Leonidas of Sparta: A Boy of the Agoge

Helena P. Schrader

Leonidas: The Hero of Thermopylae
In 480 BC he would defy an army half a million strong.

But who was Leonidas?

Book I of the Leonidas Trilogy: A Boy of the Agoge

The smaller of twins, born long after two elder brothers, Leonidas was considered superfluous at birth. Lucky not to be killed for being undersized, he was raised not as a prince, but as an ordinary citizen. As such he had to endure the harsh upbringing of ordinary Spartan youth: the Agoge.

Barefoot, always a little hungry, and subject to rigid discipline, Leonidas must prove himself worthy of Spartan citizenship.

"This is a great read; Helena Schrader is a first class story teller with a deep historic knowledge of the period she writes of; she can certainly be placed in the same category as Mary Renault or Colleen McCullough. A very imaginative book while at the same time strictly adhering to historical facts." JC de Uriarteon

"I couldn't put it down. I love histotical fiction that makes a real attempt at accuracy and provides depth into the characters. This book used real facts whenever possible and filled the gaps with plausible fiction." Macil Krieseron

"In Helena's vision of Sparta people remain people, they feel and think like people would.

"There is also A LOT of vert good logic in Helena's reconstruction of what an Agoge would be like. So, unlike some other historical works supposing the Agoge amounted to simply beating up little boys or constantly molesting them or forcing them to live in the wilderness on their own for unreasonable periods of time, the Agoge of Helena Schrader actually makes sense. In her view of Agoge, you can really see how little boys are taken gradually, year by year, to a new level of knowledge of themselves and the world around them, as they become more intellectually developed and physically fit and overall competent." An Amazon Reviewer