EPHĒBUS

( ἔφηβος ), the name of A then i an youths after they had attained the age of 18. The state of ephebe i a ( ἐφηβεία ) lasted for two years, till the youths had attained the age of 20, when they became men, and were admitted to share all the rights and duties of citizens, for which the law did not prescribe a more advanced age. Before a youth was enrolled among the ephebi, he had to undergo a docimasia ( δοκιμασία ), the object of which was partly to ascertain whether he was the son of A then i an citizens, or adopted by a citizen, and partly whether his body was sufficiently developed and strong to undertake the duties which now devolved upon him. After the docimasia the young men received in the a embly a shield and a lance; but those whose fathers had fallen in the defence of their country received a complete suit of armour in the theatre. It seems to have been on this occasion that the ephebi took an oath in the temple of Artemis Aglauros, by which they pledged themselves never to disgrace their arms or to desert their comrades; to fight to the last in the defence of their country, its altars and hearths; to leave their country not in a worse but in a better state than they found it; to obey the magistrates and the laws; to resist all attempts to subvert the institutions of Attica; and finally, to respect the religion of their forefathers. This solemnity took place towards the close of the year, and the festive season bore the name of ephebi a ( ἐφήβια ). The external distinction of the ephebi consisted in the chlamys and the petasus. During the two years of the ephebe i a, which may be considered as a kind of apprenticeship in arms, and in which the young men prepared themselves for the higher duties of full citizens, they were generally sent into the country, under the name of peripoli ( περίπολοι ), to keep watch in the towns and fortre es, on the coast and frontier, and to perform other duties which might be nece ary for the protection of Attica.