''Ephebos'' (; pl. ''epheboi'', ), latinized as ephebus (pl. ephebi) and anglicised as ephebe (pl. ephebes), is a term for a male

adolescent Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated w ...

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically r ...

. The term was particularly used to denote one who was doing military training and preparing to become an adult. From about 335 BC, ephebes from

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 ...

(aged between 18–20) underwent two years of military training under supervision, during which time they were exempt from civic duties and deprived of most civic rights. During the 3rd century BC, ephebic service ceased to be compulsory and its time was reduced to one year. By the 1st century BC, the ''ephebia'' became an institution reserved for wealthy individuals and, besides military training, it also included philosophic and literary studies.

History

Though the word ''ephebos'' (from ''epi'' "upon" + '' hebe'' "youth", "early manhood") can simply refer to the adolescent age of young men of training age, its main use is for the members, exclusively from that age group, of an official institution (''ephebia'') that saw to building them into citizens, but especially to training them as soldiers, sometimes already sent into the field; the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

city state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world throughout history, including cities such as Rome, ...

s ( ''poleis'') mainly depended (like the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

) on its

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

of citizens for defense. In the time of

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

(384–322 BC), Athens engraved the names of the enrolled ephebi on a

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

pillar (formerly on wooden tablets) in front of the council-chamber. After admission to the college, the ephebus took the

oath of allegiance An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges a duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to a monarch or a country. In modern republics, oaths are sworn to the country in general, or to the country's constitution. For ...

(as recorded in histories by Pollux and

Stobaeus Joannes Stobaeus (; ; 5th-century AD), from Stobi in Macedonia (Roman province), Macedonia, was the compiler of a valuable series of extracts from Greek authors. The work was originally divided into two volumes containing two books each. The tw ...

—but not in Aristotle) in the temple of Aglaurus and was sent to Munichia or Acte as a member of the

garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

. At the end of the first year of training the ephebi were reviewed; if their performance was satisfactory, the state provided each with a spear and a shield, which, together with the (cloak) and (broad-brimmed hat), made up their equipment. In their second year they were transferred to other garrisons in

Attica Attica (, ''Attikḗ'' (Ancient Greek) or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the entire Athens metropolitan area, which consists of the city of Athens, the capital city, capital of Greece and the core cit ...

, patrolled the frontiers, and on occasion took an active part in war. During these two years they remained free from taxation, and were generally not allowed to appear in the law courts as plaintiffs or defendants. The ephebi took part in some of the most important Athenian festivals. Thus during the

Eleusinian Mysteries The Eleusinian Mysteries () were initiations held every year for the Cult (religious practice), cult of Demeter and Persephone based at the Panhellenic Sanctuary of Eleusis in ancient Greece. They are considered the "most famous of the secret rel ...

they were sent to fetch the sacred objects from

Eleusis Elefsina () or Eleusis ( ; ) is a suburban city and Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Athens metropolitan area. It belongs to West Attica regional unit of Greece. It is located in the Thriasio Plain, at the northernmost ...

and to escort the image of

Iacchus In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Iacchus (also Iacchos, Iakchos) () was a minor deity, of some cultic importance, particularly at Athens and Eleusis in connection with the Eleusinian mysteries, but without any significant mythology. He pe ...

on the sacred way. They also performed police duty at the meetings of the ecclesia. Head boy diadem Glyptothek Munich 457

After the end of the 4th century BC, the institution underwent a radical change. Enrolment ceased to be obligatory, lasted only for a year, and the limit of age was dispensed with. Inscriptions attest a continually decreasing number of ephebi, and with the admission of foreigners the college lost its representative national character. This was mainly due to the weakening of the military spirit and to the progress of intellectual culture. The military element was no longer all-important, and the ephebia became a sort of university for well-to-do young men of good family, whose social position has been compared with that of the Athenian "knights" of earlier times. The institution lasted till the end of the 3rd century AD. In the Hellenistic and Roman periods, foreigners, including Romans, began to be admitted as ephebes. At this period the college of ephebi was a miniature city, which possessed an

archon ''Archon'' (, plural: , ''árchontes'') is a Greek word that means "ruler", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem , meaning "to be first, to rule", derived from the same ...

strategos ''Strategos'' (), also known by its Linguistic Latinisation, Latinized form ''strategus'', is a Greek language, Greek term to mean 'military General officer, general'. In the Hellenistic world and in the Byzantine Empire, the term was also use ...

herald A herald, or a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is commonly applied more broadly to all officers of arms. Heralds were originally messengers sent by monarchs or noblemen ...

and other officials, after the model of the city of Athens.

Sculpture

Ancient Greek sculpture The sculpture of ancient Greece is the main surviving type of fine ancient Greek art as, with the exception of painted ancient Greek pottery, almost no ancient Greek painting survives. Modern scholarship identifies three major stages in monumenta ...

, an ephebe is a sculptural type depicting a nude ''ephebos'' ( Archaic examples of the type are also often known as the

kouros Kouros (, , plural kouroi) is the modern term given to free-standing Ancient Greek sculpture, Ancient Greek sculptures that depict nude male youths. They first appear in the Archaic period in Greece and are prominent in Attica and Boeotia, with ...

type, or kouroi in the plural). This typological name often occurs in the form "the '' Ephebe''", where is the collection to which the object belongs or belonged, or the site on which it was found (e.g. the ''Agrigento Ephebe'').

Gallery

File:Testa di efebo di tipo dresda, copia romana da orig. della cerchia di policleto del 420-400 ac ca.jpg, Bust of an ephebe, Roman copy, File:7525 - Piraeus Arch. Museum, Athens - Young athlete - Photo by Giovanni Dall'Orto, Nov 14 2009.jpg, Marble statue of an ephebe (detail), File:Ancient Greece Bronze Statue of Athlete, found in sea off Marathon, Attica; c. 340-330 BC.jpg, The '' Marathon Boy'', File:0027MAN Paris or Perseus2.jpg, The ''

Antikythera Ephebe The ''Antikythera Ephebe'', registered as ''Bronze statue of a youth'' in the museum collections, is a Greek bronze statue of a young man of languorous grace that was found in 1900 by sponge-divers in the area of the ancient Antikythera shipw ...

'', File:L'atleta di Fano.jpg, The ''

Victorious Youth The ''Victorious Youth'', also known as the , the or the ''Getty Bronze'', is a Ancient Greek sculpture, Greek bronze sculpture, made between 300 and 100 BCE, in the collections of the J. Paul Getty Museum, displayed at the Getty Villa in Pacifi ...

'',

References

* H. Jeanmaire, ''Couroi et Courètes: Essai sur l'éducation spartiate et sur les rites d'adolescence dans l'Antiquité hellénique'', Bibliothèque universitaire, Lille, 1939 * C. Pélékidis, ''Éphébie: Histoire de l'éphébie attique, des origines à 31 av.'' J.-C., éd. de Boccard, Paris, 1962 * O. W. Reinmuth, ''The Ephebic Inscriptions of the Fourth Century B.C.'', Leiden Brill, Leyde, 1971 * P. Vidal-Naquet, ''Le Chasseur noir et l'origine de l'éphébie athénienne'', Maspéro, 1981 * P. Vidal-Naquet, ''Le Chasseur noir. Formes de pensée et formes de société dans le monde grec'', Maspéro, 1981 * U. von Wilamowitz-Moellendorf, ''Aristoteles: Aristoteles und Athen'', 2 vol., Berlin, 1916

External links

Ephebarchic Law of Amphipolis
{{Authority control Ancient Greek sculptures Human development Social classes in ancient Greece Society of ancient Greece Society of ancient Rome Pederasty in ancient Greece

History

Sculpture

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading

External links