Leonidas - Revision history

Irlandos at 12:17, November 25, 2010

2010-11-25T12:17:28Z

Irlandos at 13:17, January 22, 2010

2010-01-22T13:17:32Z

Irlandos at 13:17, January 22, 2010

2010-01-22T13:17:06Z

Irlandos at 12:13, November 18, 2005

2005-11-18T12:13:42Z

Irlandos at 12:12, November 18, 2005

2005-11-18T12:12:07Z

Irlandos at 13:40, November 9, 2005

2005-11-09T13:40:40Z

Irlandos at 13:39, November 9, 2005

2005-11-09T13:39:50Z

Irlandos at 13:38, November 9, 2005

2005-11-09T13:38:12Z

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'''Leonidas''' (Λεωνίδας) was a king of [[Sparta]], the seventeenth of the Agiad line. He was one of the sons of King [[Anaxandridas II]] of Sparta. He succeeded, probably in 489 or [[488 BC]], his half-brother [[Cleomenes I]], whose daughter Gorgo he married.

In [[480 BC|480]] he was sent with the 300 men of his royal bodyguard and about 7000 allies to hold the pass of [[Thermopylae]] against the army of [[Xerxes I|Xerxes]] of [[Persian Empire|Persia]]. (see [[Battle of Thermopylae]]). The small size of the force was, according to a contemporary story, due to the fact that he was deliberately going to his doom, an [[oracle]] having foretold that Sparta could be saved only by the death of one of its kings: in reality it seems rather that the [[ephor]]s supported the scheme half-heartedly, due to the festival of Carneia and having a policy being of concentrating the Greek forces at the [[Isthmus of Corinth|Isthmus]].

Several anecdotes demonstrate the [[Laconia|laconic]] matter-of-fact bravery that Leonidas and the Spartans were famed for even in the ancient world. On the first day of the siege, when Xerxes demanded the Greeks surrender their arms, Leonidas is said to have replied ''Molon Labe'' ("Come and get them"). And on the third day, the king is reputed to have exhorted his men to eat a hearty breakfast, because that night they would dine in [[Hades]].

Leonidas' men repulsed the frontal attacks of the Persians for the first two days, but when the Malian [[Ephialtes]] led the Persian general [[Hydarnes]] by a mountain track to the rear of the Greeks, Leonidas divided his army, himself remaining in the pass with 300 Spartans, 700 [[Thespiae|Thespians]] and 400 [[Thebes, Greece|Thebans]].

Perhaps he hoped to surround Hydarnes' force: if so, the movement failed, and the little Greek army, attacked from both sides, was cut down to a man save the Thebans, who are said to have surrendered. Another theory was that Leonidas sent the remainder of the army home in an effort to preserve troops for the main battles of the war. The soldiers who stayed behind were to cover their escape so the Persian cavalry would not overrun the rear of the escaping troops.

Leonidas fell in the thickest of the fight; the Spartans attempted to retrieve his body, but given the numbers they faced, the body did fall into Persian hands. It was said (by Herodotus) that Leonidas' head was afterwards cut off by Xerxes' order and his body [[crucifixion|crucified]].

He was buried with full honours, including a very un-Spartan display of wailing and mourning (Spartans normally accepted death in battle as a matter of course and disapproved of outward grieving, but the oracle at Delphi had ordered this along with the sacrifce of a Spartan king to preserve Sparta which is why Leonidas did not retreat). A carved lion monument bearing the inscription below was dedicated at his death site commemorating the sacrifice of him and his men:

:''Go, tell the Spartans, stranger passing by,''<br>
:''That here, obedient to their laws, we lie.'' –– [[epitaph]] at [[Thermopylae]] ([[Simonides of Ceos|Simonides]]'s [[epigram]])

Our knowledge of the circumstances are too slight to enable us to judge Leonidas' strategy, but his heroism and devotion secured him an almost unique place in the imagination not only of his own time but also of succeeding times.

The life of Leonidas is dramatically told in graphic novel form by author and artist [[Frank Miller]] in his 1998 book "[[300 (comics)|300]]". Miller had previously used the Battle of Thermopylae as a strategic inspiration for his character [[Dwight McCarthy]] in [[Sin City|Sin City: The Big Fat Kill]]. Miller has mentioned that the film [[The 300 Spartans]] made a big impression on him as a child.

The story has also been written into a novel by Steven Pressfield called "Gates of Fire", which is rumored to be being made into a movie in the next couple of years.

{{1911}}

{{start box}}
{{succession box|title=[[Kings of Sparta|Agiad King of Sparta]]|before=[[Cleomenes I]]|after=[[Pleistarchus]]|years=489-480 BC}}
{{end box}}

[[Category:480 BC deaths]]
[[Category:Rulers of Sparta]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek generals]]

@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 Leonidas fell in the thickest of the fight; the Spartans retrieved his body, but after they fell to the last man, the body did fall into Persian hands.  It was said (by Herodotus) that Leonidas' head was afterwards cut off by Xerxes' order and his body crucified.
-He was buried with full honours, including a very un-Spartan display of wailing and mourning (Spartans normally accepted death in battle as a matter of course and disapproved of outward grieving, but the oracle at Delphi had ordered this along with the sacrifce of a Spartan king to preserve Sparta which is why Leonidas did not retreat).  A carved lion monument bearing the inscription below was dedicated at his death site commemorating the sacrifice of him and his men:
+He was buried with full honours, including a very un-Spartan display of wailing and mourning (Spartans normally accepted death in battle as a matter of course and disapproved of outward grieving, but the oracle at Delphi had ordered this along with the sacrifice of a Spartan king to preserve Sparta which is why Leonidas did not retreat).  A carved lion monument bearing the inscription below was dedicated at his death site commemorating the sacrifice of him and his men:
 :''Go, tell the Spartans, stranger passing by,''<br>

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 '''Leonidas''' (Λεωνίδας) - "son of lion" - was a king of ancient [[Sparta]], the seventeenth of the Agiad line.
-Leonidas was most likely born ca. [[540 BC]], the third son of King [[Anaxandridas II]]. He succeeded his half-brother [[Cleomenes II]] ca. [[489 BC]]. At about that time, he married Cleomenes' daughter [[Gorgo]] who was less than half his age. It is possible Leonidas was married before, as Spartans looked down on men who completed their 35th year without having married and having had children.
+Leonidas was most likely born ca. [[540 BC]], the third son of King [[Anaxandridas II]]. He succeeded his half-brother [[Cleomenes I]] ca. [[489 BC]]. At about that time, he married Cleomenes' daughter [[Gorgo]] who was less than half his age. It is possible Leonidas was married before, as Spartans looked down on men who completed their 35th year without having married and having had children.
 In [[480 BC|480]] he was sent with the 300 men of his royal bodyguard and about  7000 allies to hold the pass of [[Thermopylae]] against the army of [[Xerxes I|Xerxes]] of [[Persian Empire|Persia]]. (see [[Battle of Thermopylae]]). The small size of the force was, according to a contemporary story, due to the fact that he was deliberately going to his doom, an oracle having foretold that Sparta could be saved only by the death of one of its kings: in reality it seems rather that the [[ephor]]s supported the scheme half-heartedly, due to the festival of Carneia and having a policy being of concentrating  the Greek forces at the [[Isthmus of Corinth|Isthmus]].

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-'''Leonidas''' (Λεωνίδας) was a king of [[Sparta]], the seventeenth of the Agiad line. He was one of the sons of King [[Anaxandridas II]] of Sparta. He succeeded, probably in 489 or [[488 BC]], his half-brother [[Cleomenes I]], whose daughter Gorgo he married.
+'''Leonidas''' (Λεωνίδας) - "son of lion" - was a king of ancient [[Sparta]], the seventeenth of the Agiad line.
 In [[480 BC|480]] he was sent with the 300 men of his royal bodyguard and about  7000 allies to hold the pass of [[Thermopylae]] against the army of [[Xerxes I|Xerxes]] of [[Persian Empire|Persia]]. (see [[Battle of Thermopylae]]). The small size of the force was, according to a contemporary story, due to the fact that he was deliberately going to his doom, an oracle having foretold that Sparta could be saved only by the death of one of its kings: in reality it seems rather that the [[ephor]]s supported the scheme half-heartedly, due to the festival of Carneia and having a policy being of concentrating  the Greek forces at the [[Isthmus of Corinth|Isthmus]].
@@ Line 18: / Line 20: @@
 Our knowledge of the circumstances are too slight to enable us to judge Leonidas' strategy, but his heroism and devotion secured him an almost unique place in the imagination not only of his own time but also of succeeding times.
-The life of Leonidas is dramatically told in graphic novel form by author and artist Frank Miller in his 1998 book "[[300 (comics)|300]]".  Miller had previously used the Battle of Thermopylae as a strategic inspiration for his character Dwight McCarthy in Sin City: The Big Fat Kill.  Miller has mentioned that the film [[The 300 Spartans]] made a big impression on him as a child.
+The life of Leonidas is dramatically told in graphic novel form by author and artist Frank Miller in his 1998 book "300".  Miller had previously used the Battle of Thermopylae as a strategic inspiration for his character Dwight McCarthy in Sin City: The Big Fat Kill.  Miller has mentioned that the [[1962]] film [[The 300 Spartans]] made a big impression on him as a child.
 The story has also been written into a novel by Steven Pressfield called "Gates of Fire", which is rumored to be being made into a movie in the next couple of years.

@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 Perhaps he hoped to surround Hydarnes' force: if so, the movement failed, and the little Greek army, attacked from both sides, was cut down to a man save the Thebans, who are said to have surrendered. Another theory was that Leonidas sent the remainder of the army home in an effort to preserve troops for the main battles of the war. The soldiers who stayed behind were to cover their escape so the Persian cavalry would not overrun the rear of the escaping troops.
-Leonidas fell in the thickest of the fight; the Spartans attempted to retrieve his body, but given the numbers they faced, the body did fall into Persian hands.  It was said (by Herodotus) that Leonidas' head was afterwards cut off by Xerxes' order and his body crucified.
+Leonidas fell in the thickest of the fight; the Spartans retrieved his body, but after they fell to the last man, the body did fall into Persian hands.  It was said (by Herodotus) that Leonidas' head was afterwards cut off by Xerxes' order and his body crucified.
 He was buried with full honours, including a very un-Spartan display of wailing and mourning (Spartans normally accepted death in battle as a matter of course and disapproved of outward grieving, but the oracle at Delphi had ordered this along with the sacrifce of a Spartan king to preserve Sparta which is why Leonidas did not retreat).  A carved lion monument bearing the inscription below was dedicated at his death site commemorating the sacrifice of him and his men:

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:12, November 18, 2005
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	[[Category:Rulers of Sparta]]		[[Category:Rulers of Sparta]]
	[[Category:Ancient Greek generals]]		[[Category:Ancient Greek generals]]
		+	[[Category:Ancient Greeks]]

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 Several anecdotes demonstrate the [[Laconia|laconic]] matter-of-fact bravery that Leonidas and the Spartans were famed for even in the ancient world. On the first day of the siege, when Xerxes demanded the Greeks surrender their arms, Leonidas is said to have replied ''Molon Labe'' ("Come and get them"). And on the third day, the king is reputed to have exhorted his men to eat a hearty breakfast, because that night they would dine in [[Hades]].
-Leonidas' men repulsed the frontal attacks of the Persians for the first two days, but when the Malian [[Ephialtes]] led the Persian general [[Hydarnes]] by a mountain track to the rear of the Greeks, Leonidas divided his army, himself remaining in the pass with 300 Spartans, 700 [[Thespiae|Thespians]] and 400 [[Thebes]].
+Leonidas' men repulsed the frontal attacks of the Persians for the first two days, but when the Malian [[Ephialtes]] led the Persian general [[Hydarnes]] by a mountain track to the rear of the Greeks, Leonidas divided his army, himself remaining in the pass with 300 Spartans, 700 [[Thespiae|Thespians]] and 400 [[Thebes|Thebans]].
 Perhaps he hoped to surround Hydarnes' force: if so, the movement failed, and the little Greek army, attacked from both sides, was cut down to a man save the Thebans, who are said to have surrendered. Another theory was that Leonidas sent the remainder of the army home in an effort to preserve troops for the main battles of the war. The soldiers who stayed behind were to cover their escape so the Persian cavalry would not overrun the rear of the escaping troops.