Leonidas: King of Sparta side view 29x19cm Full length alabaster statue, ancient Greece

Leonidas I was

A king of the Greek city-state of Sparta, and the 17th of the Agiad line, a dynasty which claimed descent from the mythological demigod Heracles and Cadmus. He was succeeded by his son, King Pleistarchus. Leonidas had a notable participation in the Second Persian War, where he led the allied Greek forces to a last stand at the Battle of Thermopylae (480 BC) while attempting to defend the pass from the invading Persian army. He died at the battle and entered myth as the leader of the 300 Spartans and 700 Thespians. When Xerxes sent him a messenger and asked him to hand over his weapons and surrender, the Spartan king replied, the timeless, " Molon lave ", meaning "come and take them", thus wanting to challenge him to fight and prove his worth. Ephialtes’ betrayal led to the death of all Greek soldiers, including King Leonidas who became a symbol of patriotic self-sacrifice. A bronze statue of Leonidas was erected at Thermopylae in 1955. A sign, under the statue, reads simply: "ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ" ("Come and take them"), Another statue, also with the same inscription, was erected at Sparta in 1968. Both of them depict the Spartan king with a spear and shield.

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