This
list of kings of Sparta details the important rulers of the
Greek city-state of
Sparta in the
Peloponnesus. Sparta was unusual among Greek city-states in that it maintained its kingship past the
Archaic age. It was even more unusual in that it had
two kings simultaneously, called
Archagetai, coming from two separate
lines. According to tradition, the two lines, the
Agiads and
Eurypontids, were respectively descended from the twins
Eurysthenes and
Procles, the descendants of
Heracles who supposedly conquered Sparta two generations after the
Trojan War. The dynasties themselves, however, were named after the twins' grandsons, the kings Agis I and Eurypon, respectively. The
Agiad line was regarded as being senior to the
Eurypontid line. Although there are lists of the earlier purported Kings of Sparta, there is little evidence for the existence of any kings before the middle of the 6th century BC or so. Spartan kings received a recurring posthumous
hero cult like that of the Dorian
kings of Cyrene. The kings' firstborns sons, as heirs apparent, were the only Spartan boys expressly exempt from the
Agoge, however they were allowed to take part if they so wished, and this endowed them with increased prestige when they ascended the throne.