Book Review: GATES OF FIRE by Steven Pressfield

Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"Men's pain is lightly borne and swiftly over. Our wounds are of the flesh, which is nothing; women's is of the heart -- sorrow unending, far more bitter to bear. Learn from them, brothers, from their pain in childbirth which the gods have ordained immutable. Bear witness to that lesson they teach: nothing good in life comes but at a price. Sweetest of all is liberty. This we have chosen and this we pay for... Guided by these laws, our fathers for twenty generations have breathed the blessed air of freedom and have paid the bill in full when it was presented. We, their sons, can do no less."

I reread this book on Father's Day because it was one of my dad's favorites. I recall reading this in high school, long before the movie "300" came out, and loved it back then. I love it all the more, now. I recall hearing passages read aloud by my dad, his voice shaky with awe and raw feeling. And only now do I fully realize the enormity of what this book truly is: the records of lives lived with courage and honor, spent in the service of country and not the self.

"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... That which comprises the harshest burden, a king lifts first and sets down last... That is a king, Your Majesty. A king does not expend his substance to enslave men, but by his conduct and example makes them free."

More than an epic tale of battle, of struggle and brotherhood bound by blood, it is also a tale of leadership, and of women's courage. In fact, the book ends with a flashback scene with Leonidas, the king, calling forth the leader of the matrons of the Three Hundred, and explaining how he chose them. (Not for their bravery, but that of their women)

Gerard Butler's and the Three Hundred's Spartan abs aside, this book is waaaaaay better than the Snyder film (which is also glorious, but doesn't have the book's gravitas, and didn't make me weep nearly as much as the book did).

"By our deaths here with honor, in the face of these insuperable odds, we transform vanquishment into victory. With our lives we sow courage in the hearts of our allies and the brothers of our armies left behind. They are the ones who will ultimately produce victory, not us. It was never in the stars for us. Our role today is what we all knew... to stand and die. That we have sworn and that we will perform." 

A perfect 5/5 back then. A perfect 5/5 forever!

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