In Greece, ephor ( el, έφορος, translit=ephoros, lit=overseer) is a title given to the head of an archaeological ephorate ( el, εφορεία, translit=ephoria), or archaeological unit. Ephors are responsible to the Ministry of Culture and Sports. Most ephorates are responsible for a particular region of Greece. However, the Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities has jurisdiction over underwater sites across the whole of Greece, as does the Ephorate of Private Archaeological Collections, while two Ephorates of Palaeoanthropology and Speleology exist, one for northern and one for southern Greece.

History

The title of ''ephor'' was first used in archaeological circles for

Andreas Moustoxydis Andreas Moustoxydis ( el, Ανδρέας Μουστοξύδης, January 6, 1785 – July 29, 1860), sometimes Latinized as Mustoxydes or in the Italian form Andrea Mustoxidi, was a Greek historian and philologist from Corfu. He studied at P ...

, who was appointed by Ioannis Kapodistrias in October 1829 as 'Director and Ephor' of the first national archaeological museum, then on the island of Aegina. In 1834, the

Greek Archaeological Service The Greek Archaeological Service ( el, Αρχαιολογική Υπηρεσία) is a state service, under the auspices of the Greek Ministry of Culture, responsible for the oversight of all archaeological excavations, museums and the country's a ...

was established by the Archaeological Law of 10/22 May, which also formally established the position of Ephor General of Antiquities (), first held by Ludwig Ross after the abortive tenure of the architect

Adolf Weissenberg Adolf Weissenberg (1790–1840) was a Bavarian architect and archaeologist. He was appointed by Otto of Greece as ephor of antiquities, overseeing all archaeology and archaeological sites in Greece, in 1833, but forced to resign in September 1834 ...

. Ross had previously held the title of 'Ephor' of Antiquities of the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmu ...

, from 1833. Until the mid-1870s, the Greek Archaeological Service consisted entirely of the Ephor General himself, sometimes supported by a personal assistant. In 1871, the privately-organised Archaeological Society of Athens, which had taken on some of the state's responsibility for excavating and managing cultural heritage, began to appoint its own travelling ephors, known as 'apostles'. The primary duties of these 'apostles' were to conduct archaeological work throughout Greece, to combat

archaeological looting Archaeological looting is the illicit removal of artifacts from an archaeological site. Such looting is the major source of artifacts for the antiquities market. Looting typically involves either the illegal exportation of artifacts from their ...

and the illegal trade in antiquities, and to persuade citizens to hand over antiquities, particularly those acquired illegally, to the care of the state. The first of these was

Panagiotis Stamatakis Panagiotis Stamatakis ( el, Παναγιώτης Σταµατάκης) (c.1840–1885) (sometimes anglicised as Panayotis or Stamatakes) was a Greek archaeologist. He is noted particularly for his role in supervising the excavations of Heinrich ...

, whose work formed the basis for several public archaeological collections throughout Greece; he was followed in 1874 by Athanasios Dimitriadis, in 1880 by Dimitrios Philios, in 1882 by Christos Tsountas, in 1884 by Vasilios Leonardos, in 1891 by Andreas Skias and in 1894 by Konstantinos Kourouniotis. From the 1870s, the Archaeological Service began to employ its own ephors, expanding continuously until the early 1910s. These ephors generally had responsibility for a particular region of Greece: Stamatakis, for example, was recruited in 1875 to oversee antiquities in Central Greece. In 1909, following the Goudi coup and the so-called 'mutiny of the superintendents' among the ephors of the Archaeological Service, the Ephor-General

Panagiotis Kavvadias Panagiotis (Panagis) Kavvadias or Cawadias or Cavvadias ( el, Παναγιώτης / Παναγής Καββαδίας) (2 May 1850 – 20 July 1928) was a Greek archaeologist. He was a prominent excavator and archaeological administrator, res ...

was removed from office, and the post of Ephor-General abolished. The title was briefly reintroduced in the 1960s, and occasionally used by Spyridon Marinatos during the Regime of the Colonels, then abolished again in 1982. Though the titles of ''ephor'' and ''ephorate'' remain for the regional units, the professional head of the Greek Archaeological Service is typically referred to as the 'director-general' or 'General Inspector' of Antiquities.

Reorganisation of 2014

Before 2014, the archaeological ephorates of Greece were divided both by geographical region and the historical periods of the remains for which they were responsible. They were organised as follows: * Thirty-nine Ephorates of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities. * Twenty-eight Ephorates of Byzantine Antiquities. * Two Ephorates of Palaeoanthropology and Speleology. * The Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities. * The Ephorate of Antiquity Dealers and Private Archaeological Collections. In 2014, under Presidential Decree no. 104, the regional ephorates were amalgamated into a single ephorate for each regional unit, covering all chronological periods.

List of Ephors General of Antiquities

First period (1833-1909)

Revival of the General Ephorate (1961-1981)

After the abolition of the rank of Ephor General in 1909, it was revived by the law 4177/1961 in 1961. Three positions at the same rank were created simultaneously. Under the Regime of the Colonels, Spyridon Marinatos was appointed as head of the Greek archaeological service, and sometimes used the title of Ephor General: The rank of Ephor General was formally abolished once again by the law 1232/1982 in 1982.

Current ephorates

As of 2022, the regional ephorates of the Greek Archaeological Service are as follows: * Ephorate of Antiquities of Achaia * Ephorate of Antiquities of Aetolia-Acarnania and Lefkada * Ephorate of Antiquities of Argolis * Ephorate of Antiquities of Arcadia * Ephorate of Antiquities of

Arta Arta, ARTA, or Artà may refer to: Places Djibouti * Arta, Djibouti, a regional capital city in southeastern Djibouti * Arta Mountains, a mountain range in Djibouti * Arta Region, Djibouti Greece * Arta, Greece, a regional capital city in northwes ...

* Ephorate of Antiquities of Athens * Ephorate of Antiquities of Boeotia * Ephorate of Antiquities of

Cephalonia Kefalonia or Cephalonia ( el, Κεφαλονιά), formerly also known as Kefallinia or Kephallenia (), is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece and the 6th largest island in Greece after Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes and Chios. It i ...

* Ephorate of Antiquities of Chalkidiki and

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the penins ...

* Ephorate of Antiquities of Chania * Ephorate of Antiquities of Chios * Ephorate of Antiquities of Kilkis * Ephorate of Antiquities of

Corfu Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...

* Ephorate of Antiquities of Corinth * Ephorate of Antiquities of the Cyclades * Ephorate of Antiquities of the

Dodecanese The Dodecanese (, ; el, Δωδεκάνησα, ''Dodekánisa'' , ) are a group of 15 larger plus 150 smaller Greek islands in the southeastern Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean, off the coast of Turkey's Anatolia, of which 26 are inhabited. ...

* Ephorate of Antiquities of Drama * Ephorate of Antiquities of Eastern Attica * Ephorate of Antiquities of Euboea * Ephorate of Antiquities of Evros * Ephorate of Antiquities of Florina * Ephorate of Antiquities of Grevena * Ephorate of Antiquities of Imathia * Ephorate of Antiquities of Heraklion * Ephorate of Antiquities of Ilion * Ephorate of Antiquities of

Ioannina Ioannina ( el, Ιωάννινα ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus, an administrative region in north-western Greece. According to the 2011 census, the c ...

* Ephorate of Antiquities of Karditsa * Ephorate of Antiquities of Kastoria * Ephorate of Antiquities of Kavala- Thasos * Ephorate of Antiquities of Kozani * Ephorate of Antiquities of

Laconia Laconia or Lakonia ( el, Λακωνία, , ) is a historical and administrative region of Greece located on the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparta. The word ''laconic''—to speak in a blunt, c ...

* Ephorate of Antiquities of

Larissa Larissa (; el, Λάρισα, , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 144,651 according to the 2011 census. It is also capital of the Larissa regiona ...

* Ephorate of Antiquities of Lasithi * Ephorate of Antiquities of Lesbos * Ephorate of Antiquities of Magnesia * Ephorate of Antiquities of Messenia * Ephorate of Antiquities of Pella * Ephorate of Antiquities of Phocis * Ephorate of Antiquities of Phthiotis and Evrytania * Ephorate of Antiquities of Pieria * Ephorate of Antiquities of

Preveza Preveza ( el, Πρέβεζα, ) is a city in the region of Epirus, northwestern Greece, located on the northern peninsula at the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf. It is the capital of the regional unit of Preveza, which is part of the region of Epiru ...

* Ephorate of Antiquities of Rethymno * Ephorate of Antiquities of Rhodope * Ephorate of Antiquities of Samos- Icaria * Ephorate of Antiquities of Serres * Ephorate of Antiquities of Thesprotia * Ephorate of Antiquities of Thessaloniki City * Ephorate of Antiquities of Thessaloniki Region * Ephorate of Antiquities of Trikala * Ephorate of Antiquities of Western Attica, Piraeus and the Islands. * Ephorate of Antiquities of

Xanthi Xanthi ( el, Ξάνθη, ''Xánthi'', ) is a city in the region of Western Thrace, northeastern Greece. It is the capital of the Xanthi (regional unit), Xanthi regional unit of the modern regions of Greece, region of East Macedonia and Thrace. A ...

* Ephorate of Antiquities of Zakynthos

Footnotes

Explanatory notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{cite journal, last=Walters, title=Archaeological Notes, year=1910, journal= The Classical Review, volume=24, number=8, pp=262–263, jstor=695040 Archaeology of Greece