Gates of Fire Book Report

Gates of Fire is a story about the Spartan way of life and their fight to protect their country. The story is told by a dying Spartan squire named Xeones, who was captured by the Persian army after the battle at Thermopylae. He is telling the story to the Persian king. The story took place around 480 B.C. Xeones began the story in a small town where he grew up called Astakos. He tells of how his town was destroyed and how he was taken in by the Spartans. Eventually he became a servant for a Spartan youth name Alexandros, who was the protégé of Dienekes. Xeones finally became a squire for the Spartan officer Dienekes.

The story provides gritty, graphic detail of life and combat in Fifth Century BC Greece. It fleshes out the history of the actual event at Thermopylae as recorded by Herodotus, and gives the reader a true feel for what it must have been like to fight as a Spartan hoplite in a phalanx against the Persians. Connection between your book and the field of history/social studies This book shows a battle between free men and slaves, many against few, and they both fight for different reasons. King Leonidas of Sparta fights for freedom and his country, on the contrary King Xerxes of Persia fights for individual power and slavery trying to cement his name in the

During boot camp, we were taught about the Battle of Fallujah, but after reading this book, I was able to understand so much better. I was able to picture their tactics, strategies, their emotions, and why the Marines were called the “Greatest Generation.”

The Marine Corps does two things: make marines and win our nation’s battles. Winning battles depend on how well we make marines. Those who have earned the title have been polished and honed by attentive mentoring. We have to remember that to sustain the transformation

This reading is about how the U.S. Marine’s socialize their recruits. How the socialization techniques of the Marine’s are compared to the socialization techniques that have brought me to my current place in life. Also tells why the socialization techniques of the Marine Corps. is so effective. Society as a whole could learn from using trust... Without trust the Marine’s would not be as efficient.

In this research paper I am going to talk about how the Spartan Military influenced our society. You are sure to expect to learn about how it affected how we live on an everyday basis. Also, on how it affected the way the U.S military runs/works. Sparta's military has caused many influences on our modern-day society. This includes on how our military works and fights to how we live every day. In the next paragraph I am going to give a little back ground on how Sparta's military training went.

The author points out various examples of the Corps short-comings throughout history. With the Marine Corps already struggling to stay atop its game, it didn’t shed positive light on the situations. With that said, it’s hard to point out the flaws of the Corps without also showing its achievements and how we can overcome any obstacle we are faced with.

This novel depicts the difference between non-rates, non-commissioned, and commissioned officers very well. It explains their duties and what is expected out of them and shows that if someone excels at those duties they will be entrusted with more responsibility. Every young Marine should read this novel as it shows how one Marine is a puzzle piece in the large picture, and how that one Marine can make or break a

“There are only two kinds of people who understand Marines: Marines and the enemy. Everyone else just has a second-hand opinion.” (Gen William Thornson, U.S. Army) For decades, the United States Marine Corps has established an identity as a unique and fearless war fighting machine.

The subject of this book has affect my life by serving as a reality check of what my Marine predecessors went through in order for me to be able to obtain the deep-rooted fighting tactics today. I will never have to deal with and survive the adversities that the Marines of Fox Company did. It also affected me by teaching me that as a Marine, no matter what struggles may present themselves, I will always thrive and keep fighting.

College history students should read this novel because many of the concepts and ideals of the Spartan culture are presented and described. One of the author’s greatest strength in the novel is his ability to demonstrate the Spartan’s culture through the use of story. For example, readers can often gather from a traditional textbook that the Spartans were one of the greatest fighting forces of their time. This is brought out in the novel when Pressfield describes how “men passed beyond themselves… [and] feats of heart-stopping valor fell down from the sky like rain” (308). This is showing that the Spartans presented great courage, bravery and fearlessness in battle, which is often how they are

First to Fight by Lieutenant General Victor H. Krulak is where the history, reputation, and truth about the United States Marine Corps meet. Within this 252-page book you will find a combination of historical fact, interesting background, and personal recollection from one of the men who helped shape what the Marines are today. The book is organized in seven different sections, each explaining a different facet of the Marine Corps. The first section explains in detail the struggle of the Marine Corps to survive as an entity over its long history. General Krulak explains how the Marine Corps had to fight for its current status as an equal organization with the Army, Navy, and Air Force. Even a series of Presidents were among those who tried

Sparta was, above all, a military state, and emphasis on military fitness began at birth, imprinted through society and the political system. The education of the Spartan male children prove that the military and war was constantly a huge part of Spartan society, and the laws and systems that Sparta was governed by, only enforced the militaristic attitude into the society of Sparta. That the Spartans needed to be ready for war is proved by the discord between the Spartiate and the helots, who outnumbered and under ranked the Spartans.

In the review of “300 Spartans” by Hanson, he described the movie in an overall positive way. The reason Hanson describes the movie in a positive way is because he stresses that the movie captures the physical characteristics and morals of the battle perfectly. Hanson in his review states that the film is inspired by the comic book called “Sin City”. It is here that Hanson describes the movie in a positive way for it mimics important scenery and characteristics of human beings just like the comic book itself. For example we see characters in the movies portrayed just like comic book figures. The text states “ The Spartans fight bare-chested without armor, in the “heroic nude” manner that ancient Greek vase-painters portrayed Greek hoplites, their muscles bulging as if they were contemporary comic book action heroes.” Hanson then goes into describing the scenery of how the greeks fought in the phalanx formation as well as individuals and how Leonidas was left no choice but to let his soldiers suffer. The text states. “The Greeks fight both en masses in the phalanx and at times range beyond as solo warriors… forcing leonidas to dismiss his allies-and leaving his own 300 to the fate of dying under a sea of arrows.” Another reason Hanson describes the movie in a positive way is because the movie captures the moral of the batte. Hason states that this movie isn 't just your typical hollywood film rather that it adapts major themes loosely from the well known battle of

Through Archidamus’ speech given to the Spartans, he is able to highlight the attitude the Spartan soldiers should have towards being courageous. Because of the gruesome nature of war and the sheer destruction and agony resulting from it, Archidamus preaches to his followers and warriors that courage comes with having good jurisdiction over what actions are smart and rational. “Unprepared as we are, where could we get