>My interest in Sparta is that it exemplifies how elite a group of people can become when they focus on one thing.
Except they weren't particularly elite. As (already mentioned) A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry author Bret Devereaux points out[1]:
"Instead, what we might say is that the Spartans phalanx was, in most respects, just like every other Greek hoplite phalanx, with the addition that Spartan command and coordination was somewhat better, but hardly excellent by the broader standards of antiquity."
And, as he also observes, any Spartan superiority didn't manifest on the battlefield:
Except they weren't particularly elite. As (already mentioned) A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry author Bret Devereaux points out[1]: "Instead, what we might say is that the Spartans phalanx was, in most respects, just like every other Greek hoplite phalanx, with the addition that Spartan command and coordination was somewhat better, but hardly excellent by the broader standards of antiquity."
And, as he also observes, any Spartan superiority didn't manifest on the battlefield:
Spartan Victories: 18.5, Spartan Defeats: 18, Draws: 1.5, Spartan Batting Average (victories/battles): 0.486
1. https://acoup.blog/2019/09/20/collections-this-isnt-sparta-p...