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Leonidas

Historical Figure
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Spartan king who died defending Thermopylae against Xerxes’ Persian army

Detailed Definition
Leonidas’ last stand with 300 Spartans became a legend of heroic resistance. His defiance inspired later freedom fighters. Poets reference him as the epitome of sacrificial courage, the few against the many, and the enduring myth of liberty defended to the death.
Example
Example in poetry:
Leonidas, at Thermopylae, held the pass with three hundred free; Poets chant “Molon labe”—“come and take”—in stanzas of defiant ache; His stand, though doomed, became a spark for freedom’s eternal arc; In elegies, Leonidas’ death is not defeat but honor’s breath; Modern verse recalls his choice: to die for law, not live in tyranny’s thrall; His legacy: courage measured not in victory, but in sacrifice’s gravity.
Additional Notes
Leonidas I (d. 480 BCE), Spartan king who died with 300 warriors at Thermopylae against Xerxes’ Persians; in poetry, Leonidas embodies heroic sacrifice, laconic resolve, and the defense of freedom—immortalized by Simonides’ epitaph (“Go tell the Spartans…”); frequently invoked in nationalist, martial, or elegiac verse from antiquity to modern times as a symbol of principled resistance.
Also Known As
Leonidas I of Sparta King Leonidas
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