In the city of Sparta stands a statue of a legend that left behind and attributed a vast history to a king who was recognized and feared for always achieving whatever he wanted, even if his methods were deviant. Respected for holding his head high in the face of the worst challenges he has faced. The name of this icon was Leonidas, a king of ancient Sparta who was a fierce leader and showed the world what he needed to earn the respect of his people. Personal Background Leonidas was born in the Greek Peloponnese Peninsula 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. As a child, he received very intense physical conditioning during many years of military training, trying to reach the pinnacle of martial perfection to hone his skills as a warrior. One in every few Spartan kings received this harsh training. All Spartans had to go to the agoge in order to obtain their citizenship. He was not the heir to his father's throne when his father Anaxandridas died, the throne went to Cleomenes, his half-brother. He also had another half-brother who was Dorieus (Leonidas 1, par.4) Cleomenes and Dorieus where Anaxandridas had children from his second wife. Leonidas' relationship with his brother was unknown, but he married Gorgo who was the daughter of Cleomenes before ascending the throne in 490 BC. not moral decisions, it was about solving a problem when he felt someone or something was trying to hurt Sparta. Leonidas was expected to put an end to it with an abnormal response. Training, form I...... middle of article ......Works Cited1. “Leonidas, me” Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Gale biography in context. Internet. September 7, 2012.2. Mosque, Freda. "Pérez-Reverte, Arturo. El petit hoplita." School Library Journal July 2011: 90+. Gale biography in context. Internet. October 7, 2012. (newspaper)3. “Stephen McGinty. “20 Things We Owe Greece”” Stephen McGinty. “20 things we owe to Greece” Np, nd Web. October 5, 2012. .4. Goddard, Randall. “A bit of Leonidas. (Letters).” History Today 52.10 (2002): 61. Gale biography in context. Internet. October 7, 2012.5. “Leonidas.” Historical world leaders. Gale, 1994. Gale biography in context. Internet. October 8, 2012.6. Frye, David. “Spartan Stand at Thermopylae.” Military History 2006: 38-44. ProQuest Research Library. Internet. October 8. 2012