Was a spartan king who died fighting the persians at the battle of thermopylae

King Leonidas was the Spartan King who died fighting the Persians at the Battle of Thermopylae. The battle was fought between the alliance of Greek city-states and Sparta, against the Persian Empire of Xerxes I. The war lasted for three days and occurred at the narrow coastal pass of Thermopylae, known as “The Hot Gates.” The armies of Greeks and Spartans were said to have blocked the passage to block the Persian army. The alliances were made because of the huge army and navy amassed by Xerxes. The war was actually a delayed response to the defeat of the first Persian invasion of Greece.