Introduction
In history there have been many infamous battles. Ia Drang, Guadalcanal, Bataan, Pointe Du Hoc, San Juan Hill, Little Big Horn, and The Alamo are America’s hallowed battles. They are events that shaped our collective consciousness as a nation. One notorious conflict that has shaped the world as the aforementioned have shaped our nation is the Battle of Thermopylae. This epic struggle between the hoards of Persia and the decedents of Herakles decided the course of western civilization. Three-hundred brave, free citizens of Sparta defended the “Hot Gates,” a narrow mountain pass in northern Hellas, against 2 million servants of the self-proclaimed god-king Xerxes. For 3 days, the Lakedaemonians made the savages pay so dearly they lost the taste for battle. However, this heroic effort would prove insufficient and the Persian swarm was too big to fail.
The historical events are compelling on their own but Steven Pressfield creates a truly epic journey in his novel Gates of Fire. Pressfield weaves the tale of Xeones, an Akarnanian by birth, who is the lone Greek survivor of the Persian victory and the Emperor’s captive. Xeones’ boyhood home of Astakos was pillaged and burned by the traitorous city-state of Argos. Through a series of events Xeones finds his way to Sparta and becomes first the servant of Alexandros, a youth in the agoge, then battle squire to the boy’s mentor Dienekes. It is his duties as squire that bring him to Thermopylae. Throughout the novel Xeones unfolds the events of his life in a series of interviews with the Persian royal court recorded by Xerxes personal historian culminating in the last stand of the Three Hundred. It is this story telling technique that makes Gates of Fire is truly a masterpi...
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...o make him a warrior for the greatest military force known to man. Soldiers, past and present, are men who commit themselves to honor and fulfill a duty to serve in combat. That is the true reason Gates of Fire is a masterpiece. Pressfield uses characterization, language and imagery to convey the timeless story, a soldier’s story.
Works Cited
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Pressfield, Steven. "About Steven Pressfield." 17 February 2010. Steven Pressfield-Offical Website. 20 February 2010 .
—. Gates of fire: an epic novel of the Battle of Thermopylae. New York: Random House Inc, 1999.
The Battle of Thermopylae was the first between the Greeks and Persians during the Persian invasion of 480 – 479BC. The Greek force was very small compared to the Persians but was determined to make a stand against the huge army of 300,000 Persians suggested by modern historians compared to Herodotus account of the army consisting of 1700 000 men. The Greeks chose to defend a narrow pass, or gap, between the mountains of central Greece and the sea, called Thermopylae.
As citizens of the United States of America, we are often blind to not only the current traditions of foreign nations, but also the historical traditions of early civilizations. For instance, many have heard of the Greek city-state Sparta; however, do they truly understand the impact of Spartan civilization in history? Sparta is quite unique in its structure and development, and its history offers valuable insight to early Greek civilization. In his novel Gates of Fire, Steven Pressfield works diligently to uncover the realities of life in Sparta during the Persian Wars. Though the novel is a work of fiction, Gates of Fire is astoundingly accurate in its historical detail, and offers readers the opportunity to have a greater comprehension and
The battle of Thermopylae was the Greek’s first stand against the massive army of King Xerxes, and was the most influential battle of the entire war. Up to this point, the Persian army was seen as too massive and powerful to be stopped. The once warring city-states of Greece knew they couldn’t stand against the Persians alone, and knew in order to defend their homeland they would have to unite. A unity of command was agreed upon; King Leonidas of Sparta was chosen to lead the Greek forces. He was chosen to lead because of the unsurpassed warring abilities the Spartans were so well known for made him perfect for the objective of stopping the Persians.
In conclusion, Aeschylus’ Persians has continued to impact the world for centuries upon centuries because it is able to be interpreted multiple ways. In each version, the play centers around the same kernal of truth about identity and belonging and forces the audience to question their privilege—and perhaps, their ignorance—on how war and culture can impact their identity. In any case, all audiences are left pondering the same question that has boggled humans for as long as we have existed: who am I?
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.
The siege, fall and ensuing massacre of nearly two hundred Alamo defenders at the hands of Mexican General, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna y Perez de Lebron’s army of over five thousand was a defining moment in both Texan, and American history. For 13 days against insurmountable odds, a small, but very determined Texan garrison force fended off an equally determined Mexican Army ordered to capture it. I’ll discuss the events and political climate leading up to the siege, key historic figures involved on both sides, the siege itself, along with events immediately following the battle. The iconic phrase, “Remember the Alamo!” would later go on to become a rallying cry at the Battle of San Jacinto.
“Anabasis” represents the best adventure of the Greeks confronting the “barbarian” world. Through his narration in the expedition, Xenophon offers a unique insight to the ritual of the ancient Greek army. The character of the Greek generals, culture of Greek military and religion are described in “Anabasis”. However, Xenophon conceals his authorship by using third-person forms to refer to his own actions during the retreat. He presents himself as one of the most influential role in the Greek army and which a large proportion of the books are centered on him. After Book Three onwards, it was suspected that Xenophon was writing an apologia about his vital role in the expedition and to oppose his critics. He was trying to defend his criticisms over the last few books. He conveyed his royalty to the Greeks and only acted for their benefit.
Gates of Fire is a story about the Spartan way of life and their fight to protect their country. The story is told by a dying Spartan squire named Xeones, who was captured by the Persian army after the battle at Thermopylae. He is telling the story to the Persian king. The story took place around 480 B.C. Xeones began the story in a small town where he grew up called Astakos. He tells of how his town was destroyed and how he was taken in by the Spartans. Eventually he became a servant for a Spartan youth name Alexandros, who was the protégé of Dienekes. Xeones finally became a squire for the Spartan officer Dienekes.
In Herodotus’ The Histories, Xerxes has been an important figure since he launched the invasion of Greece in 480 BC. Throughout the course of the invasion, Xerxes has had many advisors whom he consults and one particular advisor, Demaratus, deserves attention from us because of his Spartan origin and identity. Not only does Demaratus’ personal history greatly shape his interactions with Xerxes, it also gave his comments extra credits and value. His Spartan family background seemed to help him connect with Xerxes on a level that other people are not able to, but in fact I argue that Xerxes does not regard him as a valuable advisor but rather as a character from which Xerxes looks for confirmation and submission, which in turn offers a valuable
Danticat, Edward. “A Wall of Fire Rising”(2009). The Norton Introduction to Literature, Portable 10th ed. Alison Booth and Kelly J.Mays. New York: Norton, 2010. Pg.232-244
Gates of Fire is a novel about the Battle of Thermopylae that takes place in ancient Greece. The novel began by focusing on its protagonist, Xeones, who had died in the Battle of Thermopylae. The Greek god Apollo resurrected him from death so that he could tell the Persian king, Xerxes, the story of his life. Xeones story started when he was just a young boy. His town was betrayed and conquered by one of their allies. He avoided being killed by escaping to the mountains with his cousin, Diomache, and his family’s slave, Bruxieus. The three lived on the mountains for two or three years before Bruxieus became very sick and died. Because of this, Diomache and Xeones decided to go to Athens. Xeones then decided to leave Athens and go to Sparta while Diomache decided to stay.
Today we are living in a world where development has taken such leaps that we cannot imagine how life looked like in the simpler times. Humans have made immense progress in diverse fields. Whether we discuss science, technology, arts, business, or trade, evidence of progression is available in all fields. Nevertheless, we would never understand what happened in the past without one integral area, History. Inventions and discoveries have made our lives simpler, but at the end of the day who are these inventions made for? As a content area, History is an immense and wholesome subject. It encompasses several other areas such as culture, people, ancient developments, anthropology, art, and of course battles and wars. Human history has seen many battles and wars and each of these tells its own unique narration. The 20th century has seen tragic wars fought across the globe that have permanently changed the dynamics of all nations involved. One such war was the First Gulf war of 1990. This war changed the dynamics of the Gulf region permanently and the historical significance of this war is quite high. Though World War I and World War II are arguably the most important wars of the 20th century, the Gulf war is also considered one of the prime wars that the globe witnessed in the 20th century.
The strengths and weaknesses of the Athenian character traits laid out in the “Funeral Oration” are exemplified by the character of Creon in Sophocles’ Antigone, and suggest that Athenians held certain concerns in the Golden Age of their empire.
Politics is fascinating, and the effects it has on literature can be evident, if only seen through discussion of the themes and topics seen in the works of literature. Historically, Athens had converted to a democracy in 460 B.C.E., bringing an end to the rule of emperors and kings. In light of this, during the discussion of historical aspects influencing the works, I came to the realization in the group that Antigone could be seen as a social commentary on the danger of kings. This is seen in Antigone, in which Creon brings upon himself a terrible curse and causes destruction among his citizens. Through the discussion, it was determined that Sophocles intends this play to hint at the dangers of kings and to advocate for democracy. The connections I discovered between historically relevant events and the play itself were fascinating, adding depth and meaning to the work as a
The Battle of Salamis is said to be one of the most important battles in all of history. It was a naval battle fought between the massive Persian army and smaller Greek army in the Bay of Salamis in 480 BCE. This battle was one of the many battles that were a part of the Greco-Persian war. This paper will explore the events leading up to the battle, the battle itself, including advantages and disadvantages both sides had on one and other, and finally will discuss the affects the result of this battle had on each side. Surprisingly, the much smaller Greek army defeated the Persians at the Battle of Salamis. How did this happen, one may ask? Although the Persians appeared to have the military advantage in this battle, particularly in terms of sheer size and numbers, the Greeks successfully defeated them with the help of their leaders, tactics, and many Persian blunders.