Leonidas I created a new era of war and military strategy which would have a powerful impact on government and influence many future rulers and military leaders. He was one of the most influential and powerful Spartan kings. Leonidas was known for his war strategy, as well as his brutality. Sparta was one of the largest and most powerful Greek city-states that influenced culture and government for years after its downfall.
Leonidas was born as the second son of King Anaxandridas and his wife. At the time, Anaxandridas had a second wife because he and his first wife were having trouble conceiving. Therefore, he had multiple children who could inherit his kingship. When Leonidas was young, the eldest sons of kings in Sparta were not required to go through agog, which was a very difficult training program that all males were put through. They were also not required to be in the military. Since it was expected that another one of the kings's sons would inherit the throne, Leonidas decided to go to the training program. At agog, he learned to always be loyal to Sparta, pain tolerance, and how to communicate affectively (Knighton, Leonidas I, Sparta’s Greatest Warrior King).
There are twenty generations between Leonidas and his predecessor Hercules. Hercules was a large part of Greek culture. Anaxandrides, Leonidas's father, was a Spartan king. His father, King Leon, was also a king. Since he and his wife were having trouble conceiving, some of the Spartan elders were ashamed of them, and forced Anaxandrides to marry a second wife. His second wife eventually had a son, Cleomenes. It shocked the whole family when Anaxandrides' first wife revealed that she was pregnant at the same time. The first wife later gave birth to two children, Leonidas and Kleombrotus, around 540 BCE (Staff, Leonidas). Some historians believe that the two were twins. During Leonidas’ childhood, it was very unlikely that he would inherit the throne. He had two brothers who were both older than him. After Doreius died while on campaign in Sicily, and Cleomenes died of suicide with no heir. Leonidas then married Cleomene's daughter, Gorgo. When her father died around 490 BCE, Leonidas became king (Cartwright, Leonidas I of Sparta).
Leonidas became a Spartan king after his half-brother, Cleomenes, committed suicide in prison. Some historians are skeptical of the circumstances surrounding Cleomenes' death. He died shortly after there were some political debated regarding the prison system, and Leonidas was one of the main individuals responsible for putting Cleomendes in prison. Leonidas might have taken the throne by unethical means, but he was still the king of Sparta. The country was at war when he took the throne (Bradford 6). They were attempting to overtake the Greek empire. During Leonidas' first year on the throne, the Greeks started driving back the Persian soldiers during the Battle of Marathon. The Persians were late to the battle because they had a religious festival, and the Greeks took advantage of that. The actual reason that they were late to the battle could be political opinions. The lower-class were revolting, and many people hoped that Perisa would defeat the Greeks. Not much is known about the next decade of Leonidas' rule. Xerxes, the Persian king, instituted a plan to conquer Greece in 481 BC. He decided to be friendly with the city-states, but not with Sparta or Athens. Xerxes wanted to divide the Greek people. They attacked the two unassuming states within the same year. They did not succeed in their efforts to divide the Greeks. Instead, they united like never before. To stop the Persians, they united as one country to defeat them (McDowell, Leonidas King of Sparta). The Spartans, Greece's most powerful city-state, were in charge of ground forces. Leonidas led the armed forces. The Persians invaded Thessaly in 480 BC. Thessaly was one of Greece's most important agricultural hubs. Leonidas and the united Athenians disagreed over what route to take after they took over Thessaly. When the Spartans decided on a point of defense in Thessaly, they quickly realized that it would leave Athens vulnerable. They decided to sacrifice the city so that they could focus on invading other cities. This was unacceptable to the people of Athens (Knighton, Leonidas I, Sparta’s Greatest Warrior King).
When Leonidas was sixty, Thermopylae was already an advanced commander in the military. Not much is known about his prior military experience. Xerces proposed an invasion of Greece in 480 BCE, and was the commander of a troop of three-hundred soldiers. All of them had heirs. This troop defended the pass of Thermopylae, and held off the opposing troops. During this time period, the Spartans had the Karneia festival. Because of this, they were not supposed to go to war until after the festival was over. They were capable of supplying up to eight-thousand troops, but they traditionally could not. Instead, they sent three-hundred soldiers, joined by seven-thousand men from other city-states. Their troops were not comparable to Xerxes' army of eighty-thousand.
The point of Thermopylae was chosen to defend Greece. It was about one-hundred fifty kilometers from Athens, and there was a mountain row that went all the way to the coast. This left only a narrow passage. Xerxes was so confident that they would win that he sent a messenger to inform Leonidas to ask the Greeks to surrender. His reply was an iconic piece of history, ‘molōn labe’ – come and get them. Then, Leonidas gave the order for most of his troops to retreat. This left him with only the Thespians, Spartans, and Thebans to provide rear-guard protection. The Greek troops were eventually wiped out. This proved that Delphi was correct when she said that either a king or Sparta will fall. Xerxes requested his men to kill Leonidas, and put his head on a stake to display publicly. During this time period, it was a display of disrespect and was against all war rules (Cartwright, Leonidas I: King of Sparta).
When Leonidas died, his son became king. Since he was so young, he instead acted as regent at first. Within the span of a year, the Greeks got revenge by claiming victory at Plataea and Salamis. Pausanius, who is Leonidas' nephew, led in the battle of Plataea. A monument was set up at the site of Salamis to remember those who had fallen. The epitaph read: "Go tell the Spartans, you who read; We took their orders and here lie dead." They also placed a lion monument to memorialize Leonidas and his men (Cartwright, Leonidas I of Sparta). It was forty years after the battle when they took the king's body back to Sparta. There was a funeral, and he was buried along with the shrine. They considered him an honored soldier. In the acropolis of Sparta, a large marble statue was built around 480 BCE. It had a Corinthian encrusted helmet, inlaid eyes, and other features.
Leonidas I created a new era of war and military strategy which would have a powerful impact on government and influence many future rulers and military leaders. King Leonidas was one of the most powerful and influential Spartan rulers because he had excellent war strategy and city planning skills. To this day, many leaders use the same strategies and plans that he instituted. With his legacy of strategy and power, he will forever be remembered as one of the most influential leaders in history.