BIOGRAPHY KING LEONIDAS part 1

King Leonidas I, whose name meant "lion-like," was king of Sparta between 488BC and 480BC. He is best known to history as the commander of the Spartan army at the Battle of Thermopylae during the Persian Wars. The story of his sacrifice has been an inspiration to generations and was recently brought to the big screen by Gerard Butler in the movie 300 which was based on a graphic novel of the same name by Frank Miller.

Leonidas was born around 520BC to King Anaxandridas II, a descendant of Hercules. Anaxandridas had two wives, so Leonidas had a half-brother, Cleomenes I, in addition to his younger brother Cleombrotus I and his older brother Dorieus. Although Cleomenes succeeded Anaxandridas after his death because he was probably the firstborn of the four, he was the son of Anaxandridas' second wife, so his claim to the throne was not entirely solid. The throne could have gone to Dorieus as Anaxandridas' oldest son by his first marriage.

Whether it was because he feared him as a rival or because he really did have an interest in foreign expansion, Cleomenes supported Dorieus in several foreign expeditions. Fortunately for Cleomenes, Dorieus was killed on one of these expeditions. Dorieus was not the only rival that Cleomenes faced, however. One of his greatest political enemies was his co-king Demartus. The two Spartan kings frustrated each others plans for several years until both were finally forced into exile. Demartus found his way to Persia where he became an adviser to Xerxes. It was he who cautioned Xerxes not to underestimate the Spartans at the Battle of Thermopylae.

Cleomenes, on the other hand, was eventually allowed to come home. He was soon accused of being insane, however, so he was put into prison and chained under the orders of his half-brothers, Leonidas and Cleombrotus. Before long, he was found dead with pieces of flesh cut from his body and a bloody knife on the floor next to him. Whether he was murdered or committed suicide remains as much of a mystery to historians as whether or not he was actually insane.

Cleomenes had no children except for his daughter Gorgo, who was already married to Leonidas, so Leonidas became king in 489BC or 488BC. He inherited a city-state in danger of conquest. For many years, the Persian Empire had exerted a powerful influence on Greece. Make city-states, especially in the region of Ionia, had already submitted to Persian rule and as recently as 491BC, Persia's King Darius had attempted to conquer Greece outright.