But the military sphere is not where the Ephors began their encroachment against the kings. Let us look at a few examples of what they were up to.
In Plutarch’s Kleomenes, it is stated that Asteropus was the first Ephor to infringe on the power of the kings, sometime prior to the mid-sixth century B.C. We don’t know exactly what he did; only that his influence was considerable. Here is the quote from Plutarch: