Leonidas I: Difference between revisions

Leonidas I of Sparta
Leonidas I of Sparta
	File:Leonidas Thermopylae2.jpg Statue of Leonidas I of Sparta.
Born	circa 540s BC; Sparta
Died	August 11, 480 BC; Thermopylae
Children	Pleistarchus
Parent	Anaxandridas II

Browse history interactively

← Previous edit Next edit →

Content deleted Content added

VisualWikitext

Inline

Revision as of 15:53, 11 November 2008

Template:Otheruses2

File:Leonidas statue1b.jpg

Statue of King Leonidas of Sparta

Leonidas

@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 [[Image:Leonidas statue1b.jpg|thumb|300px|Statue of King Leonidas of Sparta]]
+'''Leonidas'''
-'''Leonidas''' ([[Greek language|Greek]]: ''{{Polytonic|Λεωνίδας}}''; "Lion's son", "Lion-like") was a king of [[Sparta]], the 17th of the [[Agiad]] line, one of the sons of King [[Anaxandridas II]] of Sparta, who was believed to be a descendant of [[Heracles]], possessing much of the strength and bravery that made his ancestor famous. While it has been established that King Leonidas of Sparta died at the [[Battle of Thermopylae]] in August, 480 B.C., very little is known about the year of his birth, or for that matter, his formative years.  [[Paul Cartledge]], a distinguished scholar and historian, has narrowed the date of the birth of King Leonidas to around 540 BC.
-If it is assumed that Leonidas was born anywhere in the years subsequent to 540 B.C., this would have placed him in the 50+ year old range at the time of the conflict with the Persians.
-Leonidas was one of three brothers: he had an older brother Dorieus and a younger brother Cleombrotus, who ruled as regent for a while on Leonidas' death before the regency was taken over by [[Pausanias (general)|Pausanias]], who was Cleombrotus' son.
-Leonidas succeeded his half-brother [[Cleomenes I]], probably in 489 or 488&nbsp;BC, and was married to Cleomenes' daughter, [[Gorgo, Queen of Sparta|Gorgo]].
-His name was raised to heroic status as a result of the events in the [[Battle of Thermopylae]], one of the most famous battles in ancient history.
-== Thermopylae ==
-{{main|Battle of Thermopylae}}
-Upon receiving a request from the confederated Greek forces to aid in defending Greece against the Persian invasion, Sparta consulted the [[Pythia|Oracle]] at [[Delphi]].  The Oracle is said to have made the following [[prophecy]] in [[hexameter]] verse:<ref name="vii-242">{{cite web | last=Herodotus | authorlink=Herodotus | coauthors=[[George Rawlinson]] (Translator) | title=''The Legend of Herodotus: Polymnia'' | work=Greek Texts | publisher=Greek-Texts.com & Greece Http Ltd. | year=2005 | pages=page 50 |url=http://www.greektexts.com/library/Herodotus/Polymnia/eng/242.html | format=html | accessdate=2007-10-18}}</ref>
-:''Hear your fate, O dwellers in Sparta of the wide spaces;
-:''Either your famed, great town must be sacked by Perseus' sons,
-:''Or, if that be not, the whole land of Lacedaemon
-:''Shall mourn the death of a king of the house of Heracles,
-:''For not the strength of lions or of bulls shall hold him,
-:''Strength against strength; for he has the power of Zeus,
-:''And will not be checked till one of these two he has consumed.
-In August 480 BC, Leonidas set out to meet [[Xerxes I|Xerxes]]' army at Thermopylae with 300 of his personal body guards, all with sons to carry on their names, where he was joined by forces from other Greek city-states, who put themselves under his command to form an army between four and seven thousand strong. This force was assembled in an attempt to hold the pass of Thermopylae against a massive Persian army of between eighty and two-hundred and ninety thousand men-at-arms who had invaded from the north of Greece under [[Xerxes I]]. Leonidas took only his personal bodyguards, and not the army, because the majority of the Spartan Army was coordinating with the massed naval forces of the Greeks against the Persian Navy. This is contrary to the belief that the army could not be sent because of religious restrictions.
-Leonidas and his men repulsed the Persians' frontal attacks for the first 2 days, killing roughly 20,000 of the enemy troops and losing about 2,500 of their own.
-The Persian elite unit known to the Greeks as "[[Persian Immortals|the Immortals]]" was held back, and two of Xerxes' brothers died in battle.
-On the third day (August 11), a [[Malians (Greek tribe)|Malian Greek]] traitor named [[Ephialtes of Trachis|Ephialtes]] led the Persian general [[Hydarnes]] by a mountain track to the rear of the Greeks.
-At that point Leonidas sent away all Greek troops and remained in the pass with his 300 Spartans, 900 [[Helots]], and 700 [[Thespiae|Thespians]] who refused to leave.
-Another 400 [[Thebes, Greece|Thebans]] were kept with Leonidas as hostages.
-The Thespians stayed entirely of their own [[will (philosophy)|will]], declaring that they would not abandon Leonidas and his followers.
-Their leader was [[Demophilus]], son of [[Diadromes]], and as [[Herodotus]] writes: "Hence they lived with the Spartans and died with them."
-One theory provided by [[Herodotus]] is that Leonidas sent away the remainder of his men because he cared about their safety. The King would have thought it wise to preserve those Greek troops for future battles against the Persians, but he knew that the Spartans could never abandon their post on the battlefield. The soldiers who stayed behind were to protect their escape against the Persian cavalry.
-[[Herodotus]] himself believed that Leonidas gave the order because he perceived the allies to be out of heart and unwilling to encounter the danger to which his own mind was made up. He therefore chose to dismiss all troops except the Thespians and Helots and save the glory for the Spartans.<ref>Herodotus VII,220</ref>
-The small Greek force, attacked from both sides, was cut down to a man except for the Thebans, who surrendered. Leonidas was killed, but the Spartans retrieved his body and protected it until their final defeat. [[Herodotus]] says that Xerxes' orders were to have Leonidas' head cut off and put on a stake and his body [[crucifixion|crucified]]. This was considered [[sacrilege|sacrilegious]].<ref>Herodotus, [[The Histories of Herodotus]], chapter 7, verse 238</ref>
-The tomb of Leonidas lies today in the northern part of the [[Sparti (municipality)|modern town of Sparta]]. Additionally, there is a modern monument at the site of the Battle of Thermopylae, called the "Leonidas Monument" in his honor. It features a bronze statue of Leonidas. A sign, under the statue, reads simply: "[[Molon labe|Μολών λαβέ]]" ("Come and get them!") which the Spartans said when the Persians asked them to put down their weapons.
-==Popular culture==
-{{main|Battle of Thermopylae in popular culture|Sparta in popular culture}}
-*Portrayed by:
-**[[Richard Egan (actor)|Richard Egan]] in the 1962 epic ''[[The 300 Spartans]]''
-**[[Gerard Butler]] in the 2007 film ''[[300 (film)|300]]'', inspired by the [[graphic novel]] of the [[300 (comics)|same name]] by [[Frank Miller (comics)|Frank Miller]] and [[Lynn Varley]]. Voiced by [[Tilo Schmitz]] in the German dub and by [[George Nakata]] in the Japanese dub.
-**[[Scott Burn]] in the 2007 spoof ''[[United 300]]''.
-**[[Sean Maguire]] in the 2008 spoof ''[[Meet the Spartans]]''.
-* Leonidas appears as an [[Non-player character|NPC]] in the [[Personal computer|PC]] game ''[[Titan Quest]]''.
-* Leonidas also appears as an NPC in the video game ''[[Spartan: Total Warrior]]''. In that game, he leads the playable character in battle against the Romans.
-* Leonidas appears both as a warrior and a promo warrior in the card game ''[[Anachronism (game)|Anachronism]]''.
-* Leonidas appeared in the video game ''[[Civilization IV]]'' as a Great General unit.
-* Leonidas and the Battle of Thermopylae are fully described in Steven Pressfield's [[historical novel]] ''[[Gates of Fire]]''. Published 1998
-* Leonidas at Thermopyles: History from Ancient Texts by Prof. Marcy George-Kokkinaki (http://www.asxetos.gr/article.aspx?i=1608)
-* "Leonidas" is a movement of the Delta Halo Suite from the game ''[[Halo 2]]''.
-* "Thermopylae Soon" is a movement of the Finale from the game ''[[Halo 2]]''.
-* "Leonidas Returns" is a movement of the Covenant suite from the game ''[[Halo 3]]''
-* Leonidas is a chain of Belgian chocolate stores, with a Spartan helmet as its logo.
-*Leonidas became an [[Internet meme]], with Gerard Butler's (see above) portrayal of him screaming "This Is Sparta!". This spawned a series of parodies, in which Leonidas' face is superimposed on someone else's, accompanied with the latter phrase.
-==References==
-{{reflist}}
-{{1911|article=LEONIDAS}}
-{{start box}}
-{{succession box|title=[[Kings of Sparta|Agiad King of Sparta]]|before=[[Cleomenes I]]|after=[[Pleistarchus]]|years=489&ndash;480 BC}}
-{{end box}}
-[[Category:Rulers of Sparta]]
-[[Category:Ancient Spartans]]
-[[Category:Ancient Greek generals]]
-[[Category:Battle of Thermopylae]]
-[[Category:Ancient Greeks killed in battle]]
-[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
-[[Category:480 BC deaths]]
-[[Category:Internet memes]]
-[[ar:ليونيداس]]
-[[ast:Leónides I]]
-[[be:Леанід I]]
-[[bs:Leonid I]]
-[[br:Leonidas]]
-[[bg:Леонид I]]
-[[ca:Leònides I]]
-[[cs:Leónidás I.]]
-[[da:Leonidas]]
-[[de:Leonidas I.]]
-[[et:Leonidas I]]
-[[el:Λεωνίδας]]
-[[es:Leónidas I]]
-[[fa:لئونیداس یکم]]
-[[fr:Léonidas Ier de Sparte]]
-[[gl:Leónidas I]]
-[[zh-classical:列奧尼達一世]]
-[[ko:레오니다스]]
-[[id:Leonidas]]
-[[it:Leonida I]]
-[[he:לאונידס הראשון]]
-[[la:Leonidas I]]
-[[lv:Leonīds I]]
-[[lt:Leonidas]]
-[[hu:I. Leónidasz]]
-[[nl:Leonidas I van Sparta]]
-[[ja:レオニダス]]
-[[no:Leonidas I]]
-[[pl:Leonidas I]]
-[[pt:Leónidas I de Esparta]]
-[[ro:Leonidas]]
-[[ru:Леонид I]]
-[[simple:Leonidas I]]
-[[sk:Leonidas I.]]
-[[sr:Леонида]]
-[[fi:Leonidas I]]
-[[sv:Leonidas I]]
-[[th:เลโอไนดาสที่ 1]]
-[[tr:I. Leonidas]]
-[[war:Leonidas I]]
-[[zh:列奥尼达一世]]