The Wandering King

Because of the movie '300' many people are familiar with the story of Leonidas and the famous last stand of the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae. What many people don't realize is that Leonidas:

• Had three brothers; Cleomenes, Dorieus and Kleombrotus
• Married Gorgo, the daughter of his eldest brother, the previous Spartan King, Cleomenes
• Had a twin brother, Kleombrotus, and most likely married his niece to give him a stronger claim to the throne than his twin

Though Leonidas plays a role in 'The Wandering King,' he is not the main character. The story revolves around his nephew, Euryanax, whose name in ancient Greek means, 'wandering king.' Euryanax was the son of Leonidas' older brother, Dorieus.

According to history as written by Herodotus, after reigning for many years, Leonidas' father King Anaxandridas, did not have any children. Worried about the extinction of the royal line, the Spartans forced Anaxandridas to take a second wife to bear him an heir. This second wife bore Cleomenes.

Shortly after Cleomenes' birth, Anaxandridas' first wife became pregnant and gave birth to Dorieus. A few years later she delivered twins, Leonidas and Kleombrotus.

After Anaxandridas' death, as the oldest son of the king's 'rightful' wife, Dorieus fully expected the Spartan ephors to declare him king. They didn't. They elected Cleomenes king, angering Dorieus, who left Sparta to build a colony in Libya.

Thereby starting a series of events, that leads to our story...