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S6.E2 - Gates of Fire - Book 2
33 Plays29 days ago
Adam (Stehlin) leads our discussion of Book 2: “Alexandros” from Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of The Battle of Thermopylae by Steven Pressfield.
- Book 2 recap (0:41 - 3:17)
- What are your thoughts on the value of brotherhood in the development of a Spartan warrior? (3:18 - 6:52)
- How does the brotherhood of Spartan culture compare to today? (6:53 - 21:41)
- The guys share some of their hardest training sessions and whether brotherhood was involved (21:42 - 26:51
- The guys share their experiences of mentorship and the benefits they’ve experienced in their lives (26:52 - 30:07)
- What are your thoughts on Leonidis’ leadership style? How does it compare to how you view your own leadership style? (30:08 - 35:13)
Next week we’ll discuss Book 3: “Rooster” (pages 119 - 159).
You can buy the book on Amazon by clicking here.
You can also borrow it at your local library. Don’t have a library card, or unsure where your local library is? Search on Google Maps, or find your local library by clicking here.
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See you next week! Until then - read, reflect, and connect.
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Transcript
Podcast Introduction and Host Introductions
00:00:05
Speaker
Welcome back to the Books Brothers Podcast, that the podcast where longtime friends spread across the country reconnect to the pages of a good book. Each week we dive into what we are reading, sharing our thoughts and perspectives, all while enjoying a few laughs along the way. Whether you're a big reader or just enjoy listening to the discussion, join us as we explore interesting topics, narratives, and connect each week. I'm Adam. I'm Garrett. I'm Rob. I'm Matt. I'm Fluz.
Book Two of Gates of Fire: Alexandros
00:00:29
Speaker
We are currently reading through Gates of Fire, an epic novel of the Battle of Thermopylae by Steven Pressfield. This week we read and are discussing book two, Alexandros. Let's get into a summary. So this book thus far has all been from the point of view of Zionis, a squire or servant of a Spartan warrior, as he is being interviewed by a Persian immortal general after he was captured as the only survivor of the Battle of Thermopylae.
00:00:52
Speaker
So he starts to share his experience with the Spartans going back to six years in the past. He's now 14. So in the in the first book, he was 10. So now he's 14 and he's serving as a sparring partner of a young Spartan his own age named Alexanderus. Alexanderus is the son of war leaders and he's a protege of Dionychis who has a larger role later.
00:01:12
Speaker
Alexander is a member of one of the most noble families in Sparta, but we learn quickly that he is not progressing as a warrior like the other youth and is more known for his poetry and musical abilities.
Spartan Military Life and Alexandros' Challenges
00:01:23
Speaker
In book two, a large portion of the narrative focuses on the agage or military training of Spartan youths. The agage is a harsh system designed to mold boys into disciplined, fearless soldiers. Through this training, some of the Spartan youth die and almost all get other serious injuries.
00:01:39
Speaker
Alexanderos in particular is singled out for amending his shield, and as a result an older Spartan not only punishes him, but all the rest of the youth in training. So during the training, Alexanderos decides to sneak out so that he can see the Spartan warriors in real battle. Zeones is obliged to follow him as he's his servant essentially, so on their journey to battle, Alexanderos is ah able to pry out more information about Zeones story of how he came to Sparta.
00:02:03
Speaker
Zione's talks of Diamache, as we learned from book one, and how they continue to improve and their ability to survive in the hills, Bruxis, not slowing down, is troubled to see that they are becoming increasingly savage. He encourages them to go into Athens and become re-civilized.
00:02:20
Speaker
The pair is not interested in this until one day Bruxese dies. After two summers in the wild, they decide to head to Athens to honor him. But as they are nearing Athens, Diamache informs Ziones that she hopes to find a man and this means that they cannot be together. Ziones, who is heartbroken by this, ultimately decides that he wants to pursue the life of a warrior and in Sparta so they part ways.
00:02:43
Speaker
Alexander Senzionis then make it to the battle, where the Spartans prepare to battle two fellow Greek people groups. The 4,000 Spartans are outnumbered by up to six times. and Nonetheless, the Spartans easily defeat their foe, either through death or surrender. There were only 23 deaths among the Spartans. King Leonides, who is 55 at the time, addresses his men.
00:03:04
Speaker
He honors the fallen men and he reminds them of the purpose of the battle. He notes that the real enemy is Persia and this battle's purpose, which was against fellow Greeks, was to just get their allegiance in fighting of the real enemy.
Brotherhood in Spartan Training and Modern Life
00:03:16
Speaker
So I thought in this section, there was really two, two kind of main things that stuck out to me, the training and brotherhood side of it, and as well as some lessons in leadership. So I first wanted to go into the training side. So in this book, the reader is provided with vivid descriptions of the relentless physical and mental challenges faced by the Spartan boys, which include harsh living conditions, constant drilling and trials that emphasize toughness, loyalty, and sacrifice.
00:03:42
Speaker
The goal of this training is consistently reminded to the youth that they are to endure sufferings and training so they will be able to endure them in battle and that also they are to be one cohesive unit. So with that being said, obviously we see brotherhood playing a very large role in their lives. So I just wanted to see what you all thought about the role of brotherhood in the development of the Spartan warrior.
00:04:04
Speaker
I can see it being very valuable if you have a servant that is supposed to follow you everywhere and prepare you for battle. I think of going to the gym. It's like, Hey man, your only job is to spot him on every set and motivate him for every workout.
00:04:25
Speaker
help him with all his homework, you know, whatever, fill in the blank. I would definitely be stronger than I am right now. You know, I'd be able to do one more set or go to failure each time. It's it's kind of a silly comparison, but it's also not. Yeah. Could you imagine if you're like warming up doing just benching 135 and he's like hovering over you like, come on, man, you got this. And also he's benching more than you.
00:04:52
Speaker
Yeah, because in the story, Zioni's is the better fighter than Alexandros. He's like showing him up and everything. That'll give you a little motivation. Yeah, I just I can't imagine someone being able to bicep curl more than Rob. I think that would just devastate him.
00:05:14
Speaker
But I thought that was cool though, Garrett too, just how they're, they push each other, right? Because there was even that part where Alexandros almost beats him, right? And the guys are like, come on, Ziones, like, truly you're joking around, right? But I think it was serious that he was starting to gain an an edge on him. So it pushes him both. Do you think while we are in the Grand Canyon, we should try the tree effing?
00:05:46
Speaker
you get a shot wait so so Can you confirm that I understood this right? They literally are like, all of you just try to push this tree over. That's what I understood. It's basically an impossible task, but the point is to.
00:06:01
Speaker
Not quit or whatever is that point is brotherhood. Okay. No, I'm just kidding. Yeah, essentially it's to not quit. And obviously it's building up strength too, because you're working together in a line, you're lined up back to back with your shield. So you're working on your strength, being able to push. So when you're in battle, you'll see this later on when they and get to the real battle, but.
Finding Purpose and Balancing Life Priorities
00:06:29
Speaker
It will build up the endurance in keeping that wall that shield wall firm and being able to push. So it's extremely helpful. You're never going to push over the tree, obviously, but it's very valuable. All this training stuff, you're going to see how important it is later on in the battle with the Persians. So just keep that in mind.
00:06:52
Speaker
What did you all think, the example that's given of brotherhood in the book, how would you all say that that this compares to modern brotherhood? You mean like sitting behind a computer and talking to your friends from thousands of miles away?
00:07:08
Speaker
Yeah, again it's probably not just a fair, it's just probably not a fair comparison going back to la last week's episode, right? Where it's like, we're in a day and age where we have grocery stores on every corner. So we're not having to like hunt and gather for food. so it's It's like we're not worried about people from the Northeast, South and the west and West just like literally setting our neighborhoods on fire and raping our women and killing our parents. And burning our churches. Yeah, but it's like if this dude was trying to beat me up every day, you know, or we were getting in fights, it's like, I don't think that I would be friends with that person, you know? Like, I i get that they didn't have this bond.
00:07:54
Speaker
Yeah. And like you see how I thought it was kind of almost comical in the sense of this time that they actually get alone and they're going on this boat across to battle. And then all of a sudden, like, let's talk about girls now. It's like, yeah, it's just classic 14 year old boy stuff, right? Well, at the same time, they're trying to survive from drowning in a freezing cold lake. So they're trying to keep their mind off of death, off of drownings. Talking about anything, literally anything keeps their mind off of almost dying. Yeah, that's fair. I think one thing that I would say this compared to what we're used to in our society, and there's definitely some places where it's true, but it's not often that you that you're with your brothers and you're training with your brothers to failure in this way. And I think that
00:08:41
Speaker
that looks like two different things like have you training with someone to actually see them fail at an exercise or like a lift or on a workout um and then with work too or you know family it's like are you close enough with your brothers that you experience the lows.
00:08:58
Speaker
And a lot of people I don't think do. I think that we tend to, we share the highs, we put the highs out there, um but not the lows as much. And then when it comes to training, I mean, all of us obviously like worked out a lot throughout college together, but it's like most of us probably don't have training partners anymore. And it changes things. I did not really work out in college. Just throwing that out there.
00:09:24
Speaker
Garrett, do you feel this this sort of like war mentality with like a product launch and stuff? like It's all hands on deck. You get it up off the ground. like There's a hoorah moment. There's definitely a sense of accomplishment. I think that probably goes back to what I was talking about in the last episode where and this is not like I'm not proud of it. like Truly, I'm like, ah This doesn't really matter. it's It's hard for me to like feel the stake in the game or and that's what I call it a game. Like it's hard to feel like there's life and death, clear delineation of purpose, non purpose and what I'm doing. I don't know. maybe maybe Maybe I'm weird. I mean, tell me if I am, but
00:10:15
Speaker
When you guys are doing your jobs, or you're like, man, like I am like what I'm doing really matters. I so i personally am in a state now the last few years where I just like struggle with that. Honestly, one of the best things that's happened to me the last month, it has been extremely challenging. But Brooke being horribly sick has really given me some very clear and definitive purpose because she is like non-functioning.
00:10:44
Speaker
And I am taking almost the sole care of the kids, doing most things at the house, if not 99% of them. And it's like, okay, like the family will not move along unless I'm doing it. And that's really been helpful for me. But most of the time, maybe it's during the workday, I can just struggle. And and I'm just being honest. I'm like,
00:11:10
Speaker
Should I push my kids hard to get A's? I probably should because that's what I'm told to do. Or like should I teach my kids to be competitive because I got really overly competitive and I would yell and scream and we talked about that in the athlete mask, right? And but then I'm like going to the point where it's like nothing matters. Maybe I'm just weird.
00:11:32
Speaker
No, I think what you're saying is you've gained a new rejuvenated level of perspective that allows you to look back and recognize that the things that really do matter and the things that are maybe don't matter as much in the bigger picture scheme of things.
00:11:51
Speaker
To some extent, but I think what I'm also sharing is that I'm having trouble figuring out other than being a good dad and a good husband what matters. Yeah, it's hard to start to feel like my work matters. Do you not relate? It's okay if you don't. No, no, I i do relate. I was going to actually like I was thinking of have I felt like I've gone to war before.
00:12:14
Speaker
And yeah, my old job, Haven roads across all of Kansas City, dude, we had, it was from sun up literally around the clock. We did had night jobs. You're talking guys that you would literally go to war with every day to get them what they needed to make sure things were moving efficiently. I mean, we had 140 trucks moving throughout the city and it's like,
00:12:40
Speaker
If I don't do my part right, or if I don't communicate right, we're going to fail. And it's going to be really costly. And it's going to affect and have major ramifications in the city or whatever, right? And so you go to war every single day, fighting for those guys to get them what they need so that we can get the job done. And if you don't, then you're going to feel it.
00:13:02
Speaker
So like, yeah, okay, you're putting an asphalt on the road, much bigger things in life than that, but I would finish my day and go to bed and be like, damn.
00:13:13
Speaker
I just went to war today with these guys. And I think that's what made me miss it so much, or like, that what made me so emotional to leave is because, okay, if you leave like a normal office job and you're like, all right, have a good life, you know, like maybe you made some friends along the way, but man, these were more like my, my brothers in battle that we were just trying to pull off some crazy stuff during the season to make it all happen for the company.
00:13:41
Speaker
And there's this great sense of camaraderie that went along with it that I was doing it for the guy next to me. And it was it was more about that than about like doing it for the the company. I mean, it was all for the company, but you love the guy next to you. You want to get him what he needs.
00:13:59
Speaker
You know, ah whenever I worked at FedEx, I'll never forget that this actually directly relates to this book, but I saw on LinkedIn, like an executive person rode with a fellow courier and they said that we were modern day Spartans.
00:14:18
Speaker
It's just funny, but that job, yeah, I felt like I was going to war every day going to FedEx. I know there's so much camaraderie. You're going in and it's like, you're right. I got to get all this off today. And I got to pick all this stuff up from all these places. And it's the pandemic. And it's like, people need all this stuff. It's a lot of necessities and a lot of violence going on on the road.
00:14:44
Speaker
But yeah, I know that's, yeah, going to war, that job, nothing will ever be like that. You're just united in that singular purpose, right? Yeah, for sure. And when you're doing that with others and you're both united in that purpose.
00:14:58
Speaker
and the And they talk about like ah comedy in this, like the soldiers giving you trouble giving each other trouble in like a funny way, making fun of each other. We did that at FedEx the entire time on the belt, just making fun of each other the whole time. And that laughing just kind of helps you go forward. Jared, I can relate a little bit though to what you're saying. At least I ah did feeling like Work just doesn't matter. But I was actually talking with my older brother. I asked him about purpose and finding like what your ideal dream job is. But essentially your work matters because you have a family. Your job doesn't have to be the end all. This is what I'm made for.
00:15:48
Speaker
You and I, correct me if I'm wrong, but our family, our faith is more important than the actual work that we're doing. Work is important, absolutely. It's part of our worship, it's part of what we're made to do, but the actual job itself doesn't have to be something meaningful. Sure, it has to be something good, but and maybe my position is different. In project management, i can I can support people for what they want to get accomplished.
00:16:18
Speaker
But I don't love it. like That's not what I'm made to do, I don't think. But I do it well because I want to support my family and I want to support them well. So I endure work. I try to do it well so that I can be a good dad and provide for my kids and for my wife, if that makes sense.
00:16:39
Speaker
For sure. I think a lot of the faith aspect is the most helpful because I definitely have been retraining my thought process and my beliefs on the theology of work to that exact point. It's not about finding a dream job. It's the fact that we're co-creators were made to cultivate and create. So part of it is just straight up. Yeah. Having a wrong belief.
00:17:07
Speaker
about, oh, this is important because lives are being saved. This is not important because who cares about a battery powered window blind, but that's not the right question. And that's what I used to ask. It's not the right question to ask. It's about doing your work to the glory of God, creating something new and and not necessarily creating something new, but doing something that adds value.
00:17:37
Speaker
I think of scarcity brain. What does he say? Like a higher number of percentage of jobs are BS jobs. Like he actually says it. And my boss, very adamant about he can get on a soapbox of how there's a lot of jobs where people do work about work, but not actually doing work.
00:18:00
Speaker
And it's been pretty convicting to see, and that may have been part of the problem that my last job is like not feeling like my role really mattered. So it's like, am I even like doing anything valuable here? But I think that's something that I've just been processing lately is.
00:18:17
Speaker
what What should I push my kids to do? Like, oh, yeah yeah, statistically, you're probably not going to be a pro athlete. So should we put them in sports? Well, you learn less and valuable lessons. Like, I probably like overthink it to some degree, but it's also just kind of where I'm at is this this life really does matter.
00:18:37
Speaker
It's it's not about like, oh, like one day we'll get to heaven. I think my theology has been being corrected there. Like what we're doing right now really does matter. And for a long time, I haven't really believed that or have believed it partially or wrongly.
00:18:55
Speaker
And that's why I have trouble identifying with the Spartan culture of being part of something bigger than yourself. The only thing I can tangibly feel is bigger than myself is my family. And like I shared earlier, I thought of something Thomas said about the material mask is I'm looking up now.
00:19:14
Speaker
The divorce rates are higher likelihood if the woman makes more than the man in the marriage. Like there's just like various things that I'm just like processing in real time, gender stereotype roles that don't necessarily apply to me. And it's kind of like really challenged. What's my purpose? What is my value and my family at my job? Things like that. And just being honest, equal guy.
00:19:44
Speaker
What? Ikigai. The Japanese purpose. Oh, yeah.
Book Recommendation and Themes of Language and Colonialism
00:19:52
Speaker
Hey, everyone. It's Matt. We're going to take a quick break from our discussion.
00:19:55
Speaker
We thought it would be fun to have some of us recommend other books that we have already read and likely will not discuss on this podcast. These books will be ones that are memorable and impactful to the person recommending it, and we would love for others to read them too. If you do read one of our recommended books, let us know. Send us a message because we would love to talk about it with you and to know that you at least give the book a try. Today, I'm recommending Babbel by R.F. Quang.
00:20:25
Speaker
Babbel is a powerful exploration of language, colonialism, and resistance. It's set in an alternate 19th century Oxford, and the novel dives into the complexities of translation and how language can be both a tool of empowerment and oppression. Quang's storytelling is not only immersive, but also really thought-provoking, challenging readers to think critically about the ways in which a language shapes our world and history.
00:20:56
Speaker
Babel is impactful because it sheds light on the often overlooked consequences of colonialism and the fight for justice. So if you are interested in history, linguistics, etymology, or social change, this is a must read, I would say. There's a little bit of a fantasy element with magic involved in the use of language.
00:21:22
Speaker
but it's not overpowering, not too deep. Overall, this book was very memorable and makes you think I enjoy reading about the etymology and language and translation. So, Babbel, written by R.F. Quang.
00:21:42
Speaker
Yeah, thanks, Garrett, for sharing. And Matt, thanks for this good input. Well, so on somewhat of ah a lighter note, I wanted to go into so obviously this talks a lot about actually physical training. And um so as, you know, as I mentioned earlier, and as Garrett kind of already was kind of talking little a little bit, we're all pretty active guys. And um except for Matt,
00:22:01
Speaker
I didn't say it wasn't active. I said it didn't work out. I wasn't very active. That's fair. So with that being said though, so for you all, can you share about one of your hardest training blocks and was there any component of brotherhood involved?
Physical Training and Brotherhood Experiences
00:22:18
Speaker
I paused squad at 624 one time by myself though. So there was no brother out there.
00:22:25
Speaker
I just felt like saying that 624, not 625, not 620. Yeah. The conversion is weird because it's, scaling around well, no, it's kilogram plates. So the conversion to pounds is kind of weird. And you know, your next level, if you're squatting in the metric system, all seriousness. Yeah. I think some of my major PRs was, you know, having spotters there that were, I was close to those guys. Yeah.
00:22:56
Speaker
and having that like aspect of like, go, go, go, you got it, you got it, you know. all that stuff. it is It is helpful for sure to have the the your brothers there kind of fighting and screaming at you to keep pushing. So first time I ever did the Murph workout was with a buddy who was a big CrossFitter and I'd never done anything CrossFit related and made me think of that experience because it's a good one to do with somebody else that can keep you going. Yeah, I was gonna say CrossFit is probably the closest thing I can think of.
00:23:32
Speaker
so mean it that so work out thank They're all about community. Yeah. It's nice that everyone does the same thing together and you're pushing each other, trying to get the workout done at a good time.
00:23:46
Speaker
I'll answer it differently. I'm going to go back about 21 years, life-saving merit badge at Boy Scout summer camp. That was incredibly hard to even like qualify to do the life-saving merit badge. So it was like in the water life-saving. You had to like swim six laps around the pool without stopping and had to do certain things. But then like they would train you how to like escape from being from potential people who can't swim and try to drown you and it was terrifying to get these college guys in the pool they circle around you they splash and then all of a sudden boom someone takes you under and you have to use the stuff that they trained you on how to escape.
00:24:30
Speaker
And you had to like cheer on it. It's like, dude, good luck out there. Like you can do it. Like it was scary, especially as a young kid, like, man, I don't think I can get through it. I don't think I can keep swimming. I'm not strong enough to swim all these laps. Then you're swimming alongside other people and.
00:24:47
Speaker
And they would yell at you. I mean, they would like do very challenging things. And then they'd be like, did anyone call 911? And we're like, uh, and they're like, what are you guys thinking? You know, like they like really drove us. Like, it's like, but why would you not call 911? Like how stupid are you? You know, like, didn't we train for this? You know what I mean? Like, uh, anyways, I just remember that being super hard. And I'm like, I don't, I don't know if I can complete this merit badge.
00:25:15
Speaker
You probably could have survived the swim like in the book too. There you go. That merit i that was crazy. I just know I'm just like we were on a cruise a couple of months ago and I'm like, oh, I kind of like this cruise because I can see land. But then I thought about it and I'm like, that is so far away. We would die. There's no way. And that's like I can just picture their experience and the fact that they made it. And I mean, obviously they made it because it's the book, but I didn't know if they'd make it because it's kind of a depressing book. A a lot of people die.
00:25:49
Speaker
A lot of people that. Guys on one of my favorite memories it from college is when we used to do the the weightlifting competition. Oh, yeah. was That was so much fun, man. We had guys every weight class and we won like every year that we were in it. I'm pretty sure.
00:26:12
Speaker
But that was just, you know, you get out there, you're sizing up the other chapter dudes with your brothers and you're like, Oh, we got this. Let's go. You know, i remember Rob at chapter meetings, looking to the smallest guys in the fraternity who clearly never lifted weights and say, come on, man, we need you for the 90 pounds. Just like, all right, man, all you have to do is lift this 25 pound bar but as many times as you can.
00:26:39
Speaker
Now, Rob and I think we both organized this. You literally just had to show up. Some some white classes only had two or three people. So it's like, dude, just the fact that you're here, you got second place. some point yeah um Let's ah get into another kind of theme ah I saw in
Leadership in Gates of Fire and Mentorship Discussion
00:26:54
Speaker
this chapter. That's leadership. So in book two, I believe there's really two great examples of leadership, one in the form of dianikis and the other Leonidas dianikis in the way that he spent time with Alexandros seeking to help him overcome his fears and also in the way that he tended to men in the battle.
00:27:09
Speaker
Leonidas, in the way that he put no soldiers above himself, even though he was the king, in the way he honored the fallen, and he keeps his men focused on the ultimate mission. So, first, with Dionychis, he serves as a mentor to Alexanderus, but also, inadvertently, to Zionis. Can you guys share about some of your experiences with mentorship? What benefits have you seen from it in your life?
00:27:30
Speaker
I think ah like the thing that I can always think of is when Chris flew me and Thomas and Miles out to California in college. I think that was very life-changing. Just having him, Chris as a mentor, and you know someone that's obviously very strong in his faith, but he was very active and worked out. And we all looked up to him back then. I think it modeled like, hey, you can be a bro, but also a Christian, a good dude, and a workout dude all in one. You know what I mean? So I don't know. I think that definitely stayed with me for a while. I had a mentor at my youth group in high school that I really looked up to and he's the reason why I got so into music at church and sound boards.
00:28:24
Speaker
and trying to make music sound good. But he was also a really great mentor for my faith. It really is just in time and investment that he spent with me. Being there and teaching me from his own experience and pointing me to the Bible. He was a worship leader as well, so He taught me a lot about drumming in a band and I've taken a lot of what he taught me throughout the rest of my life. I can still apply it today. I have vivid memories of learning how to play drums at church and him being a really good mentor and just teaching me, leading me how to play drums better.
00:29:06
Speaker
yeah I feel like I've kind of gone in and out of having relationships where I feel like I'm being mentored. And I think for a good portion of my upbringing, I think I was probably too proud and to be mentored in ways that I think I should have been. And I think it's something that I've maybe felt more guilty that I haven't pursued in more recent years and and something that I think it's been on my mind for some time just to continue to look up to like older, wiser folks. And I think I'm doing a better job of trying to cultivate some of those relationships, but your schedule just fills up. But trying to make the time to... you know As Adam you mentioned, really what I heard if you talk about Chris there is that you know he was excelling and doing well in all these areas of life that you
00:29:47
Speaker
looked up to him and and, you know, he was good at his work. He was fit. And yeah, like he had a strong, strong beliefs. I think it's good to have, you know, have someone that you're really aspiring to be. And, you know, like we're talking about Dainiki's where, you know, it's good that it's not just a family member or a father, but to have someone outside that that can teach you those things.
00:30:08
Speaker
In battle, King Leonidas is portrayed as having this humble confidence about him. He's willing to endure what his men endure. And I really believe that makes him a great example of servant leadership. So what do you all think about his leadership style? And then, you know, furthermore, how would you guys describe your own leadership style? That he has an amazing leadership style because he is in the battle. He's fighting alongside everyone else, even though he's king.
00:30:36
Speaker
He's actually one of two kings. Sparta has two kings for some reason. Didn't know that. That was interesting. Then I don't think they mentioned him in the book. Okay. Yeah. So Leonidas is there at the battle with everyone else. And afterwards, once they've won, everyone is, you know, they have those little wooden sticks where each soldier writes their name on a stick and then actually write it on both ends and they break it in half.
00:31:07
Speaker
And so the soldier keeps one on their wrist the entire battle and the other half that they broke off is kept elsewhere with their supplies. And it's a way of finding out who died and who survived in the battle. So if you come back, you match your stick with the other end. And if your other stick is not claimed, then you know that person is dead. So as everyone is getting their sticks back or someone else is picking up fallen soldiers sticks for them, Leonidas gives this big speech and basically says that we're doing this for a reason.
00:31:46
Speaker
It's not for our own glory. And all the brothers who died in this battle are essentially better than us. They sacrificed. their lives so that we could live on. And Leonidas is not taking the glory for himself. There's a huge contrast between his leadership and what Xerxes is portraying himself to be as God. So Leonidas is super humble and great leader, gives a great speech afterwards, reminds everyone why they're there, the purpose, and basically just to stay humble. Don't forget
00:32:24
Speaker
the people that and died for you in this battle so that you can live. Yeah, and he says the very last thing he says is, I think, worth saying. But he says, let those we spare this day stand beside us in line of battle on that day when we teach the version once and for all what valor free men can bring to bear against slaves, no matter how vast their numbers or how fiercely are they are driven on by their child king's whip. He's just reminding them like they're free, like they're fighting for their freedom.
00:32:59
Speaker
And I thought that was really cool. He's really good at reminding them of why they're fighting and what they're fighting for. Like what you said in that. I love this type of stuff. This type of book, just reading about battles and formations and the differences between the Spartans and their discipline and when they bring their six footer spears down from vertical position to horizontal and it's completely in unison and how that is just absolutely terrifying to the enemies. The enemies shaking, literally shaking from fear.
00:33:35
Speaker
And then you see this extremely disciplined group of Spartans coming at you. And yeah. Yeah, that's a cool picture. Lights out. Dunzo. I don't know what my leadership style is. What if people told you, or what would you think? What are some thoughts? I don't know. I'm too humble to be, consider myself a leader. Yeah. I think I, I've, I feel like I've always aspired to practice a servant leadership style.
00:34:06
Speaker
And I've been in a role now where I haven't been leading people for work for almost a year now. And ah it's given me time to just reflect on how I led. And I think one thing that I've reflected on of a flaw of mine is that I worried too much about what people thought of me. And I sought too hard not to rock the boat. And I think those were things that I've taken time to kind of think through and process. And um you know I think that being a servant leader,
00:34:34
Speaker
Again, i've kind of I think I've come to this. Being a servant leader doesn't mean that you're really passive. It doesn't mean that you're trying to make everyone happy, but that it really is that you're putting the best you're putting the best of the whole ah in front of the best of yourself or in front of you know the the best of any one individual, but the best of the whole.
00:34:56
Speaker
and said something for me that, you know, so again, I see this servant style leadership as Matt's mentioning, you know, how he honors the fallen and to me it's, yeah, that's, I see why I've fallen short and just like lack of really strength and lack of the ability to say be very direct.