WTF is 'Warrior Ethos'

[haele]

13. Pretending to be "Spartans"...

Who actually lost more wars than they won, were known more as meat-grinder fighters who lost a lot of men when they won - more than than any other city-state was willing to lose.
Spartans also weren't typically able to hold land they won in battle, often losing it to the "heliot revolts" - heliots being the Spartan slave class that were more often former citizens of the land Sparta was able to win.
Spartan citizens were exclusionary and constantly outnumbered by noncitizens in their own state. And that kept them from actually having a thriving economy that didn't require them to hire themselves out as a mercenary army to the other city-states.

Good, disciplined fighters, sure. Smart leadership and good governance? Nope.