ΔΙΑΣΤΑΣΕΙΣ 23,5cm×14cm
ΒΑΡΟΣ 1,36kg
Leonidas
I died 19
September 480 BC) was a king of the Greek city-state of Sparta, and the 17th of
the Agiad line, a dynasty which claimed descent from the mythological demigod
Heracles and Cadmus. Leonidas I was son of King Anaxandridas II. He succeeded
his half-brother King Cleomenes I to the throne in c. 489 BC. His co-ruler was
King Leotychidas. He was succeeded by his son, King Pleistarchus.
Leonidas had a notable participation in the
Second Persian War, where he led the allied Greek forces to a last stand at the
Battle of Thermopylae (480 BC) while attempting to defend the pass from the
invading Persian army; he died at the battle and entered myth as the leader of
the 300 Spartans. While the Greeks lost this battle, they were able to expel
the Persian invaders in the following year.