In the city of Sparta there is the statue of a legend that left behind and attributed a vast history of a king who was recognized and feared always achieving everything he wanted even if the methods were deviant. Respected for keeping his head high even in the worst challenges he faced. The name of this icon was Leonidas, a king of ancient Sparta who was a fierce leader and showed the world what it needs to gain the respect of his people. Personal backgroundLeonidas was born on the Greek peninsula of Peloponnese in 530 BC (Leonidas I, par .1) Leonidas was the second son of the Spartan king's first wife Anaxandridas. Leonidas' mother was his father's niece. When he was a child, he received very strenuous physical conditioning through many years of military training, striving to reach the peak of martial perfection to hone his skills as a warrior. One in a few Spartan kings received this harsh training. Attending the agoge was where all Spartans had to go to be eligible for citizenship. He was not heir to his father's throne when his father Anaxandridas died, the throne passed to Cleomenes, his half-brother. He also had another half-brother who was Dorieus (Leonidas 1, par.4) Cleomenes and Dorieus with whom Anaxandridas had children by his second wife. Leonidas' relationship with his brother was unknown, but he married Gorgo, daughter of Cleomenes, before taking the throne in 490 BC (Leonidas 1, par.5) Political contributions and achievements Leonidas was respected in Sparta, was not often effective but not decisions morally, it was to solve a problem when he felt that someone or something was trying to hurt Sparta. Leonidas was expected to end up with some anomalous response. The formation, the form i...... middle of the sheet ......Works Cited1. Encyclopedia of world biography "Leonidas, I". Detroit: Gale, 1998. Gale biography in context. Network. 7 September 2012.2. Mosquera, Freda. "Perez-Reverte, Arturo. El pequeno hoplita." School Library Journal July 2011: 90+. Gale biography in context. Network. 7 October 2012.(newspaper)3. "Stephen McGinty. "20 Things We Owe Greece"" Stephen McGinty. “20 Things We Owe Greece” Np, nd Web. 05 October 2012. .4. Goddard, Randall. "A little about Leonidas. (Letters)." History Today 52.10 (2002): 61. Gale Biography in context. Network. 7 October 2012.5. "Leonidas." Historic world leaders. Gale, 1994. Gale biography in context. Network. 8 October 2012.6. Frie, David. "Spartan Stand at Thermopylae." Military History 2006: 38-44. ProQuest Research Library. Network. 8 October. 2012