Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae
by: Steven Pressfield
Price: $7.99
Prices subject to change.Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Amazon.com Review:
Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by,that here obedient to their laws we lie.
Thus reads an ancient stone at Thermopylae in northern Greece, thesite of one of the world's greatest battles for freedom. Here, in 480B.C., on a narrow mountain pass above the crystalline Aegean, 300 Spartanknights and their allies faced the massive forces of Xerxes, King ofPersia. From the start, there was no question but that the Spartanswould perish. In Gates of Fire, however, StevenPressfield makes their courageous defense--and eventualextinction--unbearably suspenseful.
In the tradition of Mary Renault, this historical novel unfolds inflashback. Xeo, the sole Spartan survivor of Thermopylae, has been capturedby the Persians, and Xerxes himself presses his young captive to reveal howhis tiny cohort kept more than 100,000 Persians at bay for a week. Xeo,however, begins at the beginning, when his childhood home in northernGreece wasoverrun and he escaped to Sparta. There he is drafted intothe elite Spartan guard and rigorously schooled in the art of war--aneducation brutal enough to destroy half the students, but (oddly enough)not without humor: "The more miserable the conditions, the more convulsingthe jokes became, or at least that's how it seems," Xeo recalls. Hiscompanions in arms are Alexandros, a gentle boy who turns out to bethe most courageous of all, and Rooster, an angry, half-Messenian youth.
Pressfield's descriptions of war are breathtaking in their immediacy. Theyare also meticulously assembled out of physical detail and crisp,uncluttered metaphor:
Product Description:
The national bestseller!
At Thermopylae, a rocky mountain pass in northern Greece, the feared and admired Spartan soldiers stood three hundred strong. Theirs was a suicide mission, to hold the pass against the invading millions of the mighty Persian army.
Day after bloody day they withstood the terrible onslaught, buying time for the Greeks to rally their forces. Born into a cult of spiritual courage, physical endurance, and unmatched battle skill, the Spartans would be remembered for the greatest military stand in history--one that would not end until the rocks were awash with blood, leaving only one gravely injured Spartan squire to tell the tale....
Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by,that here obedient to their laws we lie.
Thus reads an ancient stone at Thermopylae in northern Greece, thesite of one of the world's greatest battles for freedom. Here, in 480B.C., on a narrow mountain pass above the crystalline Aegean, 300 Spartanknights and their allies faced the massive forces of Xerxes, King ofPersia. From the start, there was no question but that the Spartanswould perish. In Gates of Fire, however, StevenPressfield makes their courageous defense--and eventualextinction--unbearably suspenseful.
In the tradition of Mary Renault, this historical novel unfolds inflashback. Xeo, the sole Spartan survivor of Thermopylae, has been capturedby the Persians, and Xerxes himself presses his young captive to reveal howhis tiny cohort kept more than 100,000 Persians at bay for a week. Xeo,however, begins at the beginning, when his childhood home in northernGreece wasoverrun and he escaped to Sparta. There he is drafted intothe elite Spartan guard and rigorously schooled in the art of war--aneducation brutal enough to destroy half the students, but (oddly enough)not without humor: "The more miserable the conditions, the more convulsingthe jokes became, or at least that's how it seems," Xeo recalls. Hiscompanions in arms are Alexandros, a gentle boy who turns out to bethe most courageous of all, and Rooster, an angry, half-Messenian youth.
Pressfield's descriptions of war are breathtaking in their immediacy. Theyare also meticulously assembled out of physical detail and crisp,uncluttered metaphor:
The forerank of the enemy collapsed immediately as the first shock hit it;the body-length shields seemed to implode rearward, their anchoring spikesrooted slinging from the earth like tent pins in a gale. The forerankarchers were literally bowled off their feet, their wall-like shieldscaving in upon them like fortress redoubts under the assault of theram.... The valor of the individual Medes was beyond question, but theirlight hacking blades were harmless as toys; against the massed wall ofSpartan armor, they might as well have been defending themselves withreeds or fennel stalks.Alas, even this human barrier was bound to collapse, as we knew all alongit would. "War is work, not mystery," Xeo laments. But Pressfield's epicseems to make the opposite argument: courage on this scale is not merelyinspiring but ultimately mysterious. --Marianne Painter
Product Description:
The national bestseller!
At Thermopylae, a rocky mountain pass in northern Greece, the feared and admired Spartan soldiers stood three hundred strong. Theirs was a suicide mission, to hold the pass against the invading millions of the mighty Persian army.
Day after bloody day they withstood the terrible onslaught, buying time for the Greeks to rally their forces. Born into a cult of spiritual courage, physical endurance, and unmatched battle skill, the Spartans would be remembered for the greatest military stand in history--one that would not end until the rocks were awash with blood, leaving only one gravely injured Spartan squire to tell the tale....
Alternate Versions:
Related Items:
Browse for similar items by category:
- Books » Specialty Stores » Custom Stores » 4-for-3 Books Store » Literature & Fiction » General » Contemporary
- Books » Specialty Stores » Custom Stores » 4-for-3 Books Store » Literature & Fiction » Genre Fiction » Historical
- Books » Specialty Stores » Custom Stores » 4-for-3 Books Store » Literature & Fiction » Genre Fiction » Horror » General
- Books » Specialty Stores » Custom Stores » 4-for-3 Books Store » Literature & Fiction » Genre Fiction » War
- Books » Specialty Stores » Custom Stores » 4-for-3 Books Store » All 4-for-3 Deals
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: 
- Epic last stand of the 300
Written from a narrative prospective, Pressfield delivers an exciting re-telling of the last stand at Thermoplyae.This is a story from the lone survivor of the battle.Even though this is fiction the details of the life of a Spartan soldier are told with vivid details along with the battle scenes.With the money the movie "300" made one would have to suspect that if this was made into a movie it would make millions.You can't go wrong with any of Pressfields books and this one is highly recommended. ... Read More
Rating: 
- Great Book
Loved this book.
Xeo is a child displaced by war, he loses his family and struggles to survive with his cousin (who he loves) and the help and counsel of a blind family servant. He turns to the Spartan way of life to find strength and direction while his cousin moves to Athens in search of a husband.
Xeo hardened by the Spartan way of life, earns respect and confidence, and finds himself at the scene of one of the most heroic military battles in history at the side of a great Spartan ... Read More
Rating: - First person and so much more than just the battle!
My husband recommended this book to me, and since he had never done that before I felt obligated to give it a shot.This is a book detailing so much more than just the battle scene.Following along with the narrator's life and struggles, listening in as the Spartan leaders discuss battle and politics, and being given glimpses into family life moves the story along.My favorite scene involves some of the narrator's hereos discussing what the opposite of fear is.The young mens' final conclusion is that women ... Read More
Rating: - Steven Pressfield's Sparta
<>
This world class strength coach Mark Rippetoe writes at page 192 of his book 'Strong Enough?'. I didn't need any more encouragement to buy and read 'Gates of Fire', which ... Read More
Rating: - An epic tale that recreates history.
Steven Pressfield has given the literary world a magnificent recreation of one of the most important battles of ancient times. His ability to write an accurate and vividly detailed account of the Battle of Thermopylae and the tough choices the Spartan warriors had to face is nothing short of stunning. The book is fiction, but it is littered with historical accuracy that makes the entire story one of the best written. The characters are unique and well-developed which adds to the realism of the story. The book is ... Read More
- Epic last stand of the 300Written from a narrative prospective, Pressfield delivers an exciting re-telling of the last stand at Thermoplyae.This is a story from the lone survivor of the battle.Even though this is fiction the details of the life of a Spartan soldier are told with vivid details along with the battle scenes.With the money the movie "300" made one would have to suspect that if this was made into a movie it would make millions.You can't go wrong with any of Pressfields books and this one is highly recommended. ... Read More
- Great BookLoved this book.
Xeo is a child displaced by war, he loses his family and struggles to survive with his cousin (who he loves) and the help and counsel of a blind family servant. He turns to the Spartan way of life to find strength and direction while his cousin moves to Athens in search of a husband.
Xeo hardened by the Spartan way of life, earns respect and confidence, and finds himself at the scene of one of the most heroic military battles in history at the side of a great Spartan ... Read More
- First person and so much more than just the battle!My husband recommended this book to me, and since he had never done that before I felt obligated to give it a shot.This is a book detailing so much more than just the battle scene.Following along with the narrator's life and struggles, listening in as the Spartan leaders discuss battle and politics, and being given glimpses into family life moves the story along.My favorite scene involves some of the narrator's hereos discussing what the opposite of fear is.The young mens' final conclusion is that women ... Read More
- Steven Pressfield's Sparta<
This world class strength coach Mark Rippetoe writes at page 192 of his book 'Strong Enough?'. I didn't need any more encouragement to buy and read 'Gates of Fire', which ... Read More
- An epic tale that recreates history.Steven Pressfield has given the literary world a magnificent recreation of one of the most important battles of ancient times. His ability to write an accurate and vividly detailed account of the Battle of Thermopylae and the tough choices the Spartan warriors had to face is nothing short of stunning. The book is fiction, but it is littered with historical accuracy that makes the entire story one of the best written. The characters are unique and well-developed which adds to the realism of the story. The book is ... Read More
