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Leon of Sparta

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Leon
Family tree of Leon
King of Sparta
Reignc. 590 – 560 BC
PredecessorEurycratides
SuccessorAnaxandridas II
BornSparta
IssueAnaxandridas II
FatherEurycratides

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

Name

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

Biography

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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

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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

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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

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  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 Agiad King of Sparta
590 - 560 BC
Succeeded by