Leon ( grc-gre, Λέων) was the 14th

Agiad The Agiad dynasty was one of the two royal families of Sparta, a powerful city-state of Ancient Greece. The Agiads were seniors to the other royal house, the Eurypontids, with whom they had an enduring rivalry. Their hypothetical founder was Agis I ...

dynasty

King of Sparta For most of its history, the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek polis, city-state of Sparta in the Peloponnese was ruled by kings. Sparta was unusual among the Greek city-states in that it maintained its kingship past the archaic Greece, Archaic age. I ...

, ruling from 590 BC to 560 BC.

Name

''Leon'' means "

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

". The grandson of Leon had a similar name:

Leonidas Leonidas I (; grc-gre, Λεωνίδας; died 19 September 480 BC) was a List of kings of Sparta#Heraclids, king of the Greek city-state of Sparta, and the 17th of the List of kings of Sparta#Agiad dynasty, Agiad line, a dynasty which claimed d ...

Biography

Leon is mentioned in the seventh book of '' The Histories'' by

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...

. He is said to have, like his father, fought to a draw with the

Tegea Tegea (; el, Τεγέα) was a settlement in ancient Arcadia, and it is also a former municipality in Arcadia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the Tripoli municipality, of which it is a municipal unit w ...

ns. Grandfather to Leonidis (famous king)

Family

Leon was the son of king

Eurycratides Eurycratides ( grc-gre, Εὐρυκρατίδης, "wide ruler") was the thirteenth king of Sparta from the Agiad dynasty. He succeeded his father Anaxander around 615 BC and reigned during a devastating period of war with Tegea. In 590 BC, Eury ...

and grandson of

Anaxander Anaxander or Anaxandros ( grc-gre, Ἀνάξανδρος) was the 12th Agiad dynasty King of Sparta (ruled c. 640–615 BC). He was the son of King Eurycrates and father of King Eurycratides. His grandson was King Leon of Sparta Leon ( g ...

. He was succeeded on the

throne A throne is the seat of state of a potentate or dignitary, especially the seat occupied by a sovereign on state occasions; or the seat occupied by a pope or bishop on ceremonial occasions. "Throne" in an abstract sense can also refer to the monar ...

by his son

Anaxandridas II Anaxandridas II ( grc-gre, Ἀναξανδρίδας) was an Agiad king of Sparta between c. 560 BC and c. 524 BC, father of Leonidas I and grandfather of Pleistarchus. Under the leadership of the ephor Chilon, in office during the middle of th ...

, who managed to defeat Tegea.Anaxandridas II

Family tree

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leon 6th-century BC rulers 6th-century BC Spartans Agiad kings of Sparta 560 BC deaths Year of birth unknown