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Leto Atreides I

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"Here I am and here I remain![18]"
―Duke Leto addresses his dinner guests at the Arrakeen governor's palace

Leto Atreides I (10140 A.G. - March[19] 10191 A.G.) was the 20th and penultimate Duke of House Atreides and the father of Emperor Paul Atreides. Well known for his even-handed and compassionate leadership style, Leto ruled over Caladan and later Arrakis while at war with the Baron Vladimir of House Harkonnen.

Biography[]

Life on Caladan[]

A direct descendant of Ancient Greek monarch King Agamemnon, Leto I was famously known as the Red Duke and affectionately called Leto the Just. Celebrated for his fair and compassionate leadership, he managed the reins of Caladan and kept his military well-trained and battle-hardened, despite the softness of their verdant home and utopian lifestyle, as they could not afford weakness with the brutal Harkonnens as enemies.

A model of strong but fair governance over his organized but spiritually content society, Duke Leto became a prominent player in the Landsraad, much to the Padishah Emperor's concern. The fact that Leto's military power began to rival that of the Imperial Sardaukar only strained his goodwill with the Corrino monarch.

Migration to Arrakis[]

After almost two decades of rule on Caladan with the Lady Jessica, Leto was ordered by the Emperor to take over the planetary fief of Arrakis from House Harkonnen, and thus was required to move his House from Caladan to Dune. Arrakis was a notoriously difficult planet to manage, but as the only source of the spice melange, it was also immensely important. Thus the role brought both jeopardy and the jealousy of Leto's fellow noblemen among the Great Houses. Thus, Leto leapt at the chance to increase his standing in the Landsraad, even though he knew it would also put his House in great peril. Leto committed all his resources to the venture, and it was said that to illustrate this point to his people and the people of Arrakis, that upon his arrival he planted a flag upon the battlements at Arrakeen and proclaimed: "Here I am, here I remain!"

Leto's resolve was strengthened by a letter the Emperor had sent him upon his arrival on Arrakis. Addressed to his "Noble Duke", the letter outlined that Leto was given House Corrino's full support to introduce and uphold the rule of the Faufreluches. This letter served to illustrate Corrino duplicity, for at the same time, Shaddam Corrino IV was plotting Leto's demise.

During consolidation of his rule over Arrakis, Leto made a quick and positive impact on the people of Dune. His fair-handedness, political savvy, and personal charisma saw many in Arrakeen society, from the Fremen to the aristocratic Houses Minor, become supporters. However, only a short while into Leto's rule on Dune, the Emperor gave Baron Vladimir Harkonnen approval to invade and destroy House Atreides, even going so far as to provide some of his own Sardaukar in support. The Emperor's urgency in disposing of House Atreides was amplified by the fact that he had come to know that the Duke Leto had managed to develop a small force of soldiers capable of rivaling the Emperor's Sardaukar. This had been accomplished through Leto's principal advisors and generals, namely Thufir Hawat, Duncan Idaho, and Gurney Halleck.

Death[]

During the Siege of Arrakeen, Leto was betrayed by his private Suk doctor, Wellington Yueh, and turned over to the Harkonnens. Although Yueh had given Leto the chance to kill the Baron using a poisoned tooth embedded in the Duke's mouth, the scheme failed. Consequently, Leto died during the assassination attempt, but the Baron survived, although his twisted Mentat Piter de Vries was killed by the poison.

Some years later, Leto's remains were recovered from a funeral pyre by his son Paul in Arrakeen. Paul laid his father's remains to rest in the Skull Tomb in the desert of Arrakis. The late Duke's legacy was felt in Paul's reign as Emperor, and also in the conception of a daughter, Alia Atreides, carried by Jessica but only discovered after Leto's death. [20]

Legacy[]

In some ways, Leto lived on in his son Paul and grandson Leto II, through their possession of Other Memory. It was also partially Leto's love for Duncan Idaho that saw Leto II maintain a series of Idaho gholas throughout his reign. [21] During both Paul's and Leto II's reign, millions flocked to visit Leto I's shrine, since Atreides ancestry had taken on a religious mystique. More than this, Leto came to symbolize all that was good about the Atreides bloodline: courage, integrity, loyalty, justice, and honor. As such, had Leto survived his rule on Arrakis, he would have eventually commanded the same fanaticism with which the Fremen came to follow his son.

Despite buying her from the Bene Gesserit for her clerical skills,[citation needed 1]​ it was was only natural for Leto to fall in love with Jessica, given her training in romance and seduction. However, Jessica's genuine love for Leto was a betrayal of the Sisterhood's values, including their strict order to give Leto a daughter and not the son he desired. This unauthorized male heir disrupted the breeding program so irreversibly that "the Jessica Crime" became a lasting warning for any Sister driven to similar temptation. [22]

Description[]

Leto Atreides I was a tall man with olive skin[16] and dark hair.[17] He had a narrow face full of angles and planes, with a high-bridged aquiline nose that gave him the look of a hawk, and woodsmoke in his gray eyes.[16]

Quotes[]

"Our supremacy on Caladan depended on sea and air power. Here, we must develop something I choose to call desert power. This may include air power, but it's possible it may not. I call your attention to the lack of 'thopter shields. The Harkonnens relied on turnover from off planet for some of their key personnel. We don't dare. Each new lot would have its quota of provocateurs.[23]"
―Leto Atreides I
"Damn the Spice! We can always get more spice. There are seats in our ships for all but three of you. Draw straws or decide any way you like who's to go. But you're going, and that's an order![24]"
―Leto Atreides I


Trivia[]

  • Alejandro Jodorowsky wanted late actor David Carradine to portray Leto Atreides in his unsuccessful attempt to produce a film adaptation of Dune. Jodorowsky became interested in Carradine for the role after watching his series Kung Fu. When they met, the director reportedly passed him a bottle of Vitamin E pills and told him to "take one every day." Carradine swallowed the pills immediately and Jodorowsky knew he was "the person [he was] searching for." Jodorowsky has stated that he also considered himself for the role, especially given that his son, Brontis, was to play the role of Paul.
  • Leto Atreides was portrayed by German actor Jürgen Prochnow in the 1984 film adaptation, the late William Hurt in the 2000 miniseries, and Oscar Isaac in the 2021 film.

Gallery[]

Illustrations[]

Apocrypha[]

Adaptations[]

Appearances[]

Preceded by
Old Duke 		Duke of House Atreides
?? - 10191 AG 		Succeeded by
Paul Atreides


Preceded by
Hasimir Fenring (interim governor) 		Governor of Arrakis
10191 AG 		Succeeded by
Glossu Rabban


v • d • e
House Atreides
Dukes

Old Duke • Leto Atreides I • Paul Atreides • Leto Atreides II

Family

Atreides at Corrin • Jessica Atreides • Alia Atreides • Chani Kynes • Leto Atreides II the Elder • Ghanima Atreides • Moneo Atreides • Siona Atreides

Retainers

Duncan Idaho • Gurney Halleck • Thufir Hawat • Wellington Yueh • Fedor • Mattai • Arkie • Gladiator • Stilgar


References[]

  1. ↑ Dune - Chapter 11: If the people of this decadent garrison city could only see the Emperor's private note to his "Noble Duke"
  2. ↑ Dune - Chapter 20: "Pity!" the Sardaukar sneered. He advanced, looked down at Leto. "So that's the great Red Duke." If I had doubts about what this man is, that would end them, Yueh thought. Only the Emperor calls the Atreides the Red Duke.
  3. ↑ Dune - Chapter 12: They address you as 'Leto the Just' and promise eternal friendship, but only as long as it doesn't cost them anything."
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Dune - Chapter 5: YUEH (yu'e), Wellington (weling-tun), Stdrd 10,082-10,191; medical doctor of the Suk School (grd Stdrd 10,112); md: Wanna Marcus, B.G. (Stdrd 10,092-10,186?); chiefly noted as betrayer of Duke Leto Atreides. (Cf: Bibliography, Appendix VII [Imperial Conditioning] and Betrayal, The.)
  5. ↑ Dune - Chapter 35: He looked up at the new talismans flanking the exit to his hall--the mounted bull's head and the oil painting of the Old Duke Atreides, the late Duke Leto's father.
  6. ↑ Dune - Chapter 6: Paul watched his father enter the training room... The Duke said: "Hard at work, Son?"
  7. ↑ Dune - Chapter 47: "I am Alia, daughter of Duke Leto and the Lady Jessica, sister of Duke Paul- Muad'Dib," the child said.
  8. ↑ Dune - Chapter 44: A sudden longing to see her grandson, the child whose likeness carried so much of the grandfather's features -- so like Leto, swept through her.
  9. ↑ Children of Dune - Chapter 20: The lad was like his Atreides namesake, the grandfather Leto. Everyone who'd known the original Duke remarked on it. Leto had the measuring look about him, and caution
  10. ↑ Children of Dune - Chapter 19: Oddly, Jessica's thoughts were moving in a similar vein as she talked to her granddaughter.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Dune - Appendix IV: The Almanak en-Ashraf (Selected Excerpts of the Noble Houses): LETO ATREIDES (10,140-10,191)
  12. ↑ Dune - Appendix IV: The Almanak en-Ashraf (Selected Excerpts of the Noble Houses): The remains of Duke Leto occupy the "Skull Tomb" on Arrakis.
  13. ↑ Dune - Chapter 18: Leto put his left hand to the switch on his shield belt, slipped his kindjal into his right hand. The knife conveyed a sense of reassurance.
  14. ↑ Dune - Chapter 13: "Use some of Idaho's men. And perhaps some of the Fremen would enjoy a trip off planet. A raid on Giedi Prime--there are tactical advantages to such a diversion, Thufir." "As you say, my Lord."
  15. ↑ Dune - Chapter 21: The Baron chewed at his lower lip, consoling himself that the Emperor, at least, had not learned of the Atreides raid on Giedi Prime, the destruction of the Harkonnen spice stores there.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 Dune - Chapter 6: The Duke was tall, olive-skinned. His thin face held harsh angles warmed only by deep gray eyes.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Dune - Chapter 15: The entrance doors swung wide. Atreides guards emerged swiftly, all of them heavily armed--slow-pellet stunners, swords and shields. Behind them came a tall man, hawk-faced, dark of skin and hair. He wore a jubba cloak with Atreides crest at the breast, and wore it in a way that betrayed his unfamiliarity with the garment. It clung to the legs of his stillsuit on one side. It lacked a free-swinging, striding rhythm.
  18. ↑ Dune - Chapter 16
  19. ↑ According to Appendix IV, eight months before Alia, who was born in November.
  20. ↑ Dune
  21. ↑ God Emperor of Dune
  22. ↑ Chapterhouse: Dune
  23. ↑ Dune - Chapter 12
  24. ↑ Dune - Chapter 15

Notes[]

  1. ↑ citation needed
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