Back Leonidas I Afrikaans ليونيداس الأول Arabic ليونيداس ARZ Leónides I AST I Leonid Azerbaijani لئونیداس AZB Leonidas BAR Леанід I Byelorussian Леонид I Bulgarian Leonidas Breton
| Leonidas I Λεωνίδας | |
|---|---|
| King of Sparta | |
 Marble statue of Leonidas, (5th century BC), Sparta, Archæological Museum of Sparta, Greece | |
| Reign | 489–480 BC |
| Predecessor | Cleomenes I |
| Successor | Pleistarchus |
| Born | c. 540 BC Sparta, Ancient Greece |
| Died | 11 August 480 BC (aged around 60) Thermopylae |
| Consort | Gorgo |
| Issue | Pleistarchus |
| Greek | Λεωνίδᾱς |
| House | Agiad |
| Father | Anaxandridas II |
| Religion | Greek Polytheism |
Leonidas I (Greek: Λεωνίδας; c. 530 BC–480 BC) was a king of the Greek city-state of Sparta from about 490 BC until his death in 480. The Spartans and associates defended the pass at Thermopylae against the Persian army. Although Leonidas lost the battle, his death at Thermopylae was seen as a heroic sacrifice. Leonidas sent most of his army away when he realized that the Persians had outmaneuvered him. Three hundred of his fellow Spartans stayed with him to fight to the death. Almost everything that is known about Leonidas comes from the work of the Greek historian Herodotus (c. 484–c. 425 BC)