Gates Of Fire Sparknotes

The Greek victory against Persia was largely due to efforts of mainly Athens but also Sparta as well. Athens was responsible for the major turning points of the Persian invasions, while Sparta was responsible for the deciding battle. Miltiades, with his skilful battle strategies, defeated the Persians during their second invasion at Marathon, which gave Athens a confidence boost on their military. During the third invasion, when the Athenians were evacuated to Salamis, Themistocles had devised a plan to trick the Persians which had resulted in Persian army without a supply line. Sparta?s importance had revealed during their sacrifice at Thermopylae and at Plataea, where they provided the most effective part of the army.

The Battle of Thermopylae, which Herodotus recorded in his writing The Histories, was one of the most arduous and notable battles of western history. Herodotus was an extremely significant historian who lived during the 5th century B.C. In this primary source writing, he portrays how Xerxes was superstitious and tyrannical, how the battle informs you about the Spartan culture, how the values of Greek promoted society, and he displayed how significant the Persian invasion was on Greek development, for example, their political and intellectual expansion. The Persian King Xerxes

The Persian Wars were a series of destructive and malevolent battles which occurred in the time frame of 490B.C and 480 – 479B.C. The Greek victory over the Persians in the Persian Wars cannot be attributed to only one factor, more it was a commixture of factors. Such factors include unity, leadership, strategy, tactics and the pre-eminence of the Greek soldier. Each contributing factor was to play a distinctive and pivotal role in the various battles to come, which ultimately would lead to the subsequent demise of the Persians.

In all versions of the Battle of Thermopylae, Leonidas and the Spartan army are seen as tough soldiers who grew up under harsh conditions. Spartans typically leave home to begin training on their

In the dystopian fiction novel, Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, fire was utilized as a weapon to enforce censorship, control, and eliminate individuality along with the ability to conceive their own thoughts and opinions. The government deceives the society into believing that books were ammunition in a gun and forbade them to ensure there was no way to access unapproved knowledge. In “The Hearth and the Salamander”, for example, Beatty asserts, “‘Forget them. Burn them all, burn everything. Fire is bright and fire is clean’” which portrays how the he discerned fire to be something that allowed new beginnings as it cleansed and protected (57). While the government deludes the citizens into believing this concept, fire was a tool that allowed

After reigning for many years Leonidas receives the envoy of king Xerxes of Persia. The envoy demands a token gesture of subjugation to Xerxes—Leonidas refuses to be so abased and kills the envoy and his retinue. The following year news of a massive Persian invasion reaches Sparta. Leonidas desires to sally against the Persians with the entire Spartan army but, as required by law, first seeks the advice and consent of the ephors—the elders of

Athens and Sparta had formed a league against Persia. Even with the league, Greece was at a major disadvantage. In the words of Eric V. D. Luft, “Modern estimates put Xerxes's troop strength as high as 350,000. The sheer size of this unwieldy mass contributed to its undoing. (2004)” The Greeks only had 7,000 men. Even outnumbered, the Spartans still showed immense bravery. “When told the Persian arrows would darken the sky in battle, one Spartan warrior supposedly responded, "That is good news. We will fight in the shade! (William J. Duiker and Jaskson J. Spielvogel, 2001) (p. 105)" In 480 BCE, the battle of Thermopylae broke out. The Athenian and Spartans fought for many days but suffered very heavy losses. On the second night of the battle, a Greek traitor helped the Persian army. He informed the Persian army on how to get around the Greek army and attack from behind. Luckily, Leonidas, the Spartan general, was able to guild the Athenian army to safety. However, he returned to Thermopylae to fight Persia with the rest of the Spartan army. “He [Leonidas] sent most of his forces back to Sparta and remained with only a small guard, determined to fight to death. (Eric H. Cline and Sarolta A. Takalcs, 2007) (p. 84)” As the Spartans fought to the death, Athens was evacuated and residents were sent to Salamis. After the Persians defeated the Spartans, they burned

In 480 BC, when the Persian horde, estimated by some historians to range from 300,000 to 1.7 million soldiers, landed on the shores of Thermopylae, the Persian King Xerxes sent emissaries to the leaders of the Greek city-states demanding their surrender and patronage to the Persian Empire (Frye, 2006). Despite the massive threat that was encamped on the shores off the Gulf of Maliakos in small town known as Trachis, the Greeks refused. Sparta, known for their superior military might, were chosen by the Greek leaders to lead a coalition of Greek warriors to defend their homeland from the invading Persian army (Frye, 2006).

Steven Pressfields: Gates of fire is based on a true story of how three hundred courageous warrior Spartans led by their king Leonidas and 700 Thespaian allies held off an army of over one million Persian infantrymen on a narrow pass in Thermopylae Greece in 480 B.C. for seven days. The Spartan Warriors were highly disciplined, physically and mentally tough soldiers that were dedicated to their country and way of life. The three hundred Spartan’s left home one day leaving their families behind, on a suicide mission to buy time for their countrymen to organize forces. Their sacrifice was unparalleled and their dedication and battle skill struck fear in the hearts and minds of their enemy.

Steven Pressfield's The Gates of Fire is set in the fifth century B.C. in Greece. The story revolves around the famous battle of Thermopylae where three hundred Spartans held off hundreds of thousands of Persians, saving Greece. Pressfield creates a fictional story around the battle where one man, a squire named Xeones, survives to tell the Spartan story of the battle and the events preceding it. Xeones, who is the protagonist, tells his life story to the royal Persian historian while in captivity. This life history of Xeones constitutes the body of the book.

Steven Pressfield, author of Gates of Fire, is a passionate philosopher that explores the actions of men over history. He was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, in 1943 to a Navy father and mother. After graduating from Duke University in 1965 he then began his journey in living life for his temporary interests. He interests in the very aspect of war. He contemplates why men have the urge to fight, the drive to kill perplexes him. He connects with his characters, Pressfield says, "It is one thing to study war, and another to live the warrior 's life” (“About | Steven Pressfield”). Pressfield struggles with making a living off of his books he writes, although fantastic reads, he has also had other jobs that molded who he is. Such jobs include advertising copywriter, schoolteacher, tractor-trailer driver, bartender, oilfield roustabout, attendant in a mental hospital, fruit-picker in Washington state, and screenwriter. His interest with Thermopylae is simply because of the intense fascination of the Spartan militia.

Leonidas was the king of the Spartans during the time of the Persian War. The Spartans were the elite of the elite when it came to military strength. One of the greatest displays of his courage and honor was in his last battle, The Battle of Thermopylae. At the Battle of Thermopylae the Persians were trying to come down into Greece through the mountain pass Thermopylae. The odds were heavily against the Greeks with the Persians numbering in the hundreds of thousands and the Greeks only having a couple thousand Athenians and only 300 Spartan warriors under the command of King Leonidas. The Greeks stopped-up the pass with phalanxes and were slaughtering the Persians. The battle was looking like a major victory for the Greeks until the Persians discovered a back-road on a mountain pass and were about to surround the Greeks. King Leonidas told the remaining Athenian Greeks to flee back to Athens while he and his 300 hundred Spartans held off the Persians. The Spartan army caused massive damage to the Persian army by killing off thousands of them. All the Spartans died in that battle, along with Leonidas, but this weakened the Persians and allowed the

Through the manuscripts of Herodotus, an ancient historian who hailed from the mountainous lands of Greece, modern day historians have been granted the ability to piece together the multitude of events that supposedly transpired during the years 480 and 479 BC between the Persian empire and the city-states of the classical Greece (Herodotus). The second Persian invasion of Greece, which took place in the previously mentioned years, was a part of the many series of battles and encounters that made up the Greco-Persian Wars. This invasion in particular, however, probably saw one of the most distinguished battles in ancient European warfare befall. As a whole, the second Persian invasion of Greece consisted of several battles that transpired within a close proximity of one another chronologically. The war itself was fairly short-lived, even for its time, lasting only the course of approximately one year. The battles themselves took place in Thermopylae, Artemisium, Salamis, Platae, and Mycale (Setzer). The Persian invasion forces were led by King Xerxes I of Persia, the son of Darius I of Persia. Prior to the reign of Xerxes I, King Darius I had wanted to take control of ancient Greece. As such, he ordered two campaigns which made up the first Persian invasion of Greece. Much to his hindrance, however, Darius I breathed his last breath before he was presented with the opportunity to carry out a second invasion.

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.

The Battle of Thermopylae goes down in history for being one of the most heroic feats of bravery in any war. The Spartan King Leonidas led 300 Spartan warriors in a fight to block the Persian Army from passing into Greece through a two meter wide pass through the mountains of Thermopylae. The Persian army that vastly outnumbered the Spartans was beat back for two days and during those defeats they suffered heavy losses that outweighed the Spartans 20 to 1. All was lost on the third day after a traitor revealed to the Persian King Xexres that