Gates of Fire is a historical novel by American writer Stephen Pressfield , written in 1998. The book describes the battle of Thermopylae through the eyes of the Xeon period, one of the three Greeks who survived the battle. The book was translated into Russian in 2003.
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Story
A captive is brought to Tsar Xerxes : the only Greek survivor of the Battle of Thermopylae. The king, struck by the valor shown by the Greeks in the battle, wants to know more about the Spartans. Therefore, he orders a detailed recording of the interrogation of the prisoner. The captive, periek Xeon, begins the story from his childhood. Further, he describes how he gets to the Spartans, talks about their way of life, about methods of education, about the method of warfare. The plot reveals the lines of both warriors and wives of the Spartans.
Gradually, the plot approaches its climax - the Battle of Thermopylae, which is described in several chapters. The small combined army of the Greeks held the two-million-strong army of the Persians [1] in the gorge of Thermopylae for seven days. However, because of betrayal, the Persians crossed a mountain trail to the rear of the Allies and defeated them.
In the afterword, the author expresses gratitude to various scholars and historians, in particular, to the director of the International Society of Hoplology, who advised on the weapons and tactics of hoplites. As well as Dr. Ippokratis Kantzios, Associate Professor of the Department of Greek Language and Literature at Richard Stockton College for historical and linguistic consultations.
Recognition
In September 2003, for this book, the city of Sparta made the writer his honorary citizen [2] .
The book is being studied at the US Naval Academy and at the US Military Academy [3]