It’s True!
You’re answer is frightfully correct! When you’re dealing with Spartans, it only takes a few to let you know that they mean business.
Xenophon was with an army of mercenaries who were stranded deep in Persian territory ... when their benefactor was killed, Xenophon assumed command and did his best to lead the army back to the safety of Greek territory ... the ten thousand man army was whittled down to eight thousand by the hostile Persians before they reached the Greek city of Byzantium.
When Xenophon and the mercenaries approached the gates of Byzantium, three Spartans marched out to meet them ... they told Xenophon that the city could not accommodate such a large army and told them to leave. Xenophon and his army were not pleased with the situation but they turned and marched away without hesitation or protest.
This historical incident gives us some insight as to what it was like to deal with the Spartans when they were at their political and military peak ... when Xenophon saw those three Spartans with their long hair and red capes, he knew that he was not dealing with three individuals, he was dealing with the entire might of the Spartan military machine ... every man in Xenophon’s army understood that to defy those three Spartan soldiers was to incur the merciless wrath of the entire Spartan military.
If three Spartans tell you and your army to take a hike . . . don’t whine, don’t argue, don’t complain ... just smile and take a hike.