I. SubjectGates of Fire is a story about the Spartan way of life and their fight to protect their country. The story is told by a dying Spartan squire named Xeones, who was captured by the Persian army after the Battle of Thermopylae. He tells the story to the Persian king. The story took place around 480 BC. Xeones started the story in a small town he grew up in called Astakos. He tells how his city was destroyed and how he was captured by the Spartans. Eventually, he became the servant of a young Spartan named Alexandros, who was Dienekes' protégé. Xeones eventually became a squire for the Spartan officer Dienekes. Before becoming a squire, Xeones speaks of the agoge, which is the thirteen-year training program for Spartan youth. It tells of Alexandros and how they became close friends over the formative years. When Xeones becomes Dienekes' squire, all of his duties change and he begins to see more battles. He recounts the many battles he fought in and what they were like. Xeones explains the bravery of the Spartans when they were in battle and what the individual soldiers were like. Eventually, the Spartans learned that the Persian army was going to take over all of Greece. Xeones then explains what the Spartans did to prepare for the invasion. The Spartan army sent a group of three hundred highly trained soldiers to Thermopylae to defend the pass until the rest of Greece could prepare their armies. Dienekes was one of the three hundred sent, so Xeones accompanied him. Xeones explains the battle and how the Spartans fought until the last man was killed. Xeones talks about how he was meant to be the only survivor so he could tell the story of the Spartans' bravery. Because of the S...... middle of paper......that's because it's told by Xeones at the beginning of the story. The soldiers ultimately know that they will fight the Persian army, but they do not know that three hundred of them will be responsible for the defeat of the Persian empire and the saving of their country.IX. Genre Gates of Fire's primary genre is historical fiction. Historical fiction “is fiction whose setting is sometimes other than that in which it is written” (Harmon 250). Pressfield bases the story directly on events from the past. The Spartans existed and the Battle of Thermopylae actually took place. Gates of Fire can also be classified as military fiction. Military fiction is “I need a quote for that.” The story is based on the Spartan army. It describes the many aspects of the military, including training, combat, and the social aspect of the military..