The ''apodektai'' (, "receivers") were public officers at

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, who were introduced by

Cleisthenes Cleisthenes ( ; ), or Clisthenes (), was an ancient Athenian lawgiver credited with reforming the constitution of ancient Athens and setting it on a democratic footing in 508 BC. For these accomplishments, historians refer to him as "the fath ...

in the place of the ancient '' kolakretai'' (). They were ten in number, one for each Athenian tribe (''

phyle ''Phyle'' (, ; pl. ''phylai'', ; derived from Greek , ''phyesthai'' ) is an ancient Greek term for tribe or clan. Members of the same ''phyle'' were known as ''symphyletai'' () meaning 'fellow tribesmen'. During the late 6th century BC, Cleist ...

''), and their duty was to receive all the ordinary taxes and distribute them to the separate branches of the administration, which were entitled to them. They accordingly kept lists of persons indebted to the state, made entries of all monies that were paid in, and erased the names of the

debtor A debtor or debitor is a legal entity (legal person) that owes a debt to another entity. The entity may be an individual, a firm, a government, a company or other legal person. The counterparty is called a creditor. When the counterpart of this ...

s from the lists. They had the power to decide causes connected with the subjects under their management; though if the matters in dispute were of importance, they were obliged to bring them for decision into the ordinary courts. Philipp August Böckh, ''The Political Economy of Athens'', p. 159, 2nd ed

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Sources

*{{SmithDGRA, title=Apodectae, url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0063%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DA%3Aentry+group%3D7%3Aentry%3Dapodectae-cn Ancient Athenian titles Taxation in ancient Athens Byzantine fiscal offices