They were as good as any other....myth!

[Nikic031]

I disagree completely that this was the intention of the quote.

I did not question the original quote.Just the poor explanations of it given here many times.

The whole point of the line is to emphasize that, due to their extensive group training, Spartans could move and fight in a level of synchrony and cohesion that was unattainable by more amateur forces, or by implication the cream of the Persian elite.

That is the point.We agree on that

We also agree on that Persian - Spartan comparison,although they were not typical adversaries. So I am not sure would an Immortal(as Herodotus called them) be superior to the heavy hoplite,or how high was Persian "best of the best" on a Greek scale.But I got your point.

It is all about cohesion of the group, not individual fighting skill.

Of course.But what makes the cohesion?
Your sentence as a rule applies only if there was a group of average individuals in a good team,fighting against good individuals in a bad team..Than individual skill would be more or less useless.
And none of those is good!!! And neither of those qualities alone make a good army!!! Every battle would be a gamble if you were in one of those teams.

So it does not apply to Spartans because we know they were an excellent team, and their system tells us they could not be nothing less than above average individuals in both armed and unarmed combat,morale and discipline.

"Xenophon (cyropaedia) tells us that it takes no training to use a sword- any kid will know how to strike and you can't miss in a phalanx"

Wait...I don't even think of sword fighting when talking about individual skill.Usage of sword is different story. Individual skill is much more a matter of fitness,strength,morale,discipline,perception,training...All are individual skills, and all are needed for an excellent phalanx.