Doge King Leonidas I

Doge Leonidas I King Leonidas I (?-19 Sept 480BCE) “The son of the lion” was the King of Sparta and claimed the demigod Hercules and Cadmus, the founder of Thebes and slayer of monsters, as ancestors. He is remembered as the leader of the 300 Spartans against the Persian "God-King" Xerxes in the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BCE. The battle was part of the Second Persian War fought between the Greeks and Persians. Xerxes massed a huge force and invaded Greece as revenge for their defeat by Athens in the Battle of Marathon ten years before in the First Persian War. Leonidas lost his life in the Battle of Thermopylae but his leadership of a tiny force of only 300 blocked the narrow coastal...View all