The ephors presided over meetings of the council of elders, or gerousia, and assembly, or apella, and were responsible for the execution of their decrees.

Who were the ephors what did they do for the government and Sparta’s citizens?

The Ephors

Each year the Assembly elected 5 Ephors. The Ephors watched meetings of the Assembly and Gerousia. They had many powers at home, and made sure the laws were obeyed by using the kings and the military to enforce the laws.

Why did Sparta have 2 Kings?

Sparta was an oligarchy. The state was ruled by two hereditary kings of the Agiad and Eurypontid families, both supposedly descendants of Heracles and equal in authority, so that one could not act against the power and political enactments of his colleague.

What was one important role of ephors in Sparta?

What was the most important role of ephors in ancient Sparta? They made sure that kings followed the law.

How were the ephors chosen?

The ephors were elected by the popular assembly, and all citizens were eligible. The position of ephor was the only political office open to the whole damos (populace) between the ages of 30–60, so eligible Spartans highly sought after the position.

Who betrayed Sparta?

In the 1962 film The 300 Spartans, Ephialtes was portrayed by Kieron Moore and is depicted as a loner who worked on a goat farm near Thermopylae. He betrays the Spartans to the Persians out of greed for riches, and, it is implied, unrequited love for a Spartan girl named Ellas.

What were the 5 ephors?

The five ephors are the highest authority in Sparta after the two kings. They are elected annually by the assembly, composed of all Spartan citizens over the age of thirty. Immediately after their election the ephors fulfil a significant annual duty.

What does the word ephors mean?

Definition of ephor

1 : one of five ancient Spartan magistrates having power over the king. 2 : a government official in modern Greece especially : one who oversees public works.

Did the ephors betray Sparta?

Ephialtes, who betrays the Greeks, is likewise changed from a local Malian of sound body into a Spartan outcast, a grotesquely disfigured troll who by Spartan custom should have been left exposed as an infant to die.

How did the Spartans fall?

Despite their military prowess, the Spartans’ dominance was short-lived: In 371 B.C., they were defeated by Thebes at the Battle of Leuctra, and their empire went into a long period of decline.

How did Spartans treat their wives?

To contemporaries outside of Sparta, Spartan women had a reputation for promiscuity and controlling their husbands. Unlike their Athenian counterparts, Spartan women could legally own and inherit property and they were usually better educated.

Are Spartans descended from Hercules?

The Spartan kings as Heracleidae claimed descent from Heracles, who through his mother was descended from Perseus.

Why did the Spartans fear the helots?

Owing to their own numerical inferiority, the Spartans were always preoccupied with the fear of a helot revolt. The ephors (Spartan magistrates) of each year on entering office declared war on the helots so that they might be murdered at any time without violating religious scruples.

How were helots different from slaves?

Unlike the slaves in Athens, helots had families and communities of their own, and they were no private property. Therefore, Pausanias calls them “slaves of the commonwealth”. Strabo of Amasia says they were “some sort of public slaves”, and other authors say they were a category between slaves and free people.

How did ephors give the Spartan assembly an important power?

Terms in this set (14) How did ephors give the Spartan assembly an important power? They had the power to choose who the ephors were. How were helots different from slaves?

Which leader of Athens created debt slavery?

Solon’s Social and Political Reforms

Solon also released those in debt slavery and banned offering one’s own body or those of family members as security for a loan or rent. In addition, Solon granted amnesty to those who had fled into exile because of their indebtedness.

How do you pronounce ephors?

noun, plural eph·ors, eph·or·i [ef-uh-rahy].

How many Gerousia were there?

Membership. The Gerousia consisted of thirty members in total, of whom twenty-eight had to be over the age of sixty, and the remaining two members were the two Spartan kings, regardless of their age. Other than the kings, the members of the Gerousia (known as gerontes), served for life.