ἔφηβος

The ephebeia was the Athenian institution that took young men at the threshold of adulthood and systematically made citizens of them. Formally organized in the fourth century BCE, though with much older roots, it enrolled Athenian-born males at age eighteen for two years of training that combined military service, physical education in the gymnasium, and ceremonial participation in Athenian religious and civic life. The first year was spent in the city's gymnasia; the second in garrison duty at the border forts of Attica. At the beginning of their service, ephebes took the famous Ephebic Oath — a solemn vow to defend Athens, uphold its laws, and honor its gods — in the sanctuary of Aglauros on the Acropolis.