King Leonidas

Statue Of King Leonidas (http://rosaliawalter.girlshopes.com/biographysonkingleonidas/)

My hero is the warrior King Leonidas of Sparta. King Leonidas is most well known for his heroics at the battle of Thermopylae.

The Persian army was invading Greece with the goal of conquering the world. King Leonidas was appointed the leader of the Greek army that would battle Persia because of the Spartans' well-known prowess in battle. When the Persians finally arrived at the gates of Thermopylae, the Spartans unfortunately could not go to battle because a religious festival called the “Carneia” prevented them. But as the leader of the Greek Alliance army, King Leonidas felt he could not let down his country and led the army to battle with a mere 300 Spartan soldiers. The Greek army had a combined force of 7,000 men that were to go to battle against the sea of 200,000 invading Persian warriors. On the seventh day of battle the Greek army had killed 20,000 Persians and only lost 2,000 of their own. But then the battle was lost as a Greek traitor informed the Persian King Xerxes of a mountain pass that could be used to outflank and finish off the Greek army. King Leonidas, knowing that they would all die, gave the order for the Alliance forces to retreat except for him and the 300 Spartans who stayed to die a heroes death. King Leonidas and his three hundred men died on August 11th 480 B.C. battle the invading Persian force.

King Leonidas was my chosen hero because of his bravery and leadership in battle. He was not originally set to be the king of Sparta so he was sent to go through the military training that is customary of all Spartan citizens. Later when both his older brothers were no longer fit to serve he became king of Sparta, one of the few kings to ever go through the training process known as the “agoge”. King Leonidas did not need to go to battle and die with the men of Sparta but he felt as a trained Spartan warrior it was his duty to fight and die with his men. The courage that King Leonidas displayed to his men made him the greatest leader of all time in my mind and that is why I have chosen him as my hero. He is the greatest example of bravery and leadership.