GORGO: BIOGRAPHY, CHARACTERISTICS, MARRIAGE, PHRASES - BIOGRAPHIES - 2025

Gorgo (c. 518 - 5th century BC) was the queen of Sparta during the ten years of the reign of Leonidas I. Her great wisdom was recognized and her political importance has come to be recognized, especially in making of decisions during the reigns of her husband and later of her son.

She was the daughter of one of the kings of Sparta, Cleómenes I, whose reign passed between 520 BC. Until 490 a. C., when Leonidas I ascended to the throne. There are some details of Gorgo that are unknown, such as the date of birth and her death. Historians have even affirmed that she lived while her son Plistarco reigned in Sparta.

Source: Helena P. Schrader, via Wikimedia Commons.

Her importance in Ancient Greece was revealed by being one of the few women listed in the writings of the famous historian Herodotus.

Biography

Private life

There is no official record that shows the year Gorgo was born and it is not known when he died. From the stories of Herodotus it is believed that Gorgo was born sometime between 518 and 508 BC. C.

At this time, Sparta was ruled by two different dynasties. Gorgo was part of the Agiadas clan. The other family was of the Euripóntidas, that had like kings to Demaratus and Leotiquidas while Gorgo lived. Reigns that coincided with those of Cleómenes I, Leónidas I and Plistarco; father, husband and son of the queen.

The marriage between Gorgo and Leónidas I had to occur before 490 BC. C., since in that way he was the one who ascended to the throne, as Gorgo was the only recognized daughter that Cleómenes I had. When Leonidas I died in 480 BC. C., Gorgo was still alive.

Nor are the details of her role as queen mother known during the time of Plistarchus reigned Sparta (480 - 459 BC).

Although she was the only heir to the throne, being the only daughter Cleomenes had, the laws of Sparta did not contemplate the possibility of a woman ascended to the throne. All this despite the fact that in Sparta women benefited from having more rights than in many other areas of the world, something unusual for the time.

Education

In Sparta women enjoyed greater freedom than in other parts of Greece in ancient times. As part of the nobility she had a very broad education on different areas. She dominated literature, singing and dancing.

According to historians, Spartan women used to marry when they reached the age of 18 and their partners were roughly the same age.

Herodotus version

Although women were important in the culture of Sparta, few were named by historians in their writings. Gorgo was one of the exceptions to this. Specifically, illustrious men like Herodotus and Plutarch mentioned it at some point in their works.

The first reference to Gorgo occurred during the Ionian revolt, which was a conflict between the Persians and the Greeks, who wanted to end the Persian rule in their territory. Aristagoras, a tyrant in one of the cities of Ionia, sought support from King Cleomenes, who refused to intervene in the conflict.

The historian Herodotus reported that Gorgo was present at the meeting between the Spartan king and the Ionian tyrant.

According to the writings, Aristagoras tried to bribe Cleomenes to get his help, until his daughter intervened and recommended that her father leave the room so as not to fall into the temptation of being corrupted, advice that the king of Sparta followed.

Some legends claimed that Cleomenes committed suicide, but his role is always recognized so that Sparta could gain political importance.

Marriage to Leonidas

King Cleomenes had no male offspring. His only daughter was Gorgo, so Sparta would not have heirs to the throne if the king died, as it finally happened. That is why Leonidas I, who was Cleomenes' half brother, came to power.

By the time of assuming the throne, Leonidas and Gorgo are believed to have already married. In this way, Gorgo in 490 a. C. became queen of Sparta. The greatest number of references to Gorgo's life and actions occur thanks to her husband's ten-year reign.

One of the most important actions that was recognized as the work of Gorgo was to have discovered the plan of the Persians to invade Greece. All thanks to a message sent to warn of Xerxes' plans. The message reached Sparta on a blank tablet. Gorgo recommended scraping the tablet to see if they could uncover any coded writing and they did.

Gorgo's role was essential so that the Greeks could prepare at least for the Persian attack. For historians, Gorgo had a lot of influence on the political decisions of Sparta during the reign of her husband, who did not ignore his advice just because she was a woman.

When Leonidas left for Thermopylae, he recommended to Gorgo that he remarry and be happy. There was no record that allowed corroborating whether the queen followed her husband's instructions after dying in battle.

Plistarco

There are no records of how many children Gorgo and Leonidas I had. There were only references to Plistarco, who became king of Sparta. At the beginning of his reign he counted on the help of his uncle Cleómbroto and his cousin General Pausanias, who were the regents while Plistarco was a minor.

characteristics

Gorgo was recognized by historians for being a woman of great wisdom. She was clever enough to decipher the hidden message warning of the Persian invasion. Some historians have even claimed that he had more authority than he was recognized for.

She was considered one of the most influential women in the ancient history of Greece for her role during the reign of Leonidas I. She may have had an important role during the reign of his son, but there are no records that speak of her in this period of the history of Sparta.

The importance of Gorgo is evident only from the fact that it was named in various works by important ancient Greek thinkers and historians.

It was an unusual practice to recognize the role of women, especially since at that time Athens had great political power and men held the reins of politics and those that were reflected in historical writings.

Even very few names of queens of Sparta are known today, which proved that Gorgo was the exception to the rule.

Leonidas' wife was not mentioned for her beauty as was the case with other women of antiquity. So it was inferred that she was not exactly pretty. In fact, there is a hypothesis about her physical appearance that has to do with her name, since Gorgo made reference to a character in Greek mythology who was a beast with snakes on her head.

Movie

Gorgo appeared in 300 different films, which narrated the story of the Battle of Thermopylae and which was based on a few comics on the subject. In the first film, which was released in 1962, Gorgo was represented by Anna Synodinou. Then, in 300 (2006) and 300: The Birth of an Empire (2014), the role of Gorgo was played by Lena Headey.

In all cases she was always represented, albeit briefly, as a wise and strong woman. The 2006 film is where Gorgo's role is talked about the most before the conflict with the Persians begins.

The queen had an important participation in the film where it was shown that she got to interact with men, advised her husband and shared ideas with politicians of the time.

Other representations

Gorgo is represented in more moments of popular culture. She was part of a video game called Civilization VI. Three novels by Helena Schrader narrate her life and her relationship with Leonidas. It also appears in the book Sacred Games: The Mysteries of Athens, written by Gary Corby and first published in 2013.

Gorgo was also the name that many other things received, although it has not been shown that it was in reference to the queen.

In the 20th century, an asteroid orbiting the sun was discovered, which they called Gorgo. Several areas of Italy have this name, as does a butterfly and a character from Los locos Addams.

Phrases attributed

Thanks to 300 films many phrases are attributed to Gorgo. The most repeated appointment associated with the queen was when she addressed a messenger to emphasize the strength and importance of the women of Sparta.

At that time he defended the rights that women of the time enjoyed by reminding the Persian that "only women in Sparta give birth to real men."

The above is a quote that varies according to the source consulted. Plutarco also made reference to that phrase, although in his case he assured that it happened during a conversation with another woman.

"Father, your visit is going to corrupt you if you don't stop and leave the room," was the advice that, according to Herodotus, Gorgo gave his father to prevent him from helping Aristagoras. It is said that he was less than 10 years old when he spoke those words, although the truth is that he could have been much older than Herodotus recognized.

References

1. Burns, Shannon. Badass Braids. Quarto Publishing Group USA, 2018.
2. Chaudhry, TS The Queen Of Sparta. John Hunt Publishing, 2014.
3. Komborozos, Costas. Of Shadows And She-Wolves: Stories Of Queen Gorgo And Queen Artemisia. Createspace Independent Publishing Platform, 2016.
4. Monaghan, Nicole, and Michelle Reale. Stripped. PS Books, 2011.
5. Rosenberg, Michelle, and Sonia D Picker. Historical Heroines. Pen & Sword Books Limited, 2018.