Gates of Fire
Throughout history, warriors and myths of legends have defined how a soldier should act in modern day. From Greek mythology’s Hercules to Alexander the Great’s conquest of the Middle East, men have been given prime examples of strength, heart, and a passion for defending their country. In the novel, Gates of Fire, author Steven Pressfield shows an unseen viewpoint of the Battle of Thermopylae. In this novel we see the Spartan army, unlike any other of its time, leading a prime example in strength in individual characters, heavy training and passion for their profession. In the Battle of Thermopylae, Leonidas leads roughly 300 men into a small passage to defend their land from the intruding Persian army. Those soldiers knew from the start the odds were against them, but they still marched forth. In the novel, there is a character named Rooster. He was born a bastard child, who was taken under the wing of the protagonist, Xeones, and grew up to have a family of his own. He was offered a ‘Spartan’ title, but he turned it down, claiming he was Messenian and always will be.1 He was almost an anti-Spartan. Eventually, he becomes banished into Persia.2 In battle, he sneaks into the camp and was beaten for this. Even with the efforts the Spartans did to break him, he still tried to help them after the beatings. Even if he didn’t take the honor, during the battle, he became a Spartan soldier whether he hated them or not. Although Rooster wasn’t considered an official Spartan soldier, there was a bit in him that was. The Spartan army wasn’t just made up of men from Sparta exactly. It was full of men from all over Greece who wanted to fight to preserve their land. Rooster was exactly that, a man strong in his will, fighting to defend the land. If he hadn’t been in the story, there is no telling what would have happened to the army. By telling them where Xerxes’ tent was ended up being a turning point in the battle.3 What made the