Gates of Fire

The night following the second day of fighting, 11 men are selected to attempt to assassinate Xerxes. These include Dienekes, Xeones, Alexandros, Suicide, Polynikes, Rooster, and Sphaireus. Before leaving, Leonidas tells Rooster that his family will be freed.

The party is divided into two and reunites once they have all reached the bluff overlooking the battlefield. They sneak their way into the camp; there are so many Greek soldiers in the Persian army that no one pays them much attention. There is a setback when Rooster leads the group to the wrong spot, but they soon spot Xerxes’s enormous tent nearby.

This chapter begins with Xeones’s meditation on the thoughts that go through a warrior’s mind just before combat begins, saying that they think first of their family, then of those already dead, and finally of the gods, before turning their attention back to the present and their current companions.

He remembers how, on the evening following of the first day of fighting, Elephantinos had made his way through the campfires, spreading good cheer, and had made clear his intention to stay and fight with the Spartans.