In the city of a Sparta is a statue of a legend that left behind and attributed a vast of history of a king who was recognized and feared by always getting all he wanted even if the methods were deviant. Respected for keeping his head up in the worst of the challenges he faced. The name of this icon was Leonidas, a king from the ancient Sparta who was a fierce leader and showed the world what it needs to gain the respect of its people.
Personal Background
Leonidas was born in Greece Peloponnesian Peninsula in 530 B.C. (Leonidas I, par.1) Leonidas was the second son of Spartan King’s Anaxandridas first wife. Leonidas’ mother was his father’s niece. When he was a child, he received very strenuous physical conditioning for many years of military training, trying to reach to the top of the martial perfection to hone his warrior’s skills. One in a few Spartan kings received this harsh training. Attending the agoge was where all Spartans had to go in order to be suitable for their citizenship. He was not the heir to his father’s throne when his father Anaxandridas passed away, the throne came upon Cleomenes his half-brother. He also had another half-brother who was Dorieus (Leonidas 1, par.4) Cleomenes and Dorieus where Anaxandridas children from his second wife. Leonidas relationship with his brother was unknown, but he married Gorgo which was Cleomenes daughter before he came to the throne in 490 B.C. (Leonidas 1, par.5)
Political Contributions and Achievements
Leonidas was respected in Sparta, it was not by his often effective but not morally decisions, it was to resolve an issue when he felt that somebody or something was trying to hurt Sparta. Leonidas was expected to put an end with some abnormal answer. The training, the form i...
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Works Cited
1. “Leonidas, I” Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998.
Gale Biography in Context. Web. 7 Sep. 2012.
2. Mosquera, Freda. "Perez-Reverte, Arturo. El pequeno hoplita." School Library Journal July 2011: 90+. Gale Biography In Context. Web. 7 Oct. 2012.(journal)
3. "Stephen McGinty. "20 Things We Owe To Greece"" Stephen McGinty. "20 Things We Owe To Greece" N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2012. .
4. Goddard, Randall. "A little of Leonidas. (Letters)." History Today 52.10 (2002): 61. Gale Biography In Context. Web. 7 Oct. 2012.
5. "Leonidas." Historic World Leaders. Gale, 1994. Gale Biography In Context. Web. 8 Oct. 2012.
6. Frye, David. "Spartan Stand at Thermopylae." Military History 2006: 38-44. ProQuest Research Library. Web. 8 Oct. 2012
To look at this epistemologically, there is an understanding that almost every aspect involved in this culture was derived for the good of the polis. This seemed to be a very proud and arrogant people. A city with no walls, and in almost certainty, only natural born were allowed to earn citizenship. To even be called a Spartan meant years of fighting, service and status. Tyrtaeus states this argument best in the last line of his work. “Thus a man should endeavor to reach this high place of courage with all his heart, and, so trying, never be backward in war.” These writings are great resources for Spartan’s war enhanced values and societal customs, but lack in evidence of governmental affairs and religion.
The first year of fighting between Athens and Sparta is drawing to a close. As is customary during war, Athens holds a public funeral to both celebrate and mourn their fallen soldiers. Such ceremonies typically feature an oration given by a respected Athenian – with this year’s coming from renowned statesman Pericles. Previous orations had focused on celebrating the Athenian military by recounting their trials and accomplishments. Pericles decided to depart from this convention, believing it was no longer novel, nor necessary, “That part of our history which tells of the military achievements which gave us our several possessions, or of the ready valor with which either we or our fathers stemmed the tide of Hellenic or foreign aggression, is a theme too familiar to my hearers for me to dwell upon, and I shall therefore pass it by.”
From this evaluation and historical representations given by philosophers and historians during approximately the same era that is represented within 300. It is argued that the popular culture incarnations of Sparta as the ‘Noble, selfless fighters with a warrior mentality’ and the Persians as the ‘Evil, tyrannical, overindulgent, oppressors’ were not entirely historically accurate.
Hellenic culture in the Spartan community was that of a humble elite. True Spartan culture is well captured in Xenophon’s work, Spartan Society, as he wrote of how this elitist society viewed not only themselves, but the other countries around them. This work shines light into the three-part worldview of the ancient, Hellenic Spartans of: humanism, idealism, and rationalism. As Xenophon begins to write over the whole of the Spartan society it can be seen how the Spartans lived out the worldview of this Hellenistic society. This living out of the worldview recorded in Xenophon’s, Spartan Society, illustrates their worldview through the noting of Lycurgus’ accomplishments and the contrast of the “other.”
The battle of Thermopylae was the Greek’s first stand against the massive army of King Xerxes, and was the most influential battle of the entire war. Up to this point, the Persian army was seen as too massive and powerful to be stopped. The once warring city-states of Greece knew they couldn’t stand against the Persians alone, and knew in order to defend their homeland they would have to unite. A unity of command was agreed upon; King Leonidas of Sparta was chosen to lead the Greek forces. He was chosen to lead because of the unsurpassed warring abilities the Spartans were so well known for made him perfect for the objective of stopping the Persians.
Miller illustrates the separation both visually and textually. Several times Leonidas refers to the other Spartans as “children.” Once in the beginning when he is telling the Spartans to be quite and go to sleep and another is when the Spartans start attacking the Persian Messengers, “The children frolic.” Leonidas in like a parent to the other Spartans. He is watching over them and guiding them. He is their parent, King and leader, thus he must stand above them and apart. A visual form of separation is that throughout the graphic novel Leonidas is in the foreground alone, while the other Spartans are in the background. Like at the beginning of chapter 2, when Leonidas is walking towards the audience while all the Spartans are sleeping behind him. Another way Miller illustrates separation is that Leonidas will be a silhouette; where as all the other characters are drawn with light shining on them. Such is the case when Leonidas is talking to his advisors before going to war. One key reason Leonidas is the only individual isolated from the Spartans is that the audience needs a hero to love. Frank Miller’s 300 was ultimately a piece of entertainment and without a likable main character no one would be interested in reading his story. Heroes are found throughout society, whether it is storybook characters, celebrities, or sports stars. Heroes inspire us because they show us the impossible. They are always struggling and overcoming everything, encouraging us to believe we will overcome whatever we face. Heroes are symbols for all the qualities we want to posses. The individuality of Leonidas is the antithesis of historical Spartan
Spartan culture is a great example of how a society’s infrastructure will directly affect both, its social structure and superstructure. It also serves as a warning that any society that becomes too rigid in its structure and too static in its values will not last long when confronted with more agile and adaptable cultures. This paper will explore why Sparta became the Hellenic army par excellence, how this worked to create a very specific social structure founded on martial values, and, finally, how that social structure would ultimately be the undoing of the culture.
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