Nomophylakes

Nomophylakes were ‘guardians of the laws’. These magistrates became both a theme of reflection in Greek political thought and part of the institutional system of a fairly large number of cities. They are attested from the fourth century throughout the Hellenistic period across a wide geographical area from Cyrene in the West to Bactria in the East. In the political theory of Xenophon, Plato, and Aristotle, nomophylakes feature primarily as an office typical of oligarchic regimes. In Athens, ‘law-guardians’ were probably introduced as part of the legislation of Demetrius of Phalerum (317–307 BCE). The most controversial issue about them concerns their duties, which, with some likelihood, primarily consisted in exercising preemptive control over the legislative process. In other poleis nomophylakes are attested with a broad spectrum of functions including the proposal of decrees, keeping of archival records, registration of contracts, financial control, and the administration of justice. It can be assumed that their sudden emergence from the end of the fourth century is connected to the establishment and consolidation of Macedonian rule over the Eastern Mediterranean.