At the Hot Gates : Waldorf Publications : 9781732537293 : 1732537291 : 22 Oct 2024 : Twelve-year old Agis runs away from his training barracks to follow the 300 Spartan warriors that King Leonidas is leading north to stop the Persian advance.  One day, he is captured suspected of being a spy.  They march him back to camp and present the boy to Leonidas.        Once the king is satisfied the boy is freeborn and not an escaped slave, he summons his companions to pass judgment upon him.  Strict obedience is a virtue among the Spartans, and breaking rules is severely punished.  When the Spartan warriors hear of the boy's resolve to join them to fight the Persians, they approve of his high spirits.  Leonidas proclaims the lenient punishment of a single lash, to remind him that a Spartan never turns his back in battle.           One man steps forward to deliver the punishment.  It is the one man Agis has come to see, yet the one man he dreads being disgraced before: his father.  His father,