In both Roman and Chinese societies, it was an accepted practice for a
noble line without an heir to adopt one, so that its ancestors would
continue to be worshipped. As Peter Metcalfe points out, a famous
example was the adoption of Octavian by Julius Caesar - which already
allowed him to pay respects to Julius' ancestors before Julius'
deification.
Julius was a Hero, and by taking the name Caesar Octavian was able
to inherit his 'supernatural' ability to command the loyalty of Roman
legionaries.
I'm being picky and calling him Octavian because he didn't acquire
the title Augustus until a later stage of his career.
Andrew