archon

An archonship is the office or position of an archon, a chief magistrate of ancient Athens.

An archontate is the office or position of an archon, a chief magistrate of ancient Athens.

The archons of Athens were elected into position and had several responsibilities. The archon oversaw civic activities, the funds of the city and the political stability.

Pericles (490-429 BCE) was a Greek Archon who develop social programs that paid Athenian men to build beautiful monuments in Athens. Though he began as an Archon, he is often referred to as the Tyrant of Athens. Plutarch details Pericles political life and the monuments he had built in his Life of Pericles.