Leonidas ( literally “lion’s son”) was a king of Sparta, who was believed in mythology to be a descendant of Heracles, possessing much of the latter’s strength and bravery. The date of Leonidas’ birth is not known, although Paul Cartledge argues he must have been born around 540 BC. He is notable for his leadership at the Battle of Thermopylae.
According to Herodotus, Leonidas’ mother was his father’s niece and had been barren for so long that the ephors, the five annually elected administrators of the Spartan constitution, tried to prevail upon King Anaxandridas to set aside his wife and take another. Anaxandridas refused, claiming his wife was blameless, whereupon the ephors agreed to allow him to take a second wife without setting aside his first. This second wife, a descendent of Chilon the Wise, promptly bore a son, Cleomenes. However, one year after Cleomenes’ birth, Anaxandridas’ first wife also gave birth to a son, Dorieus.
Leonidas was the third son of Anaxandridas’ first wife, and either the elder brother or twin of Cleombrotus. Because Leonidas was not heir to the throne, he was not exempt from attending the agoge, the public school that the sons of all Spartans had to complete in order to qualify for citizenship. Leonidas was thus one of the few Spartan kings to have ever undergone the notoriously harsh training of Spartan youth.
