Briefly summarize the plot of Gates of Fire.
, the Persian army under the command of King Xerxes went into Greece planning to make Europe part of the Persian Empire. The King's two million troops ran into three hundred men of the Spartan army, squires and helots along with a few thousand allies at the Thermopylae, a narrow mountain pass in northern Greece named for the natural hot springs. The sole mission of this army was to hold off the Persians until the Greek army could get organized and reinforce this small band of Spartans and allies. It was suicide and these Spartans knew it but they also knew that they would die in honor and love for their country and their families would be honored for their sacrifice.
Finally the Persian allies and the royal Immortals surrounded and flooded the remaining one hundred Spartan soldiers. Xeones mortally wounded, is found beneath a pile of dead warriors. Under orders from King Xerxes himself the royal surgeons are commanded to attend to Xeones. Once recovered, he is placed before King Xerxes and his scribes and historians to find out how so few men could hold off two million troops for so long before succumbing to its force. Xeones tells the story of his life and how he came to be to the Spartan army. He tells of the relationships, the training, the brotherhood of men and the culture that creates the most formidable army in the world.
#2. Analyze any three of the major characters (Gobartes, Xeones, Alexandros, Dienekes, King Leonidas, Polynikes, Rooster, etc.) focusing on the following: What motivates the character? What type of person is the character? Does his persona change during the course of the novel? Do you like the character? Why or Why not? Cite examples from your reading.
Xeones.
Xeones was a decent person who really only wanted to avenge the death of his parents and the betrayal of his village by the Argives. He felt that he had failed his family by not being there the day his family was killed and therefore this dogged him the rest of his life.
