One day, Xeo is caught stealing from some farmers and is cruelly nailed to a board.Īt this point, Xeo is prompted to make a digression. Xeo hears stories of the Spartans and vows to someday live among them so that he can gain the ability to slay Argives in vengeance.

The three of them flee to the mountains and spend months struggling for survival in the wilderness. After returning to the family farm to bury Xeo’s parents, Diomache is raped by Argive soldiers. They find Bruxieus, Xeo’s family’s slave.

They soon learn that their parents have been killed and that the city has been destroyed. The attack occurred early one morning as Xeo and Diomache were making the journey to the Astakos market. Xeo explains that he was born in the city of Astakos, but just before his tenth birthday, he and his cousin, Diomache, were made homeless orphans by an attack on their city. Xeo begins by explaining that, on the brink of death, he was rescued by the god Apollo and charged with telling the tale of Thermopylae. He explains that he can only tell the tale of an everyday soldier, and Xerxes replies that this is exactly the story he wants to hear. One evening the Greek prisoner is brought before King Xerxes personally. Gobartes transcribes the story as dictated by Xeones (Xeo), a wounded Greek whom the Persians discovered on the battlefield. This is the story of the Battle of Thermopylae and the Spartans who made their final stand there against the Persians, as transcribed by historian Gobartes at the request of the Persian King Xerxes.

Gates of fire spartan