Person

Leonidas I

d. 480 BCE · 5th century BCE · Also known as Leonidas of Sparta

Leonidas I was a king of Sparta of the Agiad line who commanded the Greek force defending the pass of Thermopylae against the Persian invasion of Xerxes in 480 BCE. After the Persians outflanked the pass, he sent most of the allies away and fell fighting with his 300 Spartans and their remaining allies. His stand became the classic example of Spartan courage and sacrifice.

Leonidas I
Image: de:Benutzer:Ticinese · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 profile

SpartaMilitary, Summary

Mentioned in 2 state histories

SpartaOpuntian Locris

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Leonidas I. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/leonidas-i
MLA
“Leonidas I.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/leonidas-i. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Leonidas I.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/leonidas-i.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Leonidas I’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/leonidas-i (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻