BAM, I'm glad you're digging the historical figures. There are so many beautiful historical sculpts out there, it seems like a shame to ignore them all. In my opinion the best pieces are the ones that are well painted but also tell an interesting story. You can use historical pieces just as easily as fantasy and sci-fi to tell a good story. Most of us have at least a passing knowledge of major historical eras, so you can definitely tap into that with the pieces. Plus the medieval and ancients have all sorts of color variation, so even if you're trying to be historically accurate there is still a great deal of freedom in how you tackle the piece.
You can also dip into mythology and legend to create some neat pieces that walk the line between history and fantasy. Your latest piece could be advancing on another hoplite or going to fight a centaur, gorgon or any number of mythological creatures. Speaking of which, did you see this piece from Alexandros Models? It's an 80mm figure of Hercules and Cerberus. It's a bit bigger than the hoplite (and more expensive), but it seems like something you would have a blast with. It's definitely up there on my wish list.
http://alexandrosmodels.com/IMAGENES/greece/AG59/9gran.jpg
http://alexandrosmodels.com/index.htm
Epic, nice! Glad you want to give them a try. If you want some recommendations on companies with nice historical options just let me know.