Leonidas I
From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change
Leonidas was a king of Sparta. He was the 17th of the Agiad family of kings. His father was Anaxandridas II, who was thought to be a descendant of Heracles. He took the throne probably in 489 or 488 BC. His queen was Gorgo. Leonidas’ name is now very well known because of the battle of Thermopylae.
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[change] Thermopylae
[change] Invasion of Persia
In 480 BC the Persians with their king Xerxes invaded Greece. When the united Greek forces invited the Spartans to join the rest of the army against the Persians, the Spartans went to the Oracle at Delphi. The Oracle gave a prophecy: either Sparta would fall or the Spartans would lose a king.
[change] Fighting back
In August 480 BC, Leonidas went to Thermopylae with 300 of his personal bodyguards. Other Greek forces joined him there and formed an army of 4,200 soldiers. This army would try to hold the pass of Thermopylae against the great army of Xerxes I, who was the king of Persia.
[change] Siege
Leonidas and his men held Thermopylae for 3 days. On the 3rd day a Greek traitor named Ephialtes led the Persian army behind the Spartans. It was then that Leonidas sent away all the Greek troops except 700 Thespians, who refused to leave the battlefield. The small Greek force was attacked from both sides. They fought hard but finally they were all killed. Xerxes told his men to cut Leonidas' head, put it on a stake and crucify his body. Now the only thing that reminds Leonidas is a monument near Leonidas’ death site, which carries the following inscription:
| Go, stranger, and in Lacedaemon tell that here, obeying her behests, we fell [that we died here obeying what they told us to do] |
[change] After the battle
Only 2 Spartans survived. One was Kirtanian, who was injured and was sent behind the lines. The other one was Pantites, who was sent by Leonidas to raise support in Thessaly, but returned to Thermopylae only after the battle was finished. At the end, he hanged himself because he was called a coward.
