This is a holy moment. The accounts were recorded by Xerxes' historian, Gobartes, while Xeones himself retold his tale. Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app. Get books for your students and raise funds for your classroom. Steven Pressfield reports receiving many emails from military readers deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq. He was not a superman who waded invulnerably into the slaughter, single-handedly slaying the foe by myriads. Let them embrace their wives and children. What will remain of the Spartans? WebGates of Fire by Steven Pressfield 35,790 ratings, 4.40 average rating, 2,530 reviews Open Preview Gates of Fire Quotes Showing 1-30 of 78 A king does not abide within his tent while his men bleed and die upon the field. . A triumph in historical fiction best describes this stirring account of the famous battle of Thermopylae, told by the lone survivor before succumbing to his wounds, in a logical follow-up to Pressfields Homeric take on golf, The Legend of Bagger Vance (1995). Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. I give it my highest recommendation. It unites him with his brothers and binds them in selfless love, eradicating in the crucible of necessity all which is base and ignoble. He marches into battle bearing only the second portion of himself, the baser measure, that half which knows slaughter and butchery and turns the blind eye to quarter. I didn't know if it was because I just didn't like it, or if it was because it wasn't the right time to read it. When you train the mind to think one way and one way only, when you refuse to allow it to think in another, that will produce great strength in battle., You have never tasted freedom, friend, Dienekes spoke, or you would know it is purchased not with gold, but steel., Gripping and swashbuckling . E-mails come in by hundreds. May the memories of their deeds of honor, bravery and valor never be lost. A job whose primary attribute was self-restraint and self-composure, not for his own sake, but for those whom he led by his example., Habit will be your champion. At Thermopylae, a rocky mountain pass in northern Greece, the feared and admired Spartan soldiers stood three hundred strong. Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae Mass Market Paperback August 31, 1999 by Steven Pressfield (Author) 8,300 ratings See all formats and editions Kindle $6.99 Read with Our Free App Audiobook $0.00 Free with your Audible trial Hardcover $39.17 Other new, used and collectible from $3.71 Paperback In Gates of Fire, however, Steven Pressfield makes their courageous defense--and eventual extinction--unbearably suspenseful. Steven Pressfield brings the battle of Thermopylae to brilliant life, and he does for that war what Charles Frazier did for the Civil War in, When you finish Pressfield's work, you will feel you have fought side by side with the Spartans. The king's forces numbered more than a million strong, and by the time they eventually overcame the Spartans, they had been weakened by several thousand, their momentum was broken, and the word, was forever etched in the lexicon. Let no officer keep to himself or his brother officers, but circulate daylong among his men. Let them, like us, weep tears of salvation and burn thank-offerings to the gods. Beginning at the training fields of Sparta, Pressfield (The Legend of Bagger Vance, LJ 4/1/95) ushers the reader through the climactic Battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C.E, fought by the combined armies of Sparta, Athens, and their allies against the invading soldiers of Persia. Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides. I have commanded an end to the slaughter of these whom today we called our enemies. We will all sleep as I do, in the open. WebThe "Gate of Fire" referred to in the title is that of the narrow pass through which the large Persian army would have to cross to get into Greece. Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. Xeones' tale covers his years of training and adventure as the loyal and devoted servant of Dienekes, a noble Spartan soldier, and he describes the six-day ordeal during which a few hundred Greeks held off thousands of Persian spears and arrows, until a Greek traitor led the Persians to an alternate route. : Even though he is a slave of the Spartans, he begins to admire their bravery and courage. Their picks will prize forth no everlasting architecture or art. A king does not require service of those he leads but provides it to themA king does not expend his substance to enslave men, but by his conduct and example makes them free., The hardship of the exercises is intended less to strengthen the back than to toughen the mind., The Spartans say that any army may win while it still has its legs under it; the real test comes when all strength is fled and the men must produce victory on will alone., He who whets his steel, whets his courage, Persian envoy our arrows will black out the sun Dienekes of the Spartans..Good, then well fight in the shade., This, I realized now watching Dienekes rally and tend to his men, was the role of the officer: to prevent those under this command, at all stages of battle--before, during and after--from becoming possessed. To fire their valor when it flagged and rein in their fury when it threatened to take them out of hand. If you have any interest in ancient history, the ancient Greeks, history in general, warfare, or just plain good writing, you owe it to yourself to read this book. Its society was organized around its legendary army, for which soldiers trained from boyhood. Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae Mass Market Paperback August 31, 1999 by Steven Pressfield (Author) 8,300 ratings See all formats and editions Kindle $6.99 Read with Our Free App Audiobook $0.00 Free with your Audible trial Hardcover $39.17 Other new, used and collectible from $3.71 Paperback No one can remain indifferent to the heroism of the Spartans who opposed the massive Persian army. Brief content visible, double tap to read full content. That part which takes delight in his children, which lifts his voice in the chorus, which clasps his wife to him in the sweet darkness of their bed. WebFull Title: Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae When Written: 1998 When Published: 1998 Literary Period: Contemporary Genre: Historical fiction Setting: Sparta (Lakedaemon) and Thermopylae, Greece Climax: The Spartans last stand against the Persians at Thermopylae Antagonist: King Xerxes and the Persian Army This was a very dangerous option, but it was the only timely route to get into Greece to attack. His friend considers mock-theatrically for a moment. Its fast-paced blending of ethnology, romance, human insight, and military science should generate considerable patron demand. A king does not dine while his men go hungry, nor sleep when they stand at watch upon the wall. Herodotus also tells this story in his histories and it is hardly surprising that a tale of so few holding off an army of so many should be remembered as one of the great military stories of all time. Steven Pressfield's first foray into historical fiction is a masterful account of the battle of Themopylae (thermos = hot, warm, fire; pylos = spring or gate; hence "Gates of Fire"). The behaviour of all the Greeks was heroic, but that of the Spartans was absurdly so. WebGates of Fire by Steven Pressfield 35,790 ratings, 4.40 average rating, 2,530 reviews Open Preview Gates of Fire Quotes Showing 1-30 of 78 A king does not abide within his tent while his men bleed and die upon the field. War, not peace, purges vice. When a man joins the two pieces of his ticket and sees them weld in union together, he feels that part of him, the part that knows love and mercy and compassion, come flooding back over him. That which comprises the harshest burden, a king lifts first and sets down last. You can see what I mean by watching. Highly recommended to me, but highly disappointing. All rights reserved. Thanks in advance everybody! WebAs I said, I don't mind spoilers so anyone who feels like enlightening me feel free. E-mails come in by hundreds. [3]. By persuasion, we hoped. , X-Ray I chose this book reluctantly from my library's audiobook shelf. Instant PDF downloads. The first step toward visiting the Gates of Fire is to travel to Calaglia - Ulzebek and pass through the gates into Kryd Garrison. One of the best book I've read lately. I've read it at least half a dozen times in the past 11 years, and certainly will again. What will they learn about us? a Spartan term of derision which means literally"scorched by the sun." Stunning. The behaviour of all the Greeks was heroic, but that of the Spartans was absurdly so. He was just a man doing a job. Steven Pressfield does for this book what I previously thought was impossible for a writer to do. He explains that the circlet must be destroyed because of everything that is at stake. WebGates of Fire tells the story of Thermopylae, one of the most famous of ancient battles. Before the novel begins, the Athenians had defeated a first attempted Persian invasion at the battle of Marathon. Here is what you do, friends. Book by Elwyn Chamberlain! "War is work, not mystery," Xeo laments. ?Jane Baird, Anchorage Municipal Libs., AK. This novel is Homeric. Xeo, the sole Spartan survivor of Thermopylae, has been captured by the Persians, and Xerxes himself presses his young captive to reveal how his tiny cohort kept more than 100,000 Persians at bay for a week. Narrated by the sole survivor of the battle at the "Hot Gates," in which 300 Spartans, hundreds of their allies, and tens of thousands of Persians died, this work portrays the men and women of ancient Sparta in intimate, dynamic detail. Do not despise war, my young friend, nor delude yourself that mercy and compassion are virtues superior to andreia, to manly valor., That, I saw, was the victory you Spartans had gained over yourselves. A king does not dine while his men go hungry, nor sleep when they stand at watch upon the wall. I read this entertaining 1998 historical novel, which glorifies the ancient military dictatorship of Sparta, in part because it cost only $7.99 for a Kindle download. Driven to understand the courage and sacrifice of his Greek foes, the Persian king, Xerxes, compels Xeones, a captured Greek slave, to explain why the Greeks would give their lives to fight against overwhelming odds. It referred to a type of nearly feral youth, burnedblack as Ethiopians by their exposure to the elements, with which themountains abounded in those days preceding and following the first PersianWar. I was cast originally among the Spartan helots, the serf class thatthe Lakedaemonians had created from the inhabitants of Messenia and Helosafter they in centuries past had conquered and enslaved them. Before becoming a full-time writer, he held a variety of jobs, including teaching, truck driving, and working on an oil rig. I was recognized at least ironically as afreeborn and, evincing such qualities of a wild beast as theLakedaemonians found admirable, was elevated to the status of, a sort of sparring partner for the youths enrolledin the. ASIN This is how we Spartans do it, counterpoising to fear of death a greater fear: that of dishonor. Thanks in advance everybody! To imagine the reality of this tale to be rooted in real history is beyond my ability. Thus reads an ancient stone at Thermopylae in northern Greece, the site of one of the world's greatest battles for freedom. Spartan culture was marked by self-discipline, education and rigorous physical training for both men and women, and democratic leanings. [4], The novel is told from either the perspective of the royal scribe to the Persian king Xerxes, as he records the story of Xeones, after the battle, or in the first person from Xeones' point of view. [2] How the crater formed and ignited remains unknown. Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by, that here obedient to their laws we lie. The Spartans say that any army may win while it still has its legs under it; the real test comes when all strength is fled and the men must produce victory on will alone., You have never tasted freedom, friend," Dienekes spoke, "or you would know it is purchased not with gold, but steel., The opposite of fear," Dienekes said, "is love., War, not peace, produces virtue. Gates of Fire was on the Commandant of the Marine Corps ' Reading list. War is work, not mystery., Dienekes says the mind is like a house with many rooms, he said. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 24, 2021. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. Gates of Fire is a historically fictional description through the eyes of a man named Xeones that led him to be a squire in the battle of Thermopalye. We have embraced the laws of Lykurgus, and they are stern laws. Although modern scholarship holds that Persian numbers at Thermopylae were probably much smaller than the traditional estimation of over one million, the Greeks were unquestionably outnumbered, and the Spartans success in holding off the Persians for seven days is one of the most remarkable such defenses in history. They will peer out across our plain and probe among the stone and rubble of our nation. Unable to add item to List. WebGates of Fire is a 1998 historical fiction novel by Steven Pressfield that recounts the Battle of Thermopylae through Xeones, a perioikos [1] (free but non-citizen inhabitant of Sparta) born in Astakos, [2] and one of only three Greek survivors of the battle. + $25.20 shipping. War, and preparation for war, call forth all that is noble and honorable in a man. Pressfield employs detailed descriptions of the Spartan phalanx in battle, as well as the superior training and discipline of the Spartan warriors. On Monday, while conducting operations in west Mosul, a voice came over the radio saying troops from our brother unit, the 3-21, were fighting with the enemy in east Mosul on the opposite side of the Tigris River. - Ulzebek and pass through the gates of Fire tells the story of Thermopylae, a king lifts and. To Calaglia - Ulzebek and pass through the gates into Kryd Garrison Ulzebek and pass through gates... 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