Leon of Sparta

This article is about a Spartan king. For other uses, see Leon (disambiguation).

Leon (Ancient Greek: Λέων) was the 14th Agiad dynasty King of Sparta, ruling from 590 BC to 560 BC.

Leon
Family tree of Leon
King of Sparta
Reign	c. 590 – 560 BC
Predecessor	Eurycratides
Successor	Anaxandridas II
Born	Sparta
Issue	Anaxandridas II
Father	Eurycratides

Name

Leon means "lion".^[1][2] The grandson of Leon had a similar name: Leonidas.

Biography

Leon is mentioned in the seventh book of The Histories by Herodotus.^[3]

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

Grandfather to Leonidis (famous king)

Family

Leon was the son of king Eurycratides^[4] and grandson of Anaxander.^[5]

He was succeeded on the throne by his son Anaxandridas II, who managed to defeat Tegea.^[6]

Family tree

Leon of Sparta

King Anaxandridas II

Wife of Leon

King Cleomenes I of Sparta

Daughter of Prinetades

Gorgo, Queen of Sparta

Wife of Cleomenes

Pleistarchus

Wife of Eurycratides

Leon of Sparta

Eurycratides of Sparta

King Anaxandridas II of Sparta

Wife of Leon

Leonidas I, King of Sparta

Niece of Anaxandridas

Notes

1. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert (1980). A Greek-English Lexicon (Abridged ed.). United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. p. 411. ISBN 0-19-910207-4.
2. Simpson, John; Weiner, Edmund, eds. (1989). "Lion". Oxford English Dictionary (2nd ed.). Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-861186-2.
3. Herodotus 7.204, "(Leonides) Anaxandrides’ son, Leon’s son, Eurycratides’ son, Anaxandrus’ son, Eurycrates’ son."
4. Totius latinitatis lexicon: C-E (1861) by Egidio Forcellini, Vincenzo de Vit and Giuseppe Furlanetto
5. Ancient History: A Revised Chronology, Volume 1 by Anthony Lyle
6. Anaxandridas II Archived 2009-04-15 at the Wayback Machine

Preceded by Eurycratides	Agiad King of Sparta 590 - 560 BC	Succeeded by Anaxandridas II