It will surprise precisely nobody that the 300 movies are not historically accurate portrayals of the Spartans, but the movies do lean on an existing myth. We all grew up thinking of the Spartans as the ultimate military badasses. Was this true?
The Spartan Triumphs
No one could deny that Spartans were one of the most impressively organized militaristic cultures in history. Their style of warfare, an eight-person-deep unwavering wall of shields and spears, broke nearly anyone who went up against them. Their intense training, starting at eight and officially lasting ten years – and unofficially never stopping – made for an absolute discipline. Their part in the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC is rightly acknowledged as one of the turning points of history.
