Leonidas

Leonidas I (c. 540–480 BCE) was a king of Sparta from the Agiad dynasty. He ruled as part of the dual kingship of Sparta during the early stages of the Persian Wars. He is best known for his leadership at the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BCE, where he commanded a small Greek force against the vast army of Xerxes I.

According to ancient sources, Leonidas led a coalition that included about 7,000 Greek hoplites, among them 300 Spartans. The Greeks defended the pass at Thermopylae against the Persian army for several days. The position was betrayed when Ephialtes of Trachis revealed a path around the pass, allowing the Persians to outflank the Greeks. Leonidas and his Spartans remained to cover the retreat and were killed to the last man in the final assault. The stand became a symbol of courage and self-sacrifice in Greek memory.

Although the battle was a tactical defeat for the Greeks, it bought time for Greek city-states to organize resistance. The Persian invasion ultimately failed to subjugate Greece, with decisive Greek victories at Plataea and Mycale in 479 BCE contributing to the end of the Persian threat in Europe.

Leonidas' legacy persists in literature, art, and popular culture as an emblem of civic duty and military discipline. The principal ancient source for his life and Thermopylae is Herodotus.