Historians complain that Persia "bought" 480 BC victory over Greeks with excessive payroll

Greek fans are smarting to revelations that the Persian army in 480 BC outspent their opponent by more 30 times to win the big battle at Thermopylae.

"Pure and simple, they bought themselves a victory," says an ancestor of Leonidas, who captained the losing Greeks. "When you have a system where one army can go out and sign anybody, this is what happens. You will not have parity You have one-sided scores."

The Greeks have pushed for a salary cap on war, to no avail. Their views echo those of Iraq, under Saddam Hussein in 1990, who complained bitterly that the U.S. outspent his army with a payroll several times higher than the small market Iraqi forces.

"If they want wars that are competitive, they need to restrict spending," the Greek ancestor continued. "It's not fair. They have their own cable TV and marketing rights. They bought the victory."