So will people who enjoy military history, historical novels or stories that inspire. The gates of fire community note includes chapterbychapter summary and. Gates of fire summary from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. A king does not dine while his men go hungry, nor sleep when they stand at watch upon the wall. Steven pressfield is a great writer, but with gates of fire, he reaches a pitch of sublimity that rivals the gods. The main character of the book king leonidas is the one who ultimately decides to take his warriors to the gates of fire to delay the persian army of king xerxes as long as possible. He was a prior marine leaving the marine corps in 1966, he was inspired to write this book based of the resemblance he saw with the marines he served with and the ones he met presently and the warrior culture of. The novel is narrated by xeones, a perioikoi and one of only three greek survivors of the battle of thermopylae. The story is told by a dying spartan squire named xeones, who was captured by the persian army after the battle at thermopylae. The battle of thermopylae between a small force several thousand spartans and their greek allies against an overwhelming army from asia under persian king xerxes command in 480 bc is told by the lone surviving greek a squire named xeones.
Thermopylae is found in the southern part of macedonia. The best study guide to gates of fire on the planet, from the creators of sparknotes. I had no idea what i would do after the legend of bagger vance. This horrid battle between the greeks and the persians takes place in 480 b. Pages 1 118 hello, or as the ancient greeks would say, mega khaire. An epic novel of the battle of thermopylae a thousand years from now leonidas declared, two thousand, three thousand years hence, men a hundred generations yet unborn may, for their private purposes, make journey to our country. Pressfield bases his account of the battle of thermopylae on book vii of herodotus histories, which was written in 440 b. A captive greek, named xeones, dictates his story to a scribe who works for the persian king, xerxes. Gates of fire is an historical novel about the immortal military stand of an elite group of spartan warriors at.
My opinion on this book is that it is a great and interesting read that captures the attention of the. The book revolves mainly around the war between the greek forces against the imposing persian army. Please mention what happened in page 7 how the writer described death thats one of my favorite parts in the book. Gates of fire is a historical fiction novel written by steven pressfield in 1998. Movie rights for this novel have been acquired by universal studios for george clooney and robert lawrences maysville pictures. The book revolves mainly around the war between the greek forces against the. The kings two million troops ran into three hundred men of the spartan army, squires and helots along with a few thousand allies at.
He not only shows leadership through the main plot, which is the final battle place of 300 of spartans finest solders at thermopylae. In my opinion, both lancelot and gates of fire achieved what i think at this point is impossible to find in sff my favorite genre books. Persia was the biggest power of the world in those times and it used all its supremacy to focus on this singe goal. You have a number of spear traps, fire traps and shock traps. Its a work of historical fiction that is about a fictional spartan soldiers account of the battle of thermopylae.
Pressfield, i was wandering through waldenbooks with a coupon in my hand, unable to find any books that i truly wanted to buy when the cover of gates of fire caught my eye. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading gates of fire. The commandants reading list is a list of books that marines are recommended and often required to read. This detailed literature summary also contains topics for discussion and a free quiz on gates of fire by steven pressfield. The tale is told from the perspective of a greek helot, who shares his entire upbringing in the spartan civilization right down to his near death experience at thermopylae. The middle section of the book, which i found interesting but slow, deals with his life in sparta and the training techniques used by the spartans to create what was one of the most formidable fighting forces the world has ever seen. Commandants reading list a complete list usmc officer. Filmrights to gates of fire have been taken up by george clooneys production company. Author steven pressfield is perhaps bestknown at the moment for his book the legend of bagger vance, a story about golf, which has just been made into a film by robert redford. Just move through each section of the traps carefully. Gates of fire characters from litcharts the creators of. Gates of fire is not a book everyone will like due to its course language and graphic battle scenes. Lcdr rorke denver inspired me to immediately order the book and read it cover to cover. Narrated by the sole survivor of the epic battle a squire in the spartan heavy infantry gates of fire is a depiction of one mans indoctrination into the spartan way of life and death, and of the legendary men and.
Going through the left will put you against a shock trap and then some spear traps and a large fire trap. Need help on characters in steven pressfields gates of fire. This battle was said to be one of the first major battles between the united states army and the peoples army of vietnam in which. One day i was reading herodotus the histories for probably the twentieth time when i came to this passage about the 300 spartans and the battle of thermopylae. Gates of fire by steven pressfield name course college tutor december 9, 2015 gates of fire steven pressfields gates of fire is a viscerally detailed tale deriving its title from the battle site of thermopylae, chiefly known as hot gates. Gates of fire topics for discussion steven pressfield this study guide consists of approximately 41 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of gates of fire. Great supplemental information for school essays and projects. Its inspirational and teaches courage and leadership. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Not many would understand exactly why, except, perhaps, a marine. Study questions, project ideas and discussion topics based on important themes running throughout gates of fire by steven pressfield.
Book report of gates of fire by christopher ruiz on prezi. His was not, i could see now, the heroism of an achilles. Gates of fire is a 1998 work of historical fiction by steven pressfield centered around the famous battle of thermopylae 480 bc, in which a heavilyoutnumbered force of native greeks led by the spartans held the invading army of the persian empire at bay for several days. They are meant to help marines develop their personal and professional character. He was a prior marine leaving the marine corps in 1966, he was inspired to write this book based of the resemblance he saw with the marines he served with and the ones he met presently and the warrior culture of the spartans. This is my online journal for gates of fire which is turning out to be one of the better novels ive read intro and chapter 1. Subject gates of fire is a story about the spartan way of life and their fight to protect their country. Get all the key plot points of steven pressfields gates of fire on one page. An epic novel of the battle of thermopylae the hardship of the exercises is intended less to strengthen the back than to toughen the mind. In this book report i will go into deep details of the book and give my point of view on how this book is relating to the united states marine corps. Despite their eventual defeat, the greek forces became renowned for.
He selects three hundred of his finest spartans and departs knowing very well that they will not return. Just as in the reading guide above about how to identify the lessons the book provides about training, the seven questions below have two parts to them. Here are my thoughts on gates of fire by steven pressfield an epic novel of the battle of thermopylae. As a former marine, and a bit of a classics buff, gates of fire speaks to me on so many levels. I understand that most of the character and sub plots are made up, but how well does the book portray spartan culture, and the actual battle itself.
This story takes place in a place called the pass of thermopylae. Gates of fire is a 1998 historical fiction novel by steven pressfield that recounts the battle of thermopylae through xeones, a perioikoi free but noncitizen inhabitant of sparta born in astakos, and one of only three greek survivors of the battle. Nov 16, 2007 this book mirrors the marine corps history of fighting in wars when facing insurmountable odds, and the spartans training as children could remind devil dogs of their time in boot camp. A historian for the persian king xerxes is transcribing this book. Gates of fire gates of fire is more popular now than when it was first published because of the movie 300 which is based on the same historical event, the battle of thermopylae. The a is what you should identify from gates of fire, and b is an opportunity for you to reflect on how are you personally preparing yourself for a leadership role. 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 followup to pressfields homeric take on golf, the legend of bagger vance 1995.
The battle of thermopylae between a small force several thousand spartans and their greek allies against an. Go, tell the spartans, stranger passing by that here, obedient to their laws, we lie. As both novel and film demonstrated, it is a battle that took place from 480 to 479 bc between a small army of spartans versus millions of invading. Gates of fire tells the story of xeones, a captive greek from the citystate of sparta. An epic novel of the battle of thermopylae kindle edition by pressfield, steven. Favorite parts in the book book report sample instructions. Steven pressfield is currently working on a book about alcibiades. Garvey,ainsley 20140216 gates of fire book report in gates of fire, steven pressfield displays perfectly the ruthless training tha t spartan youths had to go through to become apart of a legendary army. In gates of fire, xeo is raised to revere and memorize portions of homers the iliad and the odyssey, epic poems of the trojan war which were written several hundred years before the novels action and are foundational for greek literature and culture. We were soldiers once and young the book, we were soldiers once and young was written by retired lieutenant general hal moore and war journalist and reporter joseph l.
Gates of fire book report lcpl salas anthony m 20160911. How historically accurate is the book gates of fire by. Gates of fire characters from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. Leadership gates of fire by steven pressfield gates of fire written by steven pressfield is a famous historical novel published in 1998.
Gates of fire book report free download as text file. How historically accurate is the book gates of fire by steven pressfield. Jul 26, 2016 just as in the reading guide above about how to identify the lessons the book provides about training, the seven questions below have two parts to them. Smith, hawaii when todays warriors read gates of fire by steven pressfield, they may have a sense of pride well up inside them. Defiance steven pressfields gates of fire retells the thrilling true story of the battle of thermopylae. E platoon gates of fire book report the book gates of fire by steven pressfield is a well written historical fictional story of the war between the greeks and the persian empire. Jun 25, 20 gates of fire is not a book everyone will like due to its course language and graphic battle scenes.
Gates of fire study guide from litcharts the creators of. This 52page guide for gates of fire by steven pressfield includes detailed chapter summaries and analysis covering 38 chapters, as well as several more. This rare but excellent documentary explores life in the great ancient citystate of sparta and its legendary clash with persia in 480 bc. Gates of fire was not quite what i expected, but this does not in any way diminish its attraction. The story starts in medias res after the battle of.
I was expecting a war story with a focus on the mentality of the spartan warriors, and this was indeed a significant part of the book, but it was ultimately more than that. Gates of fire is an historical novel about the immortal military stand of an elite group of spartan warriors at thermopylae against the invading persian millions. Gates of fire study guide contains a biography of steven pressfield, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. When greece prevails at the end of the book, he is nearly killed by spartans, but rooster spares him when he hears of gobartes connection to xeo. The time period is back in the age of warriors, kings, and barbaric hoards fighting over the lands. Scribd is the worlds largest social reading and publishing site. Another one would be when king xerxes has issues sleeping as he is told. The young squire xeones is pulled from beneath a burned battle wagon when the carnage finally ends at the narrow mountain pass where.