Politics & SocietyGreek → English
Ephor
/ˈɛfɔːr/noun
One of the five annually elected magistrates who supervised the kings and government of Sparta.
The Greek roots
ἐπί
epí
over, upon
ὁρᾶν
horân
to see, watch
Literally: “overseer”
The story of the word
Five ephors were chosen at Sparta each year, and the job title says the job: overseers. They could summon a king, fine him, and put him on trial, and once a month they swapped oaths with the kings, the kings swearing to rule within the laws and the ephors to keep the kingship standing. On taking office they also formally declared war on the helots, according to Aristotle, so that killing one carried no religious pollution.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → English
- First recorded
- 16th century
Same family
panoramadioramaepidemicepidermis
In a sentence
The ephors recalled him from the campaign before he could take the city.
Two kings and five ephors made for a constitution nobody has managed to copy.