ETYM Latin archon, Greek, ruler, chief magistrate, p. pr. of archos to be first, to rule.
(Greek “ruler”) In ancient Greece, title of the chief magistrate in many cities.
A chief magistrate of ancient Athens.
In Athens, there were originally three: the king archon, the eponymous archon, and the polemarch. Their numbers were later increased to nine, with the extra six keeping a record of judgments. The king archon was the elected king and religious representative of the state; the eponymous archon, by whose personal name the administrative year was known in Athens, was the head of state and supreme judge; the polemarch was in charge of state security and commanded the army.
One of the chief magistrates in ancient Athens, especially, by preeminence, the first of the nine chief magistrates.