For other uses, see Leonidas (disambiguation)
Leonidas of Epirus or Leuconides, was a kinsman of Olympias, the mother of Alexander the Great, who was entrusted with the main superintendence of Alexander's education in his earlier years, apparently before he became a student of Aristotle.
Leonidas was a man of austere character, and trained the young prince in laconic discipline. He was once a king of Sparta. He was very religious. Thus, he would even examine the chests which contained his pupil's bedding and clothes, to see whether Olympias had placed anything there that might minister to luxury. There were two excellent cooks (said Alexander afterwards) with which Leonidas had furnished him,—a night's march to season his breakfast, and a scanty breakfast to season his dinner.
On one occasion, when Alexander at a sacrifice was throwing large quantities of incense on the fire, Leonidas admonished him to "be more sparing of it till you have conquered the country where it grows." Alexander sent him afterwards from Asia 600 talents' weight of incense and myrrh, "that he might no longer be penurious" (so ran the message) "in his offerings to the gods." It may be questioned whether the rough discipline of Leonidas was not carried further than was altogether beneficial to Alexander's character.
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology by William Smith (1870).