Gates of Fire

This is the title to a fantastic book I'd been meaning to read for quite a while now. The movie "300" inspired me to do so and without question the book is superior. As much as I like the movie - primarily for its unashamed use of over-the-top ahistorical mythology to tell the story of a very real and dramatic event - Pressfield's novel is superior in that it is very much hinged to reality.

More than that, amidst the brutality and gore, the question that continually is being asked, "What is the opposite of fear?" is answered in a most worthy manner, such that an unlikely philosophical exchange between soldiers around a campfire makes sense of what happened at Thermopolaye (and indeed on any desperate battlefield). I won't answer the question for you...though it is obvious.

A further exchange of how Leonidas chooses his 300, sheds glorious light upon history's women who have born far more than the men who carry the arms.

Read it.

Like these guys did:

This is a lofty read for the typical (and quite unfair) stereotype of a "jarhead"...nice to see.

Comments

The Bosom Serpent said…
I was first introduced to the Battle of Thermopylae through this excellent novel. I have since read many of the historical accounts and a great deal about the wars with the Persians and the rivalry between the Spartans and the Athenians.

I would encourage anyone who enjoys the benefits of Western society to read this big and see just how much we owe to the Greeks
2:10 PM
The Bosom Serpent said…
Oops, replace that with "read the book and see how much we ow the Greeks."
2:11 PM
Anonymous said…
Good picture. When I was a young, steely-eyed, barrel-chested, amphibious jungle-fighter (back some 20 years ago) I was always reading. Except, of course, when I was drinking beer and chasing skirts. Like Groucho said, "Outside of a dog a book is a man's best friend; inside of a dog it's too dark to read."
7:43 AM
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