The Lion in the Gateway
by Mary Renault
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Description
Subtitled, The Heroic Battles of the Greeks and Persians at Marathon, Salamis, and Thermopylae, this is a great retelling of those epic ancient battles which shaped the course of Western Civilization. All the great characters are there: Darius and Xerxes, the Persian Kings; the Greeks Themistocles, Alcibiades, and the Spartan for whom the book is named, Leonides, and many others. The book begins with the historical roots of the people of Ancient Greece and how they came to love their freedom show more more than anything else. Recommended for ages 9 - 12. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Recommendations
themulhern A novel of Themistocles, a principal character in these Persian Wars. Although Renault wrote several highly regarded novels of ancient Greece, she did not write one set during the Persian wars, perhaps because so many others had been written already. This novel is one I remember well, and fondly.
themulhern "The Lion in the Gateway" is, necessarily, based on Herodotus's work, "Herodotus: The Father of History" tells the story but also analyzes the text. It's fun where they disagree.
themulhern Same topic; suitable for much the same ages; Renault was an acclaimed novelist, so she sets out to tell a story, much more than Nardo.
themulhern Two books by talented authors written for young adults about the Persian Wars. One is a novel, begins before the murder of Hipparchos, and ends at Marathon. The other is non-fiction and covers the whole of the Persian Wars.
themulhern Really the same subject; one is written for adults, the other for mature children.
Member Reviews
Flawless. About courage, sacrifice, and freedom, also venality.
It's unfortunate that the most popular cover illustration is the only stupid one; it looks like the cover illustration for a Terry Pratchett novel.
It's unfortunate that the most popular cover illustration is the only stupid one; it looks like the cover illustration for a Terry Pratchett novel.
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THE WAR ROOM
813 works; 24 members
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25+ Works 18,936 Members
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- Alternate titles
- The Lion in the Gateway: The Heroic Battles of the Greeks and Persians at Marathon, Salamis, and Thermopylae; The Lion in the Gateway: The Story of Ancient Greece and the Persian Wars; The Lion in the Gateway: The Story of the Persian Wars; The Lion in the Gateway: The Noble Story of the Persian Wars
- Original publication date
- 1964-09-01
- People/Characters
- Leonidas I of Sparta; Hippias; Xerxes I, son of Darius I, king of Achaemenid Empire, married Esther "Xerxes the Great"; Darius I, King of Persia "Darius the Great"; Themistocles
- Important events
- Greco-Persian Wars (499 BCE | 449 BCE); Battle of Marathon (490 BCE); Battle of Salamis (480 BCE-09); Battle of Thermopylae (480 BCE)
- First words
- Greece is a mountainous land.
- Quotations
- All the best we know comes from the freedom of men to think: to think what is right to do, or what is true; to think why these things are so, and bring people round to one's view with reason, not with force.
All justice is logic, argued out in public, good evidence against bad. All science is logic about material things. And the honor of all professions is the honor of free men. The judge of a free people can judge upon the ev... (show all)idence, without threat or bribery . . . The teacher cannot be made to teach a lie which suits someone in power. When these things crumble, civilization is dead within, even though all the people eat off gold. - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)So said Pericles. And if you go to Athens, you will find it true.
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- Members
- 218
- Popularity
- 149,161
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.81)
- Languages
- English, French, German, Swedish
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 11
- ASINs
- 7
