Ostracism

Introduction to Ostracism

Ostracism, in Greek antiquity, political procedure providing for the temporary banishment of a citizen considered dangerous to public welfare. According to Aristotle the law of ostracism was first promulgated in Athens by Cleisthenes in 510 bc, but it was first used in 487-485 bc, against Hipparchus, a relative of Hippias, the tyrant of Athens. Every year the Athenian assembly decided upon imposing ostracism by a show of hands. If the decision was affirmative, a date for a public vote was set. On a fragment of pottery (Greek ostracon), each voter wrote the name of the person he wished to be exiled. The person who had most of the required minimum of 6000 total ballots cast had to leave Athens within ten days and remain away for ten years. Ostracism did not inflict any permanent stigma upon the victim, and neither property nor civil rights were lost; in fact the ostracized person might be recalled by vote of the assembly. Among the prominent statesmen known to have been ostracized were Aristides (483 bc), Themistocles (471 bc), and Cimon (461 bc). Hyperbolus, a minor Athenian demagogue, was the last person ostracized (417 bc).” (1)

Resources

Notes and References

• Information about Ostracism in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia

Guide to Ostracism