Id be fascinated to know the real history of 300. From what I understand, Sparta didn't really do well after that and started a path of decline. I remember a history channel story about a battle on a island. The Spartans actually surrendered and didn't fight to the death. When they were returned to Sparta, they were not ridiculed and rejected for being "tremblers" as they would have been historically. I wonder why Sparta was never able to recover from its decline?