Blog Number 85 - King Leonidas' personal bodyguard, the '300' Spartans

When King Leonidas and his personal bodyguard marched to Thermopylae in 480 B.C., he would have 'under normal circumstances' been accompanied by the Hippeis. However, since these 300 Spartans had to have a male heir, the royal bodyguard of King Leonidas that fought and died at Thermopylae must have consisted of a combination of Hippeis and other Spartan hoplites since not all the Hippeis had produced a male heir.