Aly Brown Military Science 101 Gates of Fire November 8, 2013 Essay Gates of Fire Steven Pressfield

I had always wondered what it felt like to die (Pressfield page 3). Xeones, a greek captive comes back to life after sustaining life threatening injuries and being dead for several hours, is brought back to life by the God Apollo so that he can tell an infantrymans tale (Pressfield page 2), and of the battle of Thermopylae, for King Xerxes. Xeones story is a personal one that tells about his struggle through life, until its end which is met through the battle of Thermopylae. At 9 years old Xenoes town in which he lived was pillaged. His parents killed, his cousin Diomache was raped and his home burned to the ground. Xenoes, Diomache and Bruxieus (the old slave who looked after them), left their damaged town and went to the woods. He taught them about the plants and animals around them so that they could survive. Xenones and Diomache stole food and supplies from different towns and villages so that they could survive. They foraged for food and recused two pups, (Happy and Lucky), who helped them hunt for food. Both of the youths learned to hunt using bows that they had made from supplies that they found or stole. He taught the youths morals and perseverance to live and to fight, so that they take care of themselves. Bruxieus, tried to keep the two youths tame by reciting poetry and by making them promise that they would one day find a town, because if you dont belong to a town then you are nobody. He was a father figure for both Xeones and Diomanche. Xenoes got caught stealing a goose from a farmer and they mangled his hands. After this event happened, Xenoes dreams of becoming a soldier were shattered and he went off into the woods one day to die. Before he froze to death, the God, Apollo fire striker shot an arrow near Xeones and he took it as a sign that it was not yet his time to die. Shortly after this event, Burxieus died. After lamenting his death the two teenagers realized that it was time for them to fulfill their promises and find a city to belong to. Diomache is Xenoes cousin, though she views him as a brother. Xenoes; however, is in love with her. I vowed that I would marry Diomache one day. I would be man enough and warrior enough to protect her (Pressfield page 25). Diomache, does not feel the same way about

Xenoes though. She decided that when it was time to choose a town to belong to that she was going to make something of herself and did not continue to Lakedaemonians with him. Diomache because of her beauty became a handmaid for a wealthy lady who was taken by her beauty and the chance to tame such a wild child. Diomache, later marries another man and has two daughters. After having a vision of the veiled goddess Persephone, she and her two daughters make their way down to a covenant where they work and serve others. Later in her life she was reunited with Xenones and rejected his proposal to run away with him. After his death, she over saw his ashes back to the hill side above the gates where he was given the highest honors. Xenones is determined to become a warrior and after leaving his ruined city and after being crippled; however, he cannot truly be a warrior in Spartan standards, not just because his hands have been ruined but also because he does not have any Spartan blood. He is determined to belong and serve anywhere he can in the Spartan Army. He learns the ways the Spartans fight, shoulder to shoulder and in the shadow of his brothers shield. Training is typically an eight day course in full armor. They practiced staying on line crossing uneven terrains while maintain a wall of shields. They learned how to fight dehydrated, at night with limited visibility and uphill. He learns some lessons the hard way, such as the shield training where Polynikes not only breaks most of the trainees noses but requires them to learn the importance of team work but requires them to attempt to knock down a tree using only their shields and their own strength. He learned how important it is to work with each other and check in each other, through punishments that he and Alexandros and sometimes he and Rooster had to endure when the other screwed up. He learned why the repetition of battle drills in important and why Spartans pay attention to detail when it came to things such as how to hold a shield. Eventually, Xenones proves himself worthy to his master Dienekes and is selected to be his squire and by choice accompanies his master and the three hundred to the battle of Thermopylae. Dienekes, an officer and a platoon leader for an infantry unit is also married to the lady Arete and has four daughters. Dienekes is also the mentor of the youth Alexandros and is in charge of Xenones, (and who eventually becomes his squire). Dienekes has led many troops to battle and has successful won many battles due to his leadership. He cares about the well-being of troops. He is a successful leader because he gives his troops the knowledge to do. He leads by example and thinks through his plans before executing them. The battle of Thermopylae was a bloody battle in which three hundred Spartiate warriors and their allies were called to die. The Spartans set up their camp at the base of a hill which was closed in creating a box like shape and the entrance to this fighting position was known as the gates. The Spartans under the control of their king Leondias lead the army of three hundered troops to battle along with their squires and helots. The king directed his men to build a wall that sat at the entrance to the gate so as to provide cover and the make it more difficult to breech their fighting position. He also identified three bench markers that troops could rally at during battle if they could not hear orders during the battle, these were three rocks, Lizard Stone, Crown

Stone, and Lion Stone. The king during the battle led his troops by example, he worked on the wall, and others joined him. He was the first one into battle and the last one out. His main responsibility and priority was the welfare of his troops. During the battle of Thermopylae the three hundred Spartans took down twice as many of the 10,000 each day of the battle and all by the last day the larger Army retreated. On the second to last day of battle, a leaders recon was established in order to attempt to kill king Xerxes before the 10,000 set out for battle the next day. It was unsuccessful. On the third day of battle all of the Spartans had been defeated. The end result; however, the Greeks won the war between King Xerxes. King Xerxes Navy was not as strong as the Greeks. His General he left in charge of his Army was not a strong leader and died early in the next battle. The Spartans fighting skills and force was stronger that the 10,000 whose equipment was meant for close combat. Also the number of Allies which willing sided with the Spartans was much larger than the troops forced to serve Xerxes which resulted in a bigger Army who wanted to achieve a common goal. It was 10,000 across and 8 men deep verses an Army of 10,000. If I had to do anything differently during the battle of Thermopylae, I would not have had all three hundred troops in the stationed in before the gates. I would have one or two platoons stationed there. I would have had the other platoons flank around the enemy on both sides so that the three hundred were not all backed into the corner. I would have also utilized the hill and would have built a wall and placed archers on top of the wall. I would have on the last day also sent for more troops, to finish off the 10,000. I think that by bringing in more troops who were fresh the Spartans could then finished off the 10,000 much like they did on the second day.
Archers Wall Hill 1/3 of the 300 Wall Gates 1/3 of the 300

The 10,000