The Ancient Greek name Leonidas refers to a very brave and famous man, King Leonidas of Sparta. We have already mentioned in the post about the Greek name Leonidas, that the Greek Orthodox Church celebrates the names commemorated in its calendar.
However, some of these names have a long past that has nothing to do with the Christian world; in fact, if someone asks what you know about the name Leonidas, almost no one will be able to provide information on the Christian origin of the name. Therefore, we are here to remind everyone what the ancient Greek name Leonidas is about.
Leonidas, the King of Sparta
Leonidas was the King of Sparta during the 5th century BC. He is known for one of the most popular battles in Greek history, the battle of Thermopylae against the Persian army and King Xerxes.
King Leonidas had to defend Sparta and the rest of Central Greece from the fierce attack of the Persians. He led a small force of Persians, the famous 300, at the narrow pass of Thermopylae (Hot Gates in English) in 480 BC.
The Greek historian Herodotus suggests that the Delphic Oracle had warned Leonidas that either he would lose his life in the battle or Sparta would be destroyed by the Persians. Leonidas chose the first alternative, and although he knew that this battle would be the end of him and his soldiers, he proved that bravery is above everything.
History suggests that Leonidas and his 300 men fought hard and managed to provoke chaos to the Persian army, which had more than 300,000 men. However, a man named Ephialtes betrayed the Spartans and led the Persians from a secret passage behind the line of the Spartans, who found themselves surrounded by the Persian army. That was the end of King Leonidas and his men, but their glory is eternal.
Maybe you have watched the famous movie “300”, which despite the way that it presents some of the personalities of the story, follows the historical facts relatively closely.