Gates of Fire vs History of the Peloponnesian War: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: Greece, History

Gates of Fire Steven Pressfield · 1998 ★★★★☆ 4.5 387 pages · ≈ 7 h 10 m · Moderate

Godine 480.pr.Kr. kod Termopila (Vruća vrata) na sjeveru Grčke odigrala se najveličanstvenija bitka za slobodu tijekom čitave povijesti čovječanstva. U uskom planinskom prolazu iznad Egejskog mora sukobilo se 300…

Long Now Manual for Civilization New York Times reviewed Historical Fiction Fiction

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Cover of History of the Peloponnesian War

History of the Peloponnesian War Thucydides · 1526 ★★★★☆ 4.0 399 pages · ≈ 7 h 23 m · Demanding

Written four hundred years before the birth of Christ, this detailed contemporary account of the long life-and-death struggle between Athens and Sparta stands an excellent chance of fulfilling its author's ambitious…

Greek Ancient & Classical Sources Criticism and interpretation

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Side by side

The verdict

Readers rate Gates of Fire highest: Gates of Fire 4.5 · History of the Peloponnesian War 4.0.
History of the Peloponnesian War has the widest readership — 41465 ratings behind its score.

Gates of Fire: Check price →History of the Peloponnesian War: Check price →

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How to choose

Just want the better-reviewed one? Gates of Fire 4.5 vs 4.0 from readers New to the genre? Gates of Fire Moderate vs Demanding for History of the Peloponnesian War

Scores by source

	Gates of Fire	History of the Peloponnesian War
Goodreads	—	4.0 (41465)
Hardcover	4.3 (94)	4.6 (7)
Google Books	4.5 (14)	4.0 (1)
Apple Books	4.5 (669)	4.5 (6)
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Reception

	Gates of Fire	History of the Peloponnesian War
Ratings	669	41465
Editions	13	172
Film adaptations	1	1
Want to read	—	85651
Reading it now	—	4308
Written reviews	—	1513
Wikipedia attention	2503	8298
Pages	387	399
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Questions readers ask

Which is rated higher: Gates of Fire or History of the Peloponnesian War?

Gates of Fire has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Gates of Fire 4.5/5, History of the Peloponnesian War 4.0/5).

Which is shorter to read: Gates of Fire or History of the Peloponnesian War?

Gates of Fire is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Gates of Fire (387 pages, ≈ 7 h 10 m); History of the Peloponnesian War (399 pages, ≈ 7 h 23 m).

Which is harder to read: Gates of Fire or History of the Peloponnesian War?

Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Gates of Fire: Moderate; History of the Peloponnesian War: Demanding.