Éphore

Creation of the magistrature

The old sources do not agree on this point, eminently political at the time, in the context of the competition between kings and éphores. For Hérodote and Xénophon, it is a creation of Lycurgue. For Aristote, on the contrary, the institution was created by the king Théopompe. Diogène Laërce speaks about Chilon, at sixth century BC. These variations are important: if the éphorat were not a creation of Lycurgue, then one could remove it to return to the idealized constitution of the Grande Rhêtra .

Statute and mode of election

They are elected by the people, every year, with the first new moon according to the autumnal equinox. One is unaware of if they must make application form, like the gérontes, and if they are elected because of their ideas or of their personal prestige. One of them is éponyme (it gives its name to the year), but one is unaware of how it is selected. If its name is reproduced in first on the instruments (the four others are then listed alphabetically), one is unaware of if he enjoys an increased capacity, and even how he is selected. They are supposed to represent the people, and Cicéron ( République , II, 3) compares them with the powerful orators plebs with Rome.

Their statute is equal to that of the kings. They lend themselves a mutual oath every month: the kings swear to respect the laws, and the éphores to protect the royal capacity. The éphores can remain sitted in the presence of the kings, and conversely. The kings are mentioned before them on the treaties, but in fact the éphores convene the kings, and not the reverse.

To be able

Aristote, in the Political , like Xénophon in the Constitution of Lacédémoniens , affirms that the éphores have the greatest capacity with Sparte, capacity which is according to him equal to that of the tyrants ( ἰσοτύραννος / isotýrannos ), because it is exerted without control nor recourse. In fact, the éphores are used as model with the creation of the Thirty with Athens.

To be able of police force

The first prerogative of the éphores is the maintenance of what one would call today the law and order. They particularly supervise the Hilotes and the Périèque S, but their control also extends to manners, and even to the physical appearance of the Spartans: when they enter in load, they order by herald to shave the moustache and to obey the laws. Young people also constitute a category of the supervised population closely: the éphores control every 10 days their physical status, and the every day that of their clothing and their bed linen.

They also control the magistrates, including the kings, and can immediately inflict fines, revocations, imprisonments or executions. For the kings in particular, they must check the regularity of the succession: they impose a wife to the unmarried or widowed kings (it is the case of Anaxandridas II) and attend the royal childbirth. Thus, in -491, they come to testify at the time of the lawsuit in illegitimacy brought by Cléomène I {{er}} against Démarate. They have right of life and died on Hilotes, and according to Isocrate ( Panathénaïque , 181), even on Périèques, but this passage is very discussed.

Jurisdiction

They also have a jurisdiction, in particular in the businesses of contract law where they judge daily, in equity, and last authority. For the businesses concerned with the criminal law, they ensure the instruction and carry out the charge in front of the Gérousie.

Executive power

The éphores are the institution nearest to what is a government today, from where astonishment of the thinkers of the time, who are unaware of almost this concept (Athens for example does not have any executive institution of this kind). This executive power is exerted collectively by the éphores joined together in college ( ἐφορεῖον / ephoreion ), which makes the decisions in the majority.

When the kings are in shift, they make the decisions in their place, for example the sending of forwardings or the repression of an attack to the state security (cf the Conspiration of Cinadon). They deal of the foreign affairs and the relations with the ambassadors. Especially, they prepare the work of the assembly, submit the proposals to him, chair the debates and carry out the decisions which are made there, in particular the mobilizations of the civic army.

Limitations

The capacity of the éphores is not absolute. Initially, the collegial structure is a brake, all not being necessarily of agreement. Then, they are not re-eligible, and their mandate lasts only one year. At their exit of load, they can be blamed by new the éphores. However, the procedure does not seem to be systematic, one cannot thus say that they are subjected to rendering of account.

Then, they are selected in the whole of the people. It arrives often that the elected officials are rather poor, which introduces an element of social diversity into the institutions Spartans, but which returns them, according to Aristote, vulnerable to corruption. It is necessary nevertheless to moderate: the éphores cannot be very poor, because they would not have the means of paying their share for the Syssitie S, and thus would be deposed of their citizenship.

Lastly, their capacity is limited by that of the kings. The competition between éphorat and royalty, without being continual, appears frequent, which leads to the reforms of Cléomène III which removes the éphorat.

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