Leonidas I was a warrior king of the Greek city-state of Sparta. Also the 17th of the Agiad line; a dynasty which claimed descent from the mythological demigod Heracles and Cadmus.
He is mostly know for the battle of Thermopylae where he leaded a small group of only 300 Spartans to face the Persian army invasion of two million strong.
Before the battle, the oracles predicted that his army had no chance of winning. Leonidas took his shield and spear up and bravely faced the challenge.
Obviously, they lost pretty hard. But they held back the army for so long and reduce the army so much that their became legendary.
As described by Kilmartin and Smiler in their textbook The Masculine Self, a man should show no emotion, no care about fashion and have a manly job.
King Leonidas I is the prefect example of anti-femininity. We can easily see it in the movie “300” where he is the main character.
Show no emotions: Through the full 2 hours of the movie, he display only emotions, humor and anger. The rest of the time, he is stoic as a rock.
No fashion sense: The only clothes he wear are a cape and a underwear. Oh right! Also a shield, a sword and a spear. Very fashion.
Manly job: Is there any job more manly (anti-feminine) that being the king of the greatest military force of all Greece.
The Spartans were know for one primary thing. Being warriors.
Lovers and Fighters | Section 22 