A military historian has claimed the famous Spartan warriors were not as fearsome as Gerard Butler made them appear in the movie 300 and said they usually lost battles.
According to legend, King Leonidas I of Sparta led 300 warriors to fight hundreds of thousands of Persian invaders under Great King Xerxes in the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC.
Although the Persians won the battle with just one Spartan surviving, Thermopylae boosted moral and helped the Greeks drive the Persians away the next year. Their courage and self-sacrifice saw Thermopylae become one of the bloodiest and most influential battles of the ancient world.
From then on, the 300's actions have gone down in history as a model of courage in adversity. It has inspired poets and artists down the centuries, and was immortalised in 2006 movie 300, which saw Gerard Butler star as the brave King Leonidas.
But military historian Myke Cole has claimed the tale of the famous battle, which took place 2,500 years ago, is simply a 'myth', according to the Express.
King Leonidas I of Sparta led a group of 300 warriors who held off thousands of Persian invaders in the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC. Pictured: Spartan warriors in movie 300
Although the Persians won the battle with just one Spartan surviving, Thermopylae helped the Greeks drive the Persians away the next year. Their courage has been immortalised in art (left) and in 2006 movie 300, where Gerard Butler played the brave King Leonidas (right)
Mr Cole, whose book The Bronze Lie claims to expose the truth about the Spartans, told the publication the fighters' reputation as 'history's toughest warriors' was a lie made up by the Spartans to 'incite fear into their enemies'.
The Spartans are known as some of the greatest warriors in history and are remembered for putting the survival of Sparta above everything else, heroically fighting in 480 BC to become the 300 'champions' spoken of today.
But Mr Cole has instead claimed: 'The truth is that they lost more battles than they won, often put their own lives first, and wouldn't fight to the death if they could retreat or negotiate a treaty.'
He claimed that at the battle of Thermopylae, the 300 Spartans had help fighting the Persian invasion forces by around 7,000 Greeks, up to 900 Spartan servants, and around another 700 Spartan warriors.
He alleged the three-day battle, which has been remembered as a mission of self-sacrifice which saw just one of 300 warriors survive, was not a 'suicide mission'.
The former US military intelligence officer, who served three tours in Iraq, claimed King Leonidas cleverly chose to fight in the bottleneck Thermopylae Pass to level the odds, as he would only need around 30 to 35 men to hold the centre.
But military historian Myke Cole has claimed the famous battle, which took place 2,500 years ago, is all a 'myth. Pictured: Gerard Butler starring in 300
Mr Cole has claimed that the fighters' reputation as 'history's toughest warriors' was a lie made up by the Spartans to 'incite fear into their enemies'
He claimed that at the battle of Thermopylae, the 300 Spartans had help fighting the Persian invasion forces by around 7,000 Greeks and up to 900 Spartan servants
Mr Cole continued: 'Leonidas had every expectation of winning, and expected to be reinforced by a larger army, they
