Abstract
Abstract According to ancient Greek historiographers, succession to the Spartan kingship in the sixth and fifth centuries BC followed a fixed order based on the principle of male primogeniture. A king who left no son was succeeded by his oldest surviving brother or closest collateral kinsman. If the deceased king left only a daughter, his male heir was probably expected to secure the succession by marrying her; and, if the new king already had sons by a previous wife, it is possible that they were excluded from the succession in favour of his sons by the deceased king's daughter. At least by the fifth century, Sparta had a formal procedure for the adjudication of a contested succession, or the deposition of a reigning king who was found not to be a legitimate descendant of Heracles. It may be that physical or mental incapacity could also disqualify a contender from the kingship.
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