| Gates of Fire | |
 | |
| Author | Steven Pressfield |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Historical fiction |
| Publisher | Doubleday |
| Publication date | October 20, 1998 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback) |
| Pages | 400 |
| ISBN | ISBN 978-0385492515 |
Gates of Fire is a 1998 historical fiction novel by Steven Pressfield that recounts the Battle of Thermopylae through Xeones, a Spartan Helot and the sole Greek survivor of the battle. Steven Pressfield (born September 1943 in Port of Spain, Trinidad) is an American novelist and author of screenplays principally of Military The United States of America —commonly referred to as the English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Historical fiction is a sub-genre of Fiction that often portrays alternate accounts or dramatization of historical figures or events Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of Literature or Information &ndash the activity of making information available for public view The Doubleday Publishing Group is the fifth largest Book Publishing company in the world A hardcover (or hardback or hardbound) is a Book bound with rigid protective covers (typically of cardboard covered with Cloth An historical novel is a Novel in which the story is set among historical events or more generally in which the time of the action predates the lifetime of the Author Steven Pressfield (born September 1943 in Port of Spain, Trinidad) is an American novelist and author of screenplays principally of Military In the Battle of Thermopylae, which occurred in August 480 BC (and was detailed almost entirely by Herodotus) an alliance of Greek City-states fought The city of Sparta ( Doric Σπάρτα Attic Σπάρτη The helots (in Classical Greek / Heílôtes) were an unfree population group that formed the The Greeks ( Greek: Έλληνες) are a Nation and Ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighbouring regions
Plot summary
At Thermopylae, the allied Greek nations deployed a small force of between four and seven thousand Greek heavy infantry against the invading Persian army of two million. Thermopylae (θɚˈmɒpəli (Ancient and Katharevousa Greek, Demotic Θερμοπύλες: "hot gateway" is a location in Greece The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia Leading the Greeks was a force of three hundred Spartans, chosen by the fact that they were all "sires" - they were fathers to male children, which would preserve their bloodlines after what was likely a suicide mission.
Thermopylae was the only way into Greece for the Persian army, and presented the perfect choke point - a narrow pass bordered by a sheer mountain wall on one side and a cliff drop-off to the sea on the other. This location decreased the advantage of the Persian's numerical superiority, and gave the Greek allies enough time to ready a larger, main force to defend against the Persians.
Though Xeones is critically wounded in the battle, the Persian King Xerxes orders his surgeons to make every effort to keep the captive squire alive. Xerxes I of Persia was a King of Persia (reigned 485–465 BC of the Achaemenid dynasty. The book is Xeones' relation of the battle and events leading up to it to Xerxes and his royal scribe as the Persian army advances toward Athens.
Much of the narrative explores Spartan society, the agoge, which is the military training program which all Spartan boys must complete to become citizens or Peers. The agoge (Άγωγή was a rigorous education and training regime for all Spartan citizens except the sons in the ruling houses The novel also details the heroics of several dozen Spartans, including their king, Leonidas, the Olympic champion Polynikes, a young Spartan warrior named Alexandros, and the Spartan officer Dienekes. Leonidas ( Greek:; "Lion's son" "Lion-like" was a king of Sparta, the 17th of the Agiad line one of the sons Polynikes is a fictional character in Steven Pressfield 's Gates of Fire. Diēnékēs (Dieneces (Διηνέκης (died 480 BC was a Spartan officer present at the Battle of Thermopylae. Pressfield employs detailed descriptions of the Spartan phalanx in battle, as well as the superior training and discipline of the Spartan warriors.
Historical accuracy
While Pressfield numbers the Persian host as two million, Herodotus had numbered them as five million, and Simonides at three million. In the Battle of Thermopylae, which occurred in August 480 BC (and was detailed almost entirely by Herodotus) an alliance of Greek City-states fought Herodotus of Halicarnassus ( Greek: Hēródotos Halikarnāsseús) was a Greek Historian who lived in the 5th century BC ( 484 BC&ndash Modern historians evaluating ancient sources and logistics believe that these are unlikely figures, and calculate the likely size of the Persian force at between 100 to 250 thousand troops, and almost as many support staff.
Also, Polynikes, the 'Knight' of the hippeis featured in the novel is a member of the crypteia at the same time. Hippeis is also an incorrect spelling for Hippies ' Hippeis was the Greek term for Cavalry. Krypteia or crypteia in( Gr κρυπτεία / krupteía, from κρυπτός / kruptós, “hidden secret things” was a tradition involving Such a dual position would be impossible, as the crypteia were drawn from 18-20 year olds and the hippeis from the over-20s.
See also
The Battle of Thermopylae of 480 BC, has long been the topic of cultural inspiration as it is perhaps the most famous military Last stand of all timeDapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic