What Constitutes a Spartan in Steven Pressfields' "Gates of Fire"

The legendary Spartan King, Leonidas and 300 of his formidable royal body guards, led a coalition of Greek warriors against a much larger opponent, the Persian King Xerxes. Against the odds, the Greeks stood their ground and deterred Xerxes’ Army for three days at the Thermopylae Pass, known as the Hot Gates. Xerxes might have won the tactical battle, yet, the Spartans proved superior training, equipment, and intimate familiarity with the terrain were critical force multipliers. The Spartan power, willpower, and determination came from an undying sense of patriotism and duty. 300 Spartans and countless Greeks may have lost their lives at the Thermopylae Pass, nonetheless their courage rallied the Greek states to fight and prevail against a tyrant. The in-depth preparation, tactical expertise, loyalty, and courage these warriors displayed are the defining factors that made this battle a strategic win for the Greeks and would ultimately lead to the Persian Kings defeat.

The Battle of Thermopylae, it is a story that has been told throughout the centuries. Many have heard of this battle for democracy whether to may be through media or just reading books, which contain information on the battle. This was a battle that took place in 480 BCE, when the mighty Persian Empire invades the free city states of Greece. Therefore in contradiction to this 300 Spartans, and a few other Greeks, assembled to defend the pass at Thermopylae, they did this knowing that death was imminent. This story has brought courage to many and has showed how the 300 Spartans sacrificed everything they had in order to preserve democracy. On that day, if Persia managed to conquer the city-states of Greece, then much of Greek culture would

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).

Published in 1998, Gates of Fire, by Steven Pressfield uses vivid and authentic imagery to tell the intense story of The Battle of Thermopylae. Pressfield is a fictional and nonfictional historical writer and usually writes novels on the perspectives of warriors of ancient Greece, so he would be a reliable and qualified writer on this subject. The story is seen in the view of a warrior who was present through the battle and it is written differently from other historical novels. The insight of Xeones was a unique point of view, which gives this historical novel gives its own originality.

Each Greek writer has a different perspective on how they saw the Spartan culture mainly because a lot of them lived in different time periods. Plutarch absolutely admired the Spartan system their culture and women. Considering he was writing about it 5 centuries after the events occurred so he is clearly not a complete reliable source, although he cites much of Lykurgus which led him to his opinion things such as “there was nothing disgraceful in the light clothing of girls, for they were modest”. Like Plutarch Xenophon also admired the Spartan system and its military force, but gave a brief glimpse of Sparta considering he was an Athenian who went to stay in Laconia. He spoke more of methods that could have made them stronger “and instead

The Battle of Thermopylae was in 480 BC between the Greeks and the Persians. In the both Zack Snyder’s and Herodotus’ version of The Battle of Thermopylae, modern culture and Spartan Culture as well as an allegory is unveiled through film techniques, characterisation and more. The Spartans in the legend have demonstrated the moral, fight for what you believe in the result of characterisation and more. This is emphasised in both Herodotus’ and Snyder’s version of this legend. In Herodotus’ version, spartan warriors were noticed from how they stayed to fight with the knowing of being exposed of a secret passageway.

Education in cultures develops morals, discipline, and structure. Around the world schooling is different for many cultures, and has proven to have a drastic impact on a society. The way historical events are taught, differentiates cultures and countries from each other. This causes societies to know and believe different things about wars, their ancestors, and other world events. Because of these differences, many people have contrasting perspectives on the world, alike to those in the Allegory of the Cave.

The story of 300 is told by a Spartan, named Aristodemus, who was sent away by Leonidas before the final battle. (Link 1) Aristodemus tells the other Spartans the story just before the battle of Plataea, where a united Greek force annihilated the Persian army. The whole story is propaganda to make the Spartans seem like heroes and the Persians like evil monsters. The implication is that much of it is exaggerated for dramatic effect so the soldiers would fight harder. (Link 2)

The city of Athens and the great Sparta were to cities that rivaled each other. Because of the Persian army, they both settled their difference and decided to fight amongst beside each other. Leonidas knew he was out numbered with the amount of Persian soldiers Xerxes had however, in the late summer of 480 B.C., Leonidas led an army of 6,000 to 7,000 Greeks from many city-states, including 300 Spartans (HISTORY.com) to a carefully planned battle site. This place was called Thermopylae or “The Hot

Zack Snyder, the director of 300, which is based on the historical battle of Thermopylae. The movie does have a lot of truth. It is true that there was an epic battle at Thermopylae where King Leonidas of Sparta took 300 soldiers, all with a male heir at home, into the ‘Hot Gates’ where they held the Persian army for three days. Xerxes did have an army of 10,000 men called the Immortals. Ephialtes, he is the one who betray Greece by showing Xerxes men the path that allowing them to surround the 300 soldiers. Not only did the movie portray the battle but it also portrayed politics and the Spartan lifestyle.

The movie 300 centers around Leonidas king of Sparta, who fought and died in the Battle of Thermopylae against the Persian army (“Frank”). The movie had many inaccuracy and accuracy from the written history about the battle, portrayed by the director. From the costumes, warriors, children, and people to the events that took place. 300 was directed as an action pact thriller that exaggerated the facts instead of sticking to historical accuracy. The battle of Thermopylae against the Persians did indeed happen with King Leonidas leading the charge with about 300 soldiers and outnumbered.

Xeones remembers how, while he was nine-years-old, his city-state was attacked and invaded, thus causing him to flee to the mountains with his cousin, Diomache, and bruxieus, an old slave. Miraculously, xeones survives, and in time he learns to be an archer.

The battle name is called Thermopylae, during that time Persian Empire King Xerxes I have about 150 thousand man, and Xerxes conquers and controls everything he rests his eyes upon, he leads and army so missive, it shakes the ground with its march. On the other hand, Greek seems too tiny; as a result, Sparta King Leonidas thought Thermopylae would be the best place to fight with his enemy, and then Leonidas used his wisdom, he funneled them into the mountain pass Hot Gates which is the Thermopylae. Because in that narrow corridor, Xerxes military numbers would count for nothing. However, even Leonidas was the king of Sparta, but he had to follow the oracle. The oracle was told by some strange guys who were living in the mountain. Those

In the final speech to the army of Spartans and Greeks in the movie 300, Dilios tells the men of the brave sacrifice of King Leonidas and his three hundred men who fought and died at the Battle of Thermopylae. Although, they were greatly outnumbered by the armies of Xerxes and eventually were defeated, their story traveled far and wide across the land. Dilios, the last and only survivor of the Battle of Thermopylae, brought their glorious tale back to Sparta, where it spread

The 300 is a fictional retelling of Herodotus’s account of the Battle of Thermopylae from the perspective of Leonidas I and his fellow Spartans. The film is based on a comic book of the same name and is a live action, shot-by-shot visualization of said comic. 300 utilizes stunning two-dimensional graphics and dramatic lighting and camera angles to make the film look more like a moving comic. Both the film and its literary counterpart are full of historical inaccuracies, exaggerations, and modern biases that obscure history, but like the writings of Herodotus, they’re quite entertaining and do an excellent job portraying Spartan life and the gruesomeness of the Battle of Thermopylae. Once more Gerard