Ostracism
conceptThe Athenian democratic practice of banishing citizens for ten years by popular vote, using pottery shards as ballots to prevent tyranny.
The Myth
Ostracism was introduced to Athens around 508-507 BC by Cleisthenes as a safeguard against tyranny. Once a year, the assembly voted on whether to hold an ostracism. If the vote passed, citizens scratched the name of the person they wished to banish on a pottery shard (ostrakon). If at least 6,000 votes were cast, the person with the most votes was exiled for ten years — without losing citizenship or property. The institution targeted those who had grown too powerful. Prominent victims included Aristides "the Just," Themistocles (hero of Salamis), and Cimon. Aristides was supposedly asked by an illiterate citizen to write "Aristides" on his shard; when asked why, the man said he was tired of hearing Aristides called "the Just." Aristides wrote his own name. The practice fell into disuse after 417 BC when two rival politicians colluded to ostracise an innocent third party named Hyperbolus.
Parents
Cleisthenes (founder)
Symbols
Fun Fact
Thousands of actual ostraka — the pottery shards used as ballots — have been excavated in the Athenian Agora, many with famous names scratched on them. Archaeologists found a cache of 190 pre-prepared ostraka all naming Themistocles in the same few handwriting styles — evidence of an ancient vote-rigging operation. The world's first democratic safeguard against tyranny came with the world's first electoral fraud, proving that ballot manipulation is exactly as old as balloting itself.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth:
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