How to portray a Spartan king from the classical era?

[Giannis K. Hoplite]

So we don't disagree saying that the 300 in Thermopylae were not the Hippeis. Because we do know from Herodotus that the 300 sent to Thermopylae were chosen one by one to be not the bravest(although the might were) but those that had male children. Since nowhere else do we hear of this term to become an Hippeas, we can asume that the 300 of Thermopylae were not the hippeis. Further more,the Hippeis might have been exactly 300 without the king but with all their officers(the hippagretae were not officers and perhaps they were over 60 so were not fighting with the hippeis). However the troops sent to Thermopylae might not have been 300 since all of Herodotus' numbers are rounded from every city's hoplites for this battle. But Herodotus mentions that he traveled in Sparta and saw the all the names of the "300". An assumption would be that they were indeed 300 chosen Spartans but were not fighting as a unit but with the rest Lacedaemonians(perioikoi) sent in Thermopylae with them.
As I said in my previous post,the number "300" is a typical one for chosen troops. It's pointless to say that every time we hear of that number of troops they must have been the hippeis,or even a permanent special force of each city.
Khaire
Giannis