Leonidas (lēŏn`ĭdəs), d. 480 B.C., king of Sparta. He succeeded (c.491 B.C.) his half brother, Cleomenes I. When the Persians invaded Greece under Xerxes (480 B.C.), Leonidas with 300 Spartans and 5,000 auxiliaries was given the pass at Thermopylae to hold. There was treachery. Most of the Greeks got away, but the Spartans and 700 Thespians refused to flee and were killed. Herodotus immortalized the incident. See Persian Wars Persian Wars, 500 B.C.–449 B.C., series of conflicts fought between Greek states and the Persian Empire. The writings of Herodotus , who was born c.484 B.C., are the great source of knowledge of the history of the wars.
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Leonidas

(died 480 BC, Thermopylae, Locris [Greece]) King of Sparta (c. 490–480 BC). He is noted for his heroic stand against the Persians at the Battle of Thermopylae in 480. Seeing the hopelessness of the situation, he sent most of his troops in retreat and with his 300-man royal guard withstood the Persian army for two days, battling valiantly to the last man. He became the object of a hero cult at Sparta, and he stands as the epitome of bravery against overwhelming odds. The legend that Spartans never surrender derived from this episode.

Leonidas

died 480 bc, king of Sparta (?490--480), hero of the Battle of Thermopylae, in which he was killed by the Persians under Xerxes

Leonidas (redirected from Leonidas I)

Leonidas

Leonidas
(redirected from Leonidas I)