In this history documentary we explore the best of the best that the Spartan Army had to offer, the hippeis or 300 Royal Guard.

The video begins with a history of Sparta starting with its slow development during the Bronze Age and its emergence as a regional power in the early Archaic. At this point, its armies featured bands of elite armored warriors accompanied by their lightly armed retinues. Using these forces, Sparta was able to gain control of the communities to its south in Laconia and to its west in Messenia. These wars made Sparta the largest polis in all of Greece.

However, such vast territories were difficult to manage and were subject to frequent uprisings. Historians now believe that around the 6th century, the Spartan government and society were thus reformed to better deal with their domestic issues. This meant grouping its subjects into the classes of Helots or Perioikoi while more strictly controlling what it meant to be Spartan. Through these changes the army was reformed into one of a massed militia, whereby the whole army would fight on foot.

Thus, Sparta's previously mounted forces of the Hippeis dismounted to join their comrades and became the Royal Guard, which defended the King of Sparta in battle.