Plot summary

Main article: Battle of Thermopylae

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

At Thermopylae, the allied Greek nations deployed a small force of between four and seven thousand Greek heavy infantry against the invading Persian army, which Pressfield puts at two million (and could have been as many as five million, according to Herodotus, or three million, according to Simonides, though modern historians evaluating ancient sources and logistics determine that these are unlikely figures and the exact size is unknown, but most modern historians believe it to be between sixty thousand and a quarter million). Leading the Greeks was a force of three hundred Spartans -- all "sires," warriors chosen not only for skill, but also because they were fathers to male children, which would preserve their bloodlines after what was to be a suicide mission.

Thermopylae was the only way into Greece for the Persian army — a narrow pass bordered by a sheer mountain wall on one side and a cliff drop-off to the ocean on the other — this location decreased the advantage of the Persian numbers, and gave the Greek allies enough time to ready a larger, main force to defend against the Persians.

Though Xeones is critically wounded in the battle, the Persian King Xerxes orders his surgeons to make every effort to keep the captive squire alive. The book Xeones' relation of the battle and events leading up to it, to Xerxes and his royal scribe as the Persian army advances toward Athens.

Much of the narrative explores Spartan society, the agoge — the military training program through which all Spartan boys must complete to become citizens, or Peers — and the heroics of several dozen Spartans, including their king, Leonidas, the Olympic champion Polynikes, a young Spartan warrior named Alexandros, and the Spartan officer Dienekes. Pressfield employs detailed descriptions of the Spartan phalanx in battle, as well as the superior training and discipline of the Spartan warriors.

Quotes

"Dienekes turned to Rooster. 'And you. The son of a Spartiate hero and you can't even hold a sacrificial cock in your fists without strangling it. You're pathetic. You've got a mouth looser than a Corinthian's asshole and it broadcasts treason every time it yawns...'" (180)

"Even Dienekes grew impatient. 'Why is it in war you can't fall asleep when you want to and can't stay awake when you have to?'" (282)

"'Are you showing off?' The youth snapped to, blinking like a boy awaken from a nightmare. For a full heartbeat you could see he had no idea who Dienekes was or what he wanted. Then, with a start and a sheepish expression, he recovered himself and lowered his shield to position of rest against his knee." (290)

"I will tell His Majesty what a king is. A king does not abide within his tent while his men bleed and die upon the field. A king does not dine while his men go hungry, nor sleep when they stand at watch upon the wall. A king does not command his men's loyalty through fear nor purchase it with gold; he earns their love by the sweat of his own back and the pains he endures for their sake. That which comprises the harshest burden, a king lifts first and sets down last. A king does not require service of those he leads but provides it to them. He serves them, not they him." (412)

Spoilers end here.

Ancient Greece Historical novels