Statue of an ephebe (young athlete)

An Ephebe is a Greek word for an adolescent or a social status reserved for that age in Antiquity. In regards to Greek mythology, the ephebe was a young man or initiate, around the ages of 17-18, who was put through a period of isolation from his prior community, usually the world of his mother, where he was a child in the community. The ephebe would need to hunt, rely on his senses, on aggression, stealth, and trickery to survive. At the end of the initiation, the ephebe was reincorporated back into society as a man. The idea was that if the community was ever threatened, its men would have these skills needed to protect it.埃菲比（Ephebe）是一个希腊语词汇，既可指代青少年群体，也可指代古代社会中为该年龄段人群设定的专属社会身份。在希腊神话语境中，埃菲比指年龄约17至18岁的青年或受训者：他们需脱离此前所属的社群——通常是其作为孩童时依附的母系社群——度过一段隔离期。在此期间，埃菲比需依靠感官感知、攻击性、潜行技巧与计谋完成狩猎，以此存活。受训仪式结束后，埃菲比将以成年男性的身份重新融入社会。其设立的核心初衷是：一旦社群遭遇威胁，社群中的男性成员已具备守护社群所需的相关技能。