There are not many kings in history with a legend as big or as famous as that of King Leonidas. His power and ability as both a warrior and a ruler have gone down in history as “one for the ages.”

The Early Life of King Leonidas

The life of King Leonidas was documented mainly by the Greek historian Herodotus. According to him, Leonidas was the third son of the then Spartan king Anaxandridas. His older brothers were Cleomenes, who was born from a different mother, and Dorieus. Another son existed, either Leonidas’ twin or younger brother, by the name of Cleombrotus.

Leonidas was trained in the public Spartan school known as the agoge, where the youth had to endure the harsh training that others had to complete to become a true Spartan. This was already the start of the cultivation of power that the future king of Sparta will possess.

Cleomenes took the throne somewhere between 520 BC and 516 BC, after the death of their father. The second brother Dorieus was furious at the choice of ruler, and after attempts to seek his fortunes elsewhere, he was killed. No mention was made of Leonidas’ relationships with his older brothers.

Leonidas married Cleomenes’ daughter, Gorgo, shortly before his ascension to the throne. Having lived a life filled with royal power, she was one of the few women ever recorded by name in Herodotus’ writings. Cleomenes fell slowly into madness and eventually killed himself, though some sources suggest that he may have been killed.

The Legend of King Leonidas

Leonidas became the next Agiad king in 490 BC. The Persian invasion in 481 BC called for a leading of combined Greek forces to stave them off, and King Leonidas was called to do so. The request was a testament to just how much power he had as a ruler. He was also considered a better military leader than any of his recent predecessors.

After receiving the order to lead the armies into battle, the Oracle at Delphi was consulted. The prophecy given by the Oracle was said to have outlined two possible outcomes for the coming battle: either Sparta falls or their king dies. Proving true to his courage as a ruler, King Leonidas chose the second option.

He went out to meet Xerxes’ army in August 480 BC, and the Battle of Thermopylae took place. As the legend goes, he took three hundred men with him, and was later joined by the men from other Greek city-states, totaling his army to about fourteen-thousand men. Though they all fought bravely, their power enough to astonish Xerxes, Leonidas was killed along with his men and the battle was lost. Spartans were later able to retrieve his body, and his sacrifice was turned into an epic legend.

Royal Trivia

• King Leonidas was one of the few Spartan kings to be trained in the agoge, the school that trained young Spartans into warriors fit for the harshest of battles.
• Leonidas sent away most of the soldiers before the very end. The last part of the battle was fought only by the Helots, the Thespians, who refused to leave, and the Spartans, who would never abandon their posts.
• In the legend, when Xerxes gave the command for Leonidas and his men to give up their arms, the Spartan ruler was said to have replied, “Come and get them.”