Ephor

Ephorus (from the Greek Ἔφορος, formed by ἐπί, "on" and ὁράω, "see", "one who supervises") was the name given to certain magistrates of the ancient states of Ancient Greece. Among them, the most important were the ephors of Sparta. In Sparta there were five ephors, elected annually, who swore each month to support the kings, while these, in turn, swore to respect the laws.

Origin

Herodotus claimed that the institution was created by Lycurgus of Sparta, who is a legislator whose chronology and even historicity is doubtful. In any case, it is estimated that the origin of the ephors can be placed around the 7th century BC. C.

Functions

The ephors were elected by the popular assembly, the Apella. All homoioi, free citizens, could be elected to this position, but could not run for re-election.

They exercised a controlling function over the two kings in Sparta, as well as many other aspects of Spartan life. Plato called them the tyrants who actually ruled Sparta as despots, while the kings were no more what mere generals Indeed, the powers of the ephors increased progressively, until they accumulated legislative, judicial and executive power.

• The meetings of the Gerusia or oligarchical council of elders of Esparta and of the assembly were chaired (Apella).
• They were also in charge of civil trials, which exercised according to customary law, as there were no written laws.
• They controlled the tax collection and the calendar. Each year it was appointed taking the name of one of the ephorus: as it happened with the arches of Athens, they were, therefore, eponymous judges.
• They led foreign policy and youth education and military training. The ephorus decreed the cams of soldiers, and two ephorus accompanied the army when it entered into battle, with the attribution of being able to arrest and send the kings to prison if they did not behave properly during the war.

The ephors who accompanied the king kept in touch with those who remained in Sparta through the Scytal.

According to a quote from Aristotle written by Plutarch, the ephors renewed a declaration of war against the helots every year, making them enemies of the state, as a way of justifying the use of force against them. Thus, they could imprison and execute any helot for any reason, at any time, and without having to put them on trial or violate any religious rituals of purity.

Decline

The Spartan king Cleomenes III abolished the institution of the ephors in 227 B.C. C., but they were restored by the Macedonian King Antigonus III after the Spartans were defeated at the Battle of Sellasia in July 222 BC. c. The institution continued to exist until the 2nd century, probably being definitively abolished by the Roman Emperor Hadrian.

In fiction

In Frank Miller's graphic novel 300 and its film adaptation, the ephors are depicted as a group of unchosen, lewd and corrupt priests, with traits of suffering from leprosy. In this fictional work, they secretly betray the king of Sparta, Leonidas I, before the Battle of Thermopylae against Xerxes I. In addition, they order the king not to attack the Persians to honor the festival of the Carneas. They also appear as custodians of the Oracle of Delphi.