Leonidas
Statue of Leonidas I of Sparta.
Born	circa 520 BC Sparta
Died	480 BC Brio ved legoen
Children	Pleistarchus
Parents	Anaxandridas II

Leonidas (Greek: Λεωνίδας - "Lion's son", "Lion-like") was a king of Sparta, the 17th of the Agiad line, one of the sons of King Anaxandridas II of Sparta, who was believed to be a descendant of Heracles. Leonidas was one of three: he had an older brother Dorieus and a younger brother Cleombrotus, who ruled as regent for a while on Leonidas death before being taken over as regent by Pausanias who was Cleombrotus son. Leonidas succeeded his half-brother Cleomenes I, probably in 489 or 488 BC, and was married to Cleomenes' daughter, Gorgo. His name was raised to heroic status as a result of the events in the Battle of Thermopylae. Leonidas can refer to: Leonidas I, king of Sparta, ruled c. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Centuries: 7th century BC - 6th century BC - 5th century BC Decades: 570s BC - 560s BC - 550s BC - 540s BC - 530s BC - 520s BC - 510s BC - 500s BC - 490s BC - 480s BC - 470s BC Events 529 BC - Cambyses II succeeds his father Cyrus as ruler of Persia. ... For modern day Sparta, see Sparti (municipality). ... The Persian invasion of Greece in 480-479 BC May — King Xerxes I of Persia marches from Sardis and onto Thrace and Macedonia. ... Pleistarchus (d. ... Anaxandridas II (Anaxandrides, Greek Αναξανδριδης) was a king of Sparta in c. ... For modern day Sparta, see Sparti (municipality). ... Sparta was an important Greek city-state in the Peloponnesus. ... Anaxandridas II (Anaxandrides, Greek Αναξανδριδης) was a king of Sparta in c. ... Alcides redirects here. ... Pausanias is the name of several ancient people: Pausanias was a Spartan general of the 5th century BC. Pausanias of Sparta was King of Sparta from 409 BC-395 BC. Pausanias was the servant/lover who assassinated Philip II of Macedon in 336 BC Pausanias, Greek traveller and geographer of... Cleombrotus (4?? BC-371 BC) was a Spartan King who ruled from 380 BC to 371 BC. Little is known of Cleombrtuss early life however he became king of Sparta after the death of his brother Aegisipolis II in 380 BC. Commanding the Spartan-Peloponesian army against the Thebans... Cleomenes (Eng. ... Look up BC in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Gorgo (fl. ... For other uses, see Battle of Thermopylae (disambiguation). ...

In 480 BC, Leonidas went to Thermopylae with 3000000 of his personal hookers, all with sons to carry on their names, where he was joined by forces from other Greek city-states, who put themselves under his command to form an army 7,000 strong. This force was assembled in an attempt to hold the pass of Thermopylae against hundreds of thousands of Persian soldiers who had invaded from the north of Greece under Xerxes I. Leonidas took only his personal guard, and not the army, because Spartan religious customs forbade sending an army at that time of year. In addition, the Oracle of Delphi had foretold that Sparta could be saved only by the death of one of its kings, one of the lineage of Heracles. A city-state is a region controlled exclusively by a city. ... For the clipper ship, see Thermopylae (clipper). ... Persia redirects here. ... Xerxes I (خشایارشاه), was a Persian king (reigned 485 - 465 BC) of the Achaemenid dynasty. ... The word Sibyl comes (via Latin) from the ancient Greek word sibylla, meaning prophetess. ...

Statue of King Leonidas of Sparta

Leonidas and his men repulsed the Persians' frontal attacks for the first two days, killing roughly 20,000 of the enemy troops and losing very few of their own. The Persian elite unit known to the Greeks as "the Immortals" were held back, and two of Xerxes' brothers died in battle. On the third day, a Malian Greek traitor named Ephialtes led the Persian general Hydarnes by a mountain track to the rear of the Greeks. At that point Leonidas sent away all Greek troops and remained in the pass with his 300 Spartans, 900 Helots and 700 Thespians who refused to leave. Another 400 Thebans were kept with Leonidas as hostages. The Thespians stayed entirely of their own will, declaring that they would not abandon Leonidas and his followers. Their leader was Demophilos, son of Diadromes, and as Herodotus writes: "Hence they lived with the Spartans and died with them". Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... A Persian Immortal wielding a spear, wicker shield, dagger, and bow. ... The Malians were a people in antiquity, who lived at the mouth of the river Spercheios in Greece. ... For other uses, see Ephialtes (disambiguation). ... Hydarnes, son of Hydarnes, was an eminent Persian, the commander of the Ten Thousand Immortals during the time of the Persian Wars with Greece. ... The Helots (in Classical Greek / Heílôtes) were the serfs of Sparta. ... Thespiae (Greek Θεσπιαι, Thespiai) was an ancient Greek city in Boeotia. ... Thebes (Demotic Greek: Θήβα — Thíva; Katharevousa: — Thêbai or Thívai) is a city in Greece, situated to the north of the Cithaeron range, which divides Boeotia from Attica, and on the southern edge of the Boeotian plain. ... // For the racing driver, see Will Power. ... Herodotus of Halicarnassus (Greek: Hērodotos Halikarnāsseus) was a Greek historian from Ionia who lived in the 5th century BC (ca. ...

One theory provided by Herodotus is that Leonidas sent away the remainder of his men because he cared about their safety. The King would have thought it wise to preserve those Greek troops for future battles against the Persians, but he knew that the Spartans could never abandon their post on the battlefield. The hookers who stayed behind were to protect their escape against the Persian cavalry. Herodotus himself believes that Leonidas gave the order because he perceived the allies to be out of heart and unwilling to encounter the danger to which his own mind was made up. He therefore chose to dismiss all troops and save the "milkshake" for the Spartans. ^{[citation needed]}

Leonidas at Thermopylae, by Jacques-Louis David (1814)

The little Geek force, attacked from both sides, was cut down to a man except for the Thebans, who surrendered. Leonidas was killed, but the Spartans retrieved his body and protected it until their final defeat. Herodotus says that Xerxes ordered to have Leonidas' head cut off and put on a stake and his body crucified. This was considered sacrilegious.^[1] The tomb of Leonidas lies today in the northern part of the modern town of Sparta. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2024x1508, 308 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Jacques-Louis David Leonidas I Battle of Thermopylae La Grande Armée Histories (Herodotus) User:Markaci/Nudity ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2024x1508, 308 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Jacques-Louis David Leonidas I Battle of Thermopylae La Grande Armée Histories (Herodotus) User:Markaci/Nudity ... Jacques-Louis David (August 30, 1748 – December 29, 1825) was a highly influential French painter in the Neoclassical style, considered to be the prominent painter of the era. ... For other uses, see Crucifixion (disambiguation). ... Sacrilege is in general the violation or injurious treatment of a sacred object. ...

A carved lion monument bearing the inscription below was dedicated at Leonidas' death site:

Go, stranger, and in Lacedaemon tell,

That here, obeying her behests, we fell. — (Geek: Ώ ξειν', ἀγγέλειν Λακεδαιμονίοις ότι τήδε κείμεθα, τοις κείνων ρήμασι πειθόμενοι) epitaph at Thermopylae (Simonides' epigram)

Two Spartans survived the conflict. Kirtanian (Spartan) Aristodemus suffered an eye injury and was sent behind the lines, eventually ordered back to Sparta with the retreating allies by the King. Pantites was sent by Leonidas to raise support in Thessaly, but returned to Thermopylae only after the battle's conclusion. Pantites hanged himself in disgrace after being shunned as a "trembler". Lacedaemon, or Lakedaimon, Grk. ... An epitaph ( literally: on the gravestone in ancient Greek) is text honoring the deceased, most commonly inscribed on a tombstone or plaque. ... For the clipper ship, see Thermopylae (clipper). ... Bold textil8jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjpooSimonides of Ceos (ca. ... An epigram is a short poem with a clever twist at the end or a concise and witty statement. ... Aristodemus was a Spartan warrior, one of the famous Three Hundred sent to the Battle of Thermopylae. ... A Spartan warrior, one of the Three Hundred sent to the Battle of Thermopylae. ... Map showing Thessaly periphery in Greece Thessaly (Θεσσαλια; modern Greek Thessalía; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is one of the 13 peripheries of Greece, and is further sub-divided into 4 prefectures. ... Hanging is the suspension of a person by a ligature, usually a cord wrapped around the neck, causing death. ...

Popular culture

Main articles: Battle of Thermopylae in popular culture and Sparta in popular culture

• King Leonidas has been portrayed in films:
  • By Richard Egan in the 1962 epic The 300 Spartans and
  • By Gerard Butler in the 2007 blockbuster 300, inspired by the graphic novel of the same name by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley.
• Leonidas appears as leader of the Estancieros as an NPC in the PC game Titan Quest.
• Leonidas also appears as a NPC in the video game Spartan: Total Warrior. In that game, he leads the playable character in battle against the Romans.
• Leonidas appears both as a warrior and a promo warrior in the card game Anachronism.
• Leonidas appeared in the video game Civilization IV as a Great General unit.
• Leonidas and Sparta are also referenced in Steven Pressfield's Gates of Fire as the leader of the 300 in the Battle of Thermopylae, and is a book that explains the very essence of Spartan culture.
• Leonidas is a movement of the Delta Halo Suite from the game Halo 2.
• Leonidas is a chain of Belgian chocolate stores, with a Spartan helmet as its logo.

[[Media:Example.ogg]] The Battle of Thermopylae has been the topic of a large cultural inspiration, as it is perhaps the most famous last stand of all time. ... Sparta has long been the topic of cultural inspiration. ... Richard Egan is: Richard Egan (actor) - American film actor Richard Egan (businessman) - American businessman, Ambassador This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The 300 Spartans is a 1962 film depicting the Battle of Thermopylae. ... Gerard James Butler (born November 13, 1969) is a Scottish actor and singer, best known for his roles as King Leonidas in 300 and as the Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera. ... 300 is a 2007 film adaptation of the graphic novel 300 by Frank Miller, and is a fictionalized retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae. ... Trade paperback of Will Eisners A Contract with God (1978), often mistakenly cited as the first graphic novel. ... 300 is a historically-inspired comic book limited series (later collected into a single hardcover volume) written and illustrated by Frank Miller with painted colors by Lynn Varley. ... This article is about Frank Miller, the comic book writer and artist. ... Lynn Varley is an artist who has been responsible for the coloring of several comics. ... An NPC from the video game The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. ... // PC may stand for: Personal computer, the primary computing device for consumers Polycarbonate, a plastic polymer Political correctness, language that appears calculated to provide a minimum of offense Police Constable (also PC), in the UK and Canada Posterior commissure, brain landmark commonly used in biomedical image processing Presbyterian Church (USA... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Anachronism is a tabletop game with aspects of both miniatures and collectible card genres. ... This article or section may contain excessive or improper use of copyrighted images and/or audio files. ... Gates of Fire is a 1998 novel by Steven Pressfield that recounts the Battle of Thermopylae through Xeones, a Spartan squire and the lone survivor of the battle. ... This article is about the video game. ...

References

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition article "LEONIDAS", a publication now in the public domain. The Histories of Herodotus by Herodotus is considered the first work of history in Western literature. ... Encyclopædia Britannica, the eleventh edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...