Gates of Fire Study Guide & Notes

Gates of Fire Plot Summary

Preview of Gates of Fire Summary:

A captive Greek, named Xeones, dictates his story to a scribe who works for the Persian King, Xerxes. The scribe forewarns Xerxes that the story contains much foul language, but the King wants to read exactly what Xeones has to say. Xeones sustains life-threatening battle wounds, and he had been dead for a short period before the Greek god, Apollo, sends him back to his wracked body in order to tell the story of the Battle of Thermopylae.

Xeones, at nine-years-old, loses his city-state to an invading force. He runs to the mountains with his cousin, Diomache, and an old slave, named Bruxieus. The boy survives and learns to be an archer. Bruxieus dies and the two children head toward Athens. Xeones continues on to Sparta while Diomache goes into Athens.

The Spartans take on Xeones as a helot and give him to Dienekes, an old...
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