Gates Of Fire

10 Pages 2446 Words

y by not being there the day his family was killed and therefore this dogged him the rest of his life. Much later in his life Xeones was captured by the Persians at Thermopylae, and was ordered by Orontes captain of the Immortals to tell his story about what kind of men were these Spartans to his Majesty Xerxes. King Xerxes felt that by Xeones telling his story that it may be learned how a relatively small force of three hundred could hold off hundreds of thousands.

Xeones is the major character that ties the entire book and story together. His tale starts at the age of ten when his family and village are destroyed and he and his cousin Diomache along with a blind slave Bruxieus flee into the mountains enduring horrible situations from the brutal rape of Diomache, the cruel torture he suffered at the hands of farmers after he attempted and failed to steal a goose and the death of Bruxieus. Xeones leads us through the varied and sometimes visual world of his life. We follow him through his beatings, his love for his cousin Diomache, his growth into a man and warrior, his friendships as well as his struggle to find his cousin. We truly get to see what life as a squire may have been like through his eyes.

Xeones started out as a young naïve child of ten and as we go through his life through the story/tale he weaves for King Xerxes we learn that he grows up. Not only grows up physically but he grows up and matures into a caring sensitive man who would never leave a friend and truly cares for and supports his friendships as well as the loyalty he feels for Dienekes his master and his masters wife Arête. Xeones shows great compassion and loyalty at the same time for instance when he is ordered not to take it easy on Alexandros when they are fighting/training or he will be beaten, and not to offend his master he doesn’t hold back that much but he also feels loyalty for his friend Alexandros where he does hold back some of hi...