Leonidas I | |
---|---|
King of Sparta | |
Reign | 489–480 BC |
Predecessor | Cleomenes I |
Successor | Pleistarchus |
Born | c. 540 BC Sparta, Greece |
Died | 11 August 480 BC (59–60) Thermopylae, Greece |
Consort | Gorgo |
Issue | Pleistarchus |
Greek | Λεωνίδᾱς |
House | Agiad |
Father | Anaxandridas II |
Religion | Greek polytheism |
Leonidas I (/liˈənaɪdəs, -dæs/; Greek: Λεωνίδας; died 11 August 480 BC) was a king of the Greek city-state of Sparta, and the 17th of the Agiad line, a dynasty which claimed descent from the mythical demigod Heracles. Leonidas I was a son of the king Anaxandridas II. He succeeded his half-brother King Cleomenes I to the throne in c. 489 BC. His co-ruler was King Leotychidas. He was succeeded by his son, King Pleistarchus.
At the Second Greco-Persian War, Leonidas led the allied Greek forces in a last stand at the Battle of Thermopylae (480 BC), attempting to defend the pass from the invading Persian army, and was killed early during the third and last day of the battle. Leonidas entered myth as a hero and the leader of the 300 Spartans who died in battle at Thermopylae. While the Greeks lost this battle, they were able to expel the Persian invaders in the following year.