STEVEN PRESSFIELD 0 1 Gates of Fire Gates of Fire 1 2 STEVEN PRESSFIELD Title Page Gates of Fire 3 CONTENTS Title Page 2 CONTENTS 3 Dedication 6 Epigraph 7 Map 8 HISTORICAL NOTE 10 BOOK ONE 12 ONE 16 TWO 22 THREE 26 FIVE 39 SIX 50 SEVEN 55 BOOK TWO 74 EIGHT 75 NINE 88 TEN 98 ELEVEN 111 BOOK THREE 133 TWELVE 134 4 STEVEN PRESSFIELD THIRTEEN 154 FOURTEEN 169 BOOK FOUR 174 SIXTEEN 184 SEVENTEEN 190 BOOK FIVE 200 EIGHTEEN 201 NINETEEN 209 TWENTY 214 TWENTY–ONE 227 TWENTY–TWO 238 TWENTY–THREE 243 BOOK SIX 258 TWENTY–FOUR 259 TWENTY–FIVE 286 TWENTY–SIX 296 TWENTY–SEVEN 303 TWENTY–EIGHT 313 TWENTY–NINE 320 BOOK SEVEN 331 THIRTY 332 THIRTY–ONE 343 THIRTY–TWO 350 THIRTY–THREE 357 THIRTY–FOUR 361 Gates of Fire 5 BOOK EIGHT 373 THIRTY–FIVE 374 THIRTY–SIX 381 THIRTY–SEVEN 390 THIRTY–EIGHT 392 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 401 ALSO BY STEVEN PRESSFIELD 403 Copyright 404 6 STEVEN PRESSFIELD Dedication FOR MY MOTHER AND FATHER Gates of Fire 7 Epigraph Although extraordinary valor was displayed by the entire corps of Spartans and Thespaians, yet bravest of all was declared the Spartan Dienekes. It is said that on the eve of battle, he was told by a native of Trachis that the Persian archers were so numerous that, when they fired their volleys, the mass of arrows blocked out the sun. Dienekes, however, quite undaunted by this prospect, remarked with a laugh, "Good. Then we'll have our battle in the shade." —HERODOTUS, THE HISTORIES The fox knows many tricks; the hedgehog one good one. —ARCHILOCHUS 8 STEVEN PRESSFIELD Map