta, Leonidas’ Queen tried to convince the council to send reinforcements for Leonidas and his 300 soldiers, but she needs the help of Theron. Theron would only help her if she slept with him, so she did, but later gets accused of adultery by Theron. The Queen killed Theron, but when she stabbed him, a bag of coins spills on the ground with Persian markings. So, they finally agree to send reinforcements and unite against Persia. Also, before the battle began, a terribly disfigured man (Ephialtes) came to Leonidas to ask for redemption of his parents by asking to fight for Leonidas. King Leonidas refuses and Ephialtes’ dreams are crushed. Ephialtes then goes to Xerxes and agrees to show the goat path to the Persians as long as he can fight with them. Once the Spartans reached the Hot Gates,
The Battle of Thermopylae is the historic battle between the Spartan and the Persian army. It is centered around the “300 Spartans” led by their King Leonidas to fight the great Persian army led by King Xerxes. The battle ended with the Persian victorious, with the Spartan’s bravery recognized.
The battle of Thermopylae was in 480 B.C; between the Greek city-states led by an Athenian General Themistocles, a Spartan King; Leonidas I, and Demophilus of Thespiae and the Persian army of Xerxes I. The battle was fought because the forces of Xerxes I and the king of Persia marched through Thrace and Macedon on their way to Greece. The Greek people heard what happened. The Spartans, famous warriors in Greece were enjoying a festival called Carneia. The Greeks numbered between 5200 and 11,200 people. The Persians numbered between 70,000 and 300,000 people (historical numbers) but the Persian army had 2,000,000 men; historical numbers. Sparta’s’ - King Leonidas I was the chosen leader. He
Luckily, Greece was looking for an excuse to rebel, and after encouragement from Aristogoras, followed Miletus and rebelled. The Ionian revolt then spread through many cities, and by 499 B.C., most Ionian cities were independent again. However, the success was only temporary. While the Persian army was slow to mobilize, they were effective once they were in motion. Aristogoras, having planned for this, appealed to the mainland Greeks to help. Sparta refused, but Athens agreed, and sent an entire army plus a navy to help. In 496 B.C., the Ionians and Athenians burned Sardis, and drove the Persians out of Asia Minor. Herodotus says that, “When King Darius was informed that Sardis had been captured and burned by the Athenians and the Ionians… He put the question, “Who are the Athenians?” and, having his answer, asked for a bow. He took it, fitted an arrow to it, and shot it into the sky, and as he sent it up he prayed, ‘Zeus, grant me the chance of punishing the Athenians.’ Having said that, he ordered one of his servants that, as often as a meal was set before him, the man should say three times, ‘Master, remember the