Eponymous archon#Annual archons

The archon was the chief magistrate in many Greek cities, but in Athens there was a council of archons which exerted a form of executive government. From the late 8th century BC there were three archons: the archon eponymos, the polemarchos (originally with a military role, which was transferred to the ten strategoi in 501 BC), and the archon basileus (the ceremonial vestige of the Athenian monarchy).Gods, Heroes and Tyrants: Greek Chronology in Chaos By Emmet John Sweeney. These positions were filled from the aristocracy (the Eupatridae) by elections every ten years. During this period Archon Eponymous was the chief magistrate, the Polemarch was the head of the armed forces, and the Archon Basileus was responsible for the civic religious arrangements.

After 683 BC the offices were held for only a single year, and the year was named after the archon eponymous.{{citation needed|date=December 2013}} The year ran from July to June.{{cite book | last=Green | first=Peter | year=2009 | chapter=Diodorus Siculus on the Third Sacred War | editor-last=Marincola | editor-first=John | title=A Companion to Greek and Roman Historiography | publisher=John Wiley & Sons |location=Oxford, United Kingdom |isbn=9780470766286 | page=364 | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HXSwRG_whNUC&pg=PT434 | volume=2 | series=Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World}} The archon eponymous was the chief archon, and presided over meetings of the Boule and Ecclesia, the ancient Athenian assemblies. The archon eponymous remained the titular head of state even under the democracy, though with much reduced political importance. Under the reforms of Solon, himself archon eponymous in 594 BC, there was a brief period when the number of archons rose to ten. After 457 BC ex-archons were automatically enrolled as life members of the Areopagus, though that assembly was no longer extremely important politically.

One of the archons oversaw the procedure for ostracism after 487 BC.Fox The Classical World p. 122 An archon's court was in charge of the epikleroi.Lacey The Family in Ancient Greece p. 139-145 Other duties of the archons included supervising the Panathenaea and Dionysia festivals.Adkins Handbook to Life in Ancient Greece p. 35-36

In the following list of Archons, years where the name of the archon is unknown are identified as such. Years listed as "anarchy" mean that there was literally "no archon". There are various conflicting reconstructions of lists; sources for this list are given at the end. Note that the term of an archon covered two of our years, beginning in the spring or summer and continuing into the next spring or summer. The polemarch or strategoi, basileus, and thesmothetai (the six assistants to the archons) are also listed, where known.

{{main|Archaic Greece}}

{{see also|Greek Dark Ages|Ancient Greece}}

{{see also|King of Athens|Chronicon (Jerome)}}

The later Athenian tradition varies on the exact position of this line; they held archonship for life, sometimes referred to as "Perpetual Archon", and exercised the sacral powers of kingship, as did the archon basileus later. The historicity of any of this ancient list may be reasonably doubted. However, Aristotle indicates, within the Constitution of Athens, that it was indeed the house of Codrus that abolished the title of king in favor of Archon.Aristotle Constitution of Athens, 3

In 753 BC the perpetual archonship by the EupatridaeHerodotus, George Rawlinson, Sir Henry Creswicke Rawlinson, Sir John Gardner Wilkinson. The History of Herodotus: A New English Version, Ed. with Copious Notes and Appendices, Illustrating the History and Geography of Herodotus, from the Most Recent Sources of Information; and Embodying the Chief Results, Historical and Ethnographical, which Have Been Obtained in the Progress of Cuneiform and Hieroglyphical Discovery, Volume 3. Appleton, 1882. [https://books.google.com/books?id=s1cyAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA316 Pg 316] was limited to 10 years (the "decennial archons"):Evelyn Abbott. A Skeleton Outline of Greek History: Chronologically Arranged. [https://books.google.com/books?id=aZEtAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA27 Pg 27].

After 683 BC the archonship was limited to one year. Archons resided in the Prytaneion.

{{main|Classical Greece}}

{{main|Hellenistic period}}

{{main|Roman Greece}}

{{see also|History of the Roman Empire}}

• :Category:Eponymous archons
• Timeline of ancient Greece
• Regnal name
• Archon basileus
• Hierotheos the Thesmothete, reported first head of the Christians of Athens.
• Polemarch (replaced in 501 BC by ten strategoi)
• Roman consul

{{Reflist|2}}

• Adkins, Lesley and Roy A. Handbook to Life in Ancient Greece New York: Oxford University Press 1997 {{ISBN|0-19-512491-X}}
• [http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/athenian_const.html Aristotle's Athenian Constitution]
• {{cite book |last=Develin |year=1989 |first=Robert |title=Athenian Officials 684–321 BC |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0-521-32880-2 |url={{googlebooks|cmoRFMTAu-0C|plainurl=y}} }}
• Dinsmoor, William Bell The Archons of Athens in the Hellenistic Age. Cambridge, 1931 (1966 reprint)
• Dinsmoor, William Bell The Athenian Archon List in the Light of Recent Discoveries. Columbia University Press, 1939 (1974 reprint, {{ISBN|0-8371-4735-2}})
• Fox, Robin Lane The Classical World: An Epic History from Homer to Hadrian New York: Basic Books 2006 {{ISBN|0-465-02496-3}}
• Hamel, Debra Athenian Generals: Military Authority in the Classical Period. Koninklijke Brill NV, 1998.
• Graindor, Paul Chronologie des archontes athéniens sous l'Empire, Brussels, 1922 (Mémoires de l'Académie de Belgique, 4°, 1921),
• Lacey, W. K. The Family in Classical Greece Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press 1968
• Owens, Ron Justice and the Political Reforms of Solon, Eponymous Archon at Athens, 594–593 BC. Australian National University, 2000.
• Rostovtzeff, Michael. Greece. 2nd.ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1963.

{{Ancient Greece topics}}

Category:Ancient Athenian titles

Category:Ancient timelines

Category:Ancient Greece-related lists

Category:Heads of government

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