In ancient Greece the chief magistrate in various Greek city states was called eponymous archon (ἐπώνυμος ἄρχων, epōnymos archōn).
ἄρχοντες, archontes) means "ruler" or "lord", frequently used as the title of a specific public office,[1] while "eponymous" means that he gave his name to the year in which he held office, much like the Roman dating by consular years.
In Classical Athens, a system of nine concurrent archons evolved, led by three respective remits over the civic, military, and religious affairs of the state: the three office holders were known as the eponymous archon (ruler of Athens, the highest political office in the city-state), the polemarch (πολέμαρχος, "war ruler", the commander-in-chief of the Athenian military), and the archon basileus (ἄρχων βασιλεύς, "king ruler", the high priest of the city).
The archon eponymous remained the titular head of state even under the democracy, though with much reduced political importance.
After 457 BC ex-archons were automatically enrolled as life members of the Areopagus, though that assembly was no longer extremely important politically.
However, Aristotle indicates, within the Constitution of Athens, that it was indeed the house of Codrus that abolished the title of king in favor of Archon.