archon means A chief magistrate of ancient Athens. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 82 out of 100.
Why this word is great
ARCHON — [Noun] A chief magistrate in ancient Athens, or more broadly, a person who holds sovereign authority or claims the right to rule. From Ancient Greek ἄρχων (árkhōn), the present participle of ἄρχω (árkhō, "to rule, to lead"). Unlike "magistrate"—a blandly functional term for any civic officer—or "tyrant"—a word stained with usurpation and cruelty—"archon" resonates with the formal gravity of classical sovereignty. It is the chill of marble beneath sandaled feet in the agora, the precise impression of a signet ring in sealing wax, and the austere profile stamped on a coin—the ghost of governance that outlasts the governor, a reminder that order, too, is a solemn and fleeting artifact.
noun
- A chief magistrate of ancient Athens.“Hated by the archons of Athens for his fearless condemnation of municipal graft, he was hypocritically arraigned on a charge of corrupting Athenian youth.”
- A person who claims the right to rule, or to exercise power or sovereign authority over other human beings.
- A ruler, head of state or other leader.“But neither the midwife’s lore nor the caudlectures saved him from the archons of Sinn Fein and their noggin of hemlock.”
- A supernatural ruler of the cosmos.“Their claim to totality is like the cry of the archon Ialdabaoth that he was the Lord of the Universe and that there was nothing beyond him.”