Leonidas

The king who held Thermopylae with three hundred Spartans against the vast Persian army and died with all his men.

Life

Agoge

Leonidas was a king of Sparta from the Agiad royal house who came to the throne in c. 489 BCE. Spartan princes could be exempted from the harsh military education, but as he was not the eldest son he went through the full "agoge" training from childhood.

The 300

In 480 BCE the Persian king Xerxes invaded Greece with a vast army. Leonidas, with three hundred Spartan hoplites and several thousand Greek allies, held the narrow pass of Thermopylae and drove back the Persians for three straight days.

Thermopylae

When a Greek showed the Persians a mountain path around the pass, Leonidas dismissed most of the allies and stayed behind with the three hundred Spartans and some allied troops as a rearguard; all were killed.

Legacy

The sacrifice of Leonidas and his 300 Spartans became a symbol in Western culture of laying down one's life to defend one's country.

Did you know? The memorial at Thermopylae bears the poet Simonides' famous lines: "Stranger, go tell the Spartans that here we lie, obedient to their commands."

Key dates

• 489 BCEAscended the throne (approx.)
• 480 BCEBattle of Thermopylae; killed in battle