archon

 

(är'kŏnz, –kənz) [Gr.,=leaders], in ancient Athens and other Greek cities, officers of state. Originally in Athens there were three archons: the archon eponymos (so called because the year was named after him), who was the chief officer of the state; the archon basileus, who was primarily connected with sacred rites; and the archon polemarchos (the polemarch, or military commander), who—theoretically, at least—had military leadership. Six more archons, the thesmothetae (thesmothetes), were later added; they were junior officers, generally in charge of the courts. The archons were elected, and after they had served and their records had been approved, they entered the Areopagus. Solon, Hippias, and Themistocles were archons. After 487 B.C. the archons were chosen by lot; the office, which had previously been limited to the two upper classes, was opened to the third class. Thereafter the archontate declined greatly in importance. The lists of eponymous archons kept after the 7th cent. B.C. are a valuable source of history.

Archon (Gr. άρχων, pl. άρχοντες) is a Greek word that means "ruler" or the like, though it is frequently encountered as the title of some specific public office. In form the word is simply the masculine present participle of the verb stem αρχ- (meaning "to rule"), derived from the same root that appears in words such as monarch and hierarchy.

Ancient Greece

In the early literary period of ancient Greece the chief magistrates of various Greek city states were called Archon. ^{[citation needed]} The term was also used throughout Greek history in a more general sense, ranging from "club leader" to "master of the tables" at syssitia to "Roman governor". ^{[citation needed]} In Roman terms, archontes ruled by imperium, whereas Basileis ("Kings") had auctoritas.

In Athens a system of three concurrent Archons evolved, the three office holders being known as the Archon Eponymos, the Polemarch, and the Archon Basileus. ^{[citation needed]} Originally these offices were filled from the aristocracy by elections every ten years. During this period the Eponymos Archon 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 Eponymos. (Many ancient calendar systems did not number their years consecutively as we do.) After 487 BC the archonships were assigned by lot to any citizen and the Polemarch's military duties were taken over by a new class of generals known as strategoi. ^{[citation needed]}The Polemarch thereafter had only minor religious duties. The Archon Eponymus remained the titular head of state even under the democracy, though of much reduced political importance. ^{[citation needed]} The Archons were assisted by "junior Archons", called Thesmothetes. After 457 BC ex-archons were automatically enrolled as life members of the Areopagus, though that assembly was no longer extremely important politically at that time. (See Archons of Athens.)

Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople

From time to time, laity of the Orthodox Church in communion with the Patriarch of Constantinople have been granted the title of Archon to honor their service to Church administration. In 1963, Archons were organized into a service society dedicated to Saint Andrew. This Archon status is not part of the Church hierarchy and is purely honorary. See http://www.archons.org/ .

An Archon is an honoree by His All Holiness, the Ecumenical Patriarch, for his outstanding service to the Church, and a well-known, distinguished, and well-respected leader of the Orthodox Church (at large).

It is the sworn oath of the Archon to defend and promote the Orthodox Church faith and tradition. His main concern is to protect and promote the Holy Patriarchate and its mission. He is also concerned with human rights and the well-being and general welfare of the Church.

As a significant religious position, the faith and dedication of a candidate for the role is extensively reviewed during consideration; the candidate should have demonstrated commitment for the betterment of the Church, Parish-Diocese, Archdiocese and the community as a whole.

Gnostic Archons

Part of a series on Gnosticism

History of Gnosticism Early Gnosticism Syrian-Egyptic Gnosticism Gnosticism in modern times

Proto-Gnostics Philo Valentinius Cerinthus Basilides

Gnostic texts Gnostic Gospels Nag Hammadi library Codex Tchacos Bruce Codex Gnosticism and the New Testament

Related articles Gnosis Pythagoreanism Neoplatonism and Gnosticism Manichaeism Esoteric Christianity Theosophy

In late antiquity some variants of Gnosticism used the term Archon to refer to several servants of the Demiurge, the "creator god", that stood between the human race and a transcendent God that could only be reached through gnosis. In this context they have the role of the angels and demons of the Old Testament.

The Egyptian Gnostic Basilideans accepted the existence of an archon called Abraxas who was the prince of 365 spiritual beings (Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses, I.24). The Orphics accepted the existence of seven archons: Iadabaoth or Ialdabaoth (who created the six others), Iao, Sabaoth, Adonaios, Elaios, Astaphanos and Horaios (Origen, Contra Celsum, VI.31). The commonly-called Pistis Sophia (or The Books of the Savior) gives another set: Paraplex, Hekate, Ariouth (females), Typhon, and Iachtanabas (males).

Ialdabaoth had a head of a lion, just like Mithraic Kronos (Chronos) and Vedic Narasimha, a form of Vishnu. Their wrathful nature was mistaken as evil. The snake wrapped around them is Ananta (Sesha) Naga (mythology).

Other uses

Real life

• The term is used within the Arab-speaking Copts in church parlance as a title for a leading-figure laity.

• Archon is the title given to Presidents of student chapters of the Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity. Vice-Presidents are known as Vice Archons.

• Archon is the title given to Presidents of student chapters of the Phi Sigma Sigma Sorority. Vice-Presidents are known as Vice Archons.

• Eminent Archon is the title given to Presidents of chapters of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity. Vice-Presidents are known as Eminent Deputy Archons.

• Grand Archon is the title given to Presidents of the Sigma Delta Phi sorority and the Sigma Rho fraternity of the University of the Philippines.

• Archon is the designation given to individual members of the Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity. The wives of the members are termed Archousa (pl. Archousai).

Books

• The term now appears fairly frequently as the title of rulers in English language fiction, television programs, and games of the science fiction and fantasy genres. Examples include the Outlanders series of science fiction novels and the comic book series, The Invisibles, in which they are generally portrayed according to the authentic Gnostic nature of the term. It is also a common title in collegiate fraternity and sorority organizations.

• Archon is the name of an Atlantean god in the popular romance/sci-fi Dark-Hunter series by author Sherrilyn Kenyon. The son of Chaos (the formless matter that birthed the universe) and Fegkia (Splendour), Archon was born to be the ruler of the Atlantean pantheon. He established order out of the universe his father had created.

• In the book Scar Night, Archons were a race of winged beings that were sent by Ulcis,the god of chains, out of the Abyss.

• In the Book Mind Invaders by Dave Hunt, The Archons are nine demonic beings who pretend to be highly evolved intelligent beings who have come to guide mankind to its next evolutionary step.

• In the Greek versions of the Harry Potter series of books Tom Riddle is named Anton Morvol Hert, making the anagram "Archon Voldemort".

• Jacques Derrida uses 'archon' to refer to the guardian and authoritative interpreter of an archive. For example, Derrida traces the archon to the Greek concept in Archive Fever: A Freudian Impression (1995, p.2).

Movies and television

• In the Star Trek episode "The Return of the Archons," the space vessel Archon crashes on Beta III. The crew of the USS Enterprise are referred to as Archons, after the crew of the ill fated ship.

• In Stargate SG-1, Archons are similar to lawyers for the Tollans (an advance race living on a planet called Tollana). During Triad (trial), there are 3 archons, one for each defendant and a neutral archon, who has the prerogative of the casting vote.

• In NX Files, Archons are evolved beings who guide Team Xtreme, the true purpose of which remains a mystery.

• Some speculate that the Agents featured in The Matrix films were intended to metaphorically represent Gnostic Archons, in that they stood between humanity and their transcendence from the Matrix, into the enlightened real world.

Role-playing games

• In the Dungeons & Dragons multiverse, archons are an angelic race indigenous to Mount Celestia.

• In the World of Darkness, Archons are the chosen servants of the Justicars; both serving under, to reinforce, the Camarilla sect of Vampires.

• In the game Kult, the ten Archons are servitors of the evil Demiurge. Their task is to keep humanity imprisoned in the Demiurge's illusion and ignorant of Reality and their true nature.

Video games

• In the Battletech universe, the heads of state of first the Lyran Commonwealth and later the Lyran Alliance are known by the title of Archon.

• In the science-fiction series StarCraft, archons are powerful psionic entities, formed by two mentally disciplined Protoss merging their minds and corporeal bodies into psionic energy. In the games, they serve as heavy assault warriors. A number of variations of archons can be formed depending on the affiliation of the participants.

• In the game Fable, the Archon was the ruler of the old kingdom who became corrupted by the sword of Aeons.

• Archon was also the name of a popular game 1980's 8-bit computer game where opposing teams of good and evil characters did battle on a game board somewhat similar to a chess board.

• In the online game Materia Magica, Archons are the highest level players, subordinate only to the Immortals (system administrators). Achievement of Archon rank requires advancement through 240 levels of play and completion of a special quest.

• One of the final areas in the video game Xenosaga Episode III: Also sprach Zarathustra is called the Archon Cathedral. The game is known to use Gnostic and Judeo-Christian terminology as well as various terms from psychology.

• Used as the title for subcommanders of the Council villain group in the MMORPG City of Heroes and it's expansion/counterpart City of Villains.

• In the computer game Lords of Magic (put out by Sierra Entertainment), the Archons were the human race that adherred to the faith of Order.

• In the computer game EVE Online (put out by CCP Games), the Archon is the carrier of the Amarrian race.

• In the computer game NetHack, the Archon is the second most difficult of the randomly generated monsters, and is regarded as the best pet.

• In Deus Ex, the username demiurge and the password archon can be used on a UNATCO computer to find a killphrase to be used on a powerful enemy.

Others

• In the popular trading card game, Magic: The Gathering, there are cards named Blazing Archon and Cabal Archon.
• In the fantasy webcomic Erfworld, "Charlie's Archons" are powerful flying units. Their appearance and name are apparently parodies of Charlie's Angels.

References

• A Greek-English Lexicon (aka Liddell and Scott), ISBN 0-19-864226-1
• The Oxford Companion to Classical Literature, ISBN 0-19-866121-5.
• Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchateru-sib:Архон

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