|a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a
camera lens from excess light or glare.| |a children's mummer's
parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best
costumes.| in ancient Greece, any male who had attained the age
of puberty. In Athens it acquired a technical sense, referring
to young men aged 18-20. From about 335 BC they underwent two
years of military training under the supervision of an elected
kosmetes and 10 sophronistai ("chasteners"). At the end of the
first year each ephebus received a sword and shield from the
state; probably at this stage he took the ephebic oath. During
their service, ephebi were exempt from civic duties and deprived
of most civic rights. During the 3rd century BC, ephebic service
ceased to be compulsory and the duration was reduced to one
year. The ephebia became an institution for the wealthy classes
only. By the 1st century BC foreigners were admitted, and the
curriculum was expanded to include philosophic and literary
studies, although the mi