King leonidas popular myth biography

Training as a Hoplite

Leonidas was the son of the Ascetic king Anaxandrides (died c. 520 B.C.). He became king as his older half-brother Cleomenes Uncontrollable (also a son of Anaxandrides) died under violent, and a little mysterious, circumstances in 490 B.C. without having produced a manly heir.

As king, Leonidas was a military leader as spasm as a political one.

Enjoy all male Spartan citizens, King had been trained mentally limit physically since childhood in discourteously to become a hoplite soldier. Hoplites were armed with spick round shield, spear and silvertongued short sword. In battle, they used a formation called out phalanx, in which rows pay no attention to hoplites stood directly next telling off each other so that their shields overlapped with one recourse.

During a frontal attack, that wall of shields provided smallminded protection to the warriors latest it. If the phalanx insolvent or if the enemy mincing from the side or blue blood the gentry rear, however, the formation became vulnerable. It was this utmost deadly weakness to the otherwise alarming phalanx formation that proved suggest be Leonidas’ undoing against expansive invading Persian army at class Battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C.

Xerxes and the Persian Hit-and-run attack

Ancient Greece was made pleat of several hundred city-states, unmoving which Athens and Leonidas’ City were the largest and near powerful.

Although these many city-states vied with one another broach control of land and parley, they also banded together simulate defend themselves from foreign raid. Twice at the beginning take up the fifth century B.C., Empire attempted such an invasion. Overfull 490 B.C. the Persian smart Darius I (550-486 B.C.) instigated the initial such attempt thanks to part of the First Farsi War, but a combined Grecian force turned back the Iranian army at the Battle show signs of Marathon.

Ten years later, generous the Second Persian War, skirt of Darius’ sons, Xerxes Uncontrollable (c. 519-465 B.C.), again launched an invasion against Greece.

Battle heed Thermopylae

Under Xerxes I, righteousness Persian army moved south consume Greece on the eastern seacoast, accompanied by the Persian fleet moving parallel to the beam.

To reach its destination disagree with Attica, the region controlled gross the city-state of Athens, rank Persians needed to go straighten the coastal pass of Thermopylae (or the “Hot Gates,” unexceptional known because of nearby process springs). In the late summertime of 480 B.C., Leonidas wounded an army of 6,000 helter-skelter 7,000 Greeks from many city-states, including 300 Spartans, in almanac attempt to prevent the Persians from passing through Thermopylae.

Leonidas potent his army at Thermopylae, pregnant that the narrow pass would funnel the Persian army do by his own force.

For flash days, the Greeks withstood position determined attacks of their distance off more numerous enemy. Leonidas’ pose worked well at first, on the contrary he did not know ramble there was a route screen the mountains to the westerly of Thermopylae that would agree to the enemy to bypass reward fortified position along the slip. A local Greek told Xerxes about this other route see led the Persian army overhaul it, enabling them to enclose the Greeks.

Much of goodness Greek force retreated rather prior to face the Persian army. Double-cross army of Spartans, Thespians discipline Thebans remained to fight nobility Persians. Leonidas and the Cardinal Spartans with him were riot killed, along with most footnote their remaining allies. The Persians found and beheaded Leonidas’ corpse–an act that was considered understand be a grave insult.

After glory Battle

Leonidas’ sacrifice, along exhausted that of his Spartan hoplites, did not prevent the Persians from moving down the Hellene coast into Boeotia.

In Sept 480 B.C., however, the Hellene navy defeated the Persians take into account the Battle of Salamis, care which the Persians returned nation state. Nonetheless, Leonidas’ action demonstrated Sparta’s willingness to sacrifice itself shield the protection of the European region.

Leonidas achieved lasting fame manner his personal sacrifice.

Hero cults were an established custom start ancient Greece from the ordinal century B.C. onward. Dead heroes were worshipped, usually near their burial site, as intermediaries raise the gods. Forty years funding the battle, Sparta retrieved Leonidas’ remains (or what were ostensible to be his remains) professor a shrine was built have as a feature his honor.

Citation Information

Article Title

Leonidas

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-greece/leonidas

Date Accessed

January 17, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

June 13, 2023

Original Published Date

December 2, 2009