Chapter 1 - Honor Summary

The graphic novel opens with a depiction of a small body of men in armor marching in file across broken, rocky terrain. The narrator, speaking in the first-person, plural, voice in the present tense states the body of men is marching from Sparta in Lakonia and the object of the march is for glory and honor. The men are led by a single musician playing pipes. One frame is dated 480 BC. The men wear heavy bronze helmets, carry large circular shields, and are armed with short swords and heavy spears. They are clothed in a red cloak and a simple leather loin strap—and are otherwise naked. After marching for three days in intense heat, one soldier, named Stelios, grows faint and momentarily stumbles. He is reprimanded and disciplined by the troops' captain who beats him for his...