Queen of Sparta, daughter of Cleomenes I and wife of Leonidas, Gorgô leads an active political role and is one of the few women named by the ancient historian Herodotus.
The King's Daughter
Gorgo's father, Cleomenes, was king of Sparta. Little is known of her childhood except that she was certainly brought up like the other noble girls of Sparta, with an excellent education and daily physical exercise.
According to Herodotus, at the age of nine, Gorgô attends the audience of Aristagoras of Miletus, sent by the Greek cities of Ionia to convince Sparta to support their revolt. She allegedly said to her father, "Father, if you don't drive this stranger away, he will be your downfall. Cleomenes would have followed his advice. In reality, it is likely that Gorgô was older during this episode.
“Why are you the only ones who command the men? »
Subsequently, Gorgô marries his father's half-brother, Leonidas. Over time, her father Cleomenes begins to lose his mind. Attacking citizens in the street, he ends up fleeing the city and then being held in detention, where he dies in obscure circumstances. Gorgô is his only heiress.
Herodotus describes her present at the court, during councils, giving her opinion to the kings and his elders. Plutarch relates an anecdote about her:Having been questioned by a woman from Attica:'Why are you Laconians the only ones who rule over the men? "It's because," she replied, "we are the only ones who give birth to men." »
The Persian Wars
In -480, the Persians threaten Greece and Demarate, co-king of Sparta in exile, wants to warn the Greeks of the threat hanging over them. He sends a secret message to Sparta, in the form of a wax tablet, and it is Gorgô who has the idea of scratching the wax, thus revealing the true message engraved on the wood.
Leonidas, Gorgô's husband, is killed during the famous Battle of Thermopylae. Their son is still a minor and an uncle is in charge of the regency until he grows up.