Epitadeus - Epitadesu (English spelling)

Date of birth and death unknown. Ephor (supervisor) of Sparta, ancient Greece. During his term as an Ephor in the early 4th century BC, he changed the Spartan inheritance law, allowing the free gifting and bequest of family property and hereditary land. It is said that he did this to remove sons with whom he was not on good terms from inheritance. Sparta became embroiled in a monetary economy after the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC), which led to a significant disparity between the rich and the poor, and hereditary land began to be transferred. The laws enacted by Epithadeus ratified this situation, making it even worse, and were one of the factors that led to the collapse of the Spartan community.

[Masato Furuyama]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

生没年不詳。古代ギリシア、スパルタのエフォロイ（監督官）。紀元前4世紀初めエフォロイ在任中にスパルタの相続法を変更し、家産と世襲地の自由な贈与と遺贈を認めた。それは、不仲な息子を相続から除こうとしたのだと伝えられる。スパルタは、ペロポネソス戦争（前431～前404）を機に貨幣経済に巻き込まれ、著しい貧富の差が生じて、世襲地も譲渡されるようになったが、エピタデウスの制定した法は、この状態を追認しいっそう悪化させ、スパルタ共同体が崩壊する一因となった。

［古山正人］

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