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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.
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.
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...
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.
...the Battle of Thermopylae as an example of the power of a patriotic army defending native soil. The performance of the defenders at the battle of Thermopylae is also used as an example of the advantages of training, equipment, and good use of terrain as force multipliers and has become a symbol of courage against overwhelming odds.The fame of Thermopylae is thus principally derived, not from its effect on the outcome of the war, but for the inspirational example it set. Thermopylae is famous because of the heroism of the doomed rearguard, who, despite facing certain death, remained at the pass. Ever since, the events of Thermopylae have been the source of effusive praise from many sources; e.g. "...the fairest sister-victories which the Sun has ever seen, yet they would never dare to compare their combined glory with the glorious defeat of King Leonidas and his men.
Xerxes was a man of power. The Great King of Persia, his empire encompassed the majority of the known world. On his invasion of Greece in the spring of 480BCE, he reportedly commanded a horde of over two million men. Even the Greek oracle at Delphi encouraged prudence in face of such an overwhelming force (7.140). Thus the question arises of why such an army failed to compel Greece into submission. I will explore this with focus on the key battles and the important factors, most notably the timing of the attack, the quality of his expeditionary force and Xerxes’ personal faults.
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,
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, dated back to approximately 11 August 480 B.C.E., compromised of soldiers from Greek Cities and three hundred Spartan
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.
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 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 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 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
Within hours, news had reached Athens of the landing, and they had to make the decision about what to do. After a debate about what should be done, the decision was made to go to Marathon and fight the Persians. A strength of about 10,000 Athenians and 1,000 Plataeans faced a force of about 26,000 Persians. One of the reasons why this was such a significant battle for the Athenians was the way they strategized and overcame the Persians. Instead of using the typical phalanx formation, Miltiades ordered that the middle of the line had only a depth of four soldiers, while the flanks both had a depth of eight soldiers. This meant that the Greek line was as long as the Persian line, and was not able to be outflanked. The line of Greeks walked forward at a steady pace until they reached the line of archer effectiveness (200-400m, according to different sources). From here, they broke into a run to the Persian line. As expected, the middle of the Greek line had started to be pushed back fairly early on into the fight. However, the flanks were able to engulf the Persians. Herodotus says, “They fought a long time at Marathon. In the centre of the line the foreigners prevailed, where the Persians and Sacae were arrayed. The foreigners prevailed there and broke through in pursuit inland, but on each wing the Athenians and Plataeans prevailed. In victory they let the routed foreigners flee, and brought the