King Leonidas was the
Spartan King who died fighting the Persians at the Battle of Thermopylae. The
battle was fought between the alliance of Greek city-states and Sparta, against
the Persian Empire of Xerxes I. The war lasted for three days and occurred at
the narrow coastal pass of Thermopylae, known as “The Hot Gates.” The armies of
Greeks and Spartans were said to have blocked the passage to block the Persian
army. The alliances were made because of the huge army and navy amassed by
Xerxes. The war was actually a delayed response to the defeat of the first
Persian invasion of Greece.
