Etymology

Noun

1. a chief magistrate of ancient Athens

   • 1980: Hated by the archons of Athens for his fearless condemnation of municipal graft, he was hypocritically arraigned on a charge of corrupting Athenian youth. (Burgess, Earthly Powers)

2. a ruler, head of state or other leader

   • 1922: But neither the midwife’s lore nor the caudlectures saved him from the archons of Sinn Fein and their noggin of hemlock. (Joyce, Ulysses)

3. a supernatural being subordinate to the Demiurge