IntroductionIn history there have been many infamous battles. Ia Drang, Guadalcanal, Bataan, Pointe Du Hoc, San Juan Hill, Little Big Horn and The Alamo are America's sacred battles. These are events that shaped our collective consciousness as a nation. The Battle of Thermopylae is a notorious conflict that shaped the world just as those mentioned above shaped our nation. This epic struggle between the treasures of Persia and the deceased of Heracles decided the course of Western civilization. Three hundred brave and free citizens of Sparta defended the "Hot Gates", a narrow mountain pass in northern Hellas, against 2 million servants of the self-proclaimed god-king Xerxes. For 3 days, the Lacedaemonians made the savages pay so dearly that they lost the taste for combat. However, this heroic effort proved insufficient and the Persian swarm was too large to fail. The historical events are compelling on their own, but Steven Pressfield creates a truly epic journey in his novel Gates of Fire. Pressfield tells the story of Xeones, an Akarnanian by birth, who is the sole Greek survivor of the Persian victory and the emperor's captive. Xeones' childhood home, Astakos, was pillaged and burned by the treacherous city-state of Argos. Through a series of events, Xeones finds his way to Sparta and becomes first the servant of Alexandros, a youth of the agoge, and then the battle squire of the boy's mentor, Dienekes. It was his duties as a squire that brought him to Thermopylae. Throughout the novel, Xeones reveals the events of his life in a series of interviews with the Persian royal court recorded by Xerxes' personal historian, culminating with the final stand of the Three Hundred. It is this storytelling technique that makes Gates of Fire a true masterpiece...... middle of paper ......o that makes him a warrior for the greatest military force known to man the man. Soldiers, past and present, are men who are committed to honoring and fulfilling their duty to serve in combat. This is the real reason why Gates of Fire is a masterpiece. Pressfield uses characterization, language, and imagery to convey the timeless story, a soldier's story. Works CitedFrench, Shannon. “The Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield.” Journal of Military Ethics, March 3, 2003. Lee, Richard. “Gates of Fire.” Solander: The Magazine of the Historical Novel Society (2000). Lefkowitz, Mary. “You are here.” New York Times November 1, 1998. Pressfield, Steven. “About Steven Pressfield.” February 17, 2010. Steven Pressfield official website. February 20, 2010.—. Gates of Fire: an epic novel about the Battle of Thermopylae. New York: Random House Inc.., 1999.