Xeones explained how the Persian army failed the first two days of the battle due to the narrow battlefield and their small shields making them easily susceptible to the Spartans and Thespians “8 footers” or spears. The final chapters are intertwined with not only accounts from Xeones about the battle at the Hot Gates, but also accounts from Gobartes and Xerxes after the defeat of the Greek army at the Hot Gates. Lady Arete not only treated Xeones with respect, but also assisted him in finally getting into contact with his cousin Diomache, who had taken refuge in the Shrine of Persephone in the wake of the incoming Persian invasion. As squire to Alexandros and later Dienekes, Xeones was introduced to Lady Arete, wife of Dienekes. He describes seeing Spartans in battle for the first time, eventually being reassigned to a Spartan Peer named Dienekes, who was a Spartan Officer and platoon commander.
Throughout the book, Xeones recalls the struggles of life in Sparta, including being assigned as a squire to a boy by the name of Alexandros who was in the agoge, the military program all children of Sparta must complete to become Spartan Peers. After Bruxieus’ death, the two eventually happened upon the Three Corner Way, where they parted ways, Diomache headed toward Athens, and Xeones headed toward Sparta. He explains the morning the Argives attacked his city and burned it to the ground, leaving him, his cousin, and their servant Bruxieus to wander the countryside.
Upon regaining consciousness, the man began his story, starting with his days in Astakos with his cousin Diomache. Xerxes ordered his surgeons to revive the man so he can tell the story of how the Spartans and Thespians held off the Persian army. The story begins with the Persian army recovering the Greek Xeones who was clinging to life. Eventually befriending Orontes, Captain of the Immortals, and the historian Gobartes, Xeones died of his injuries, and his remains were returned to his cousin Diomache by Orontes.
The accounts were recorded by Xerxes’ historian, Gobartes, while Xeones himself retold his tale. He was one of three Greeks that survived the battle at the Hot Gates against the Persian army. Gates of Fire is a historically fictional description through the eyes of a man named Xeones that led him to be a squire in the battle of Thermopalye.
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