Something I recently learned was the importance of the Spartans claim to have been descendants of Heracles (Hercules), and that they had a much more interesting

Something I recently learned was the importance of the Spartans claim to have been descendants of Heracles (Hercules), and that they had a much more interesting power structure than is often assumed, but in general almost all of their stranger idiosyncrasies and rituals stemmed from that claim and the supposed instruction commanded to them by Hercules.