A vote, not a trial
Ostracism was a procedure in classical Athens by which citizens could send a prominent man into exile for ten years without any charge, trial or defence. It was not a punishment for a crime. Ancient writers describe it as a way of defusing rivalry between powerful leaders and guarding against tyranny. The name comes from ostrakon, a broken piece of pottery, which served as a ballot.
The procedure is traditionally linked with the reforms of Cleisthenes at the end of the sixth century BCE, but the first well-attested use was in the 480s BCE. Most of what we know comes from later writers such as Aristotle’s school and Plutarch, supplemented by thousands of inscribed shards that have been found by archaeologists.
How the vote worked
According to the sources, the process had two stages. Once a year the assembly was asked whether an ostracism should be held. If the answer was yes, a second meeting was held in the agora some weeks later. Citizens scratched or painted a name on a shard, and the shards were counted.
Several details are debated. Plutarch reports that at least 6,000 votes had to be cast for the result to be valid, but scholars disagree about whether this means 6,000 in total or 6,000 against the leading name. The man with the most votes had to leave Athens, traditionally within ten days. He kept his property and his citizenship and was free to return after ten years. In that sense, it was a fairly mild measure by ancient standards. The Athenians could also recall an ostracised man early, and some leaders returned before the term ended.
The pottery ballots
Pottery was cheap and abundant, so broken pieces of jars and bowls served as scrap ballots. Thousands of inscribed shards have been found in the Athenian Agora and in the Kerameikos area. Many carry only a name, sometimes with the father’s name, while others add a rude comment or a nickname.
Some finds are especially revealing. A large group of shards naming Themistocles was reportedly found in a well, and many appear to have been written by a small number of hands, which suggests that ballots were prepared in advance and handed out to voters. Such discoveries show that organised campaigns existed, which complicates the idea of a spontaneous act of the people. The details of these finds are still studied.
Famous names
Several well-known figures were ostracised in the fifth century BCE:
- Aristides, nicknamed “the Just” in later tradition, around 482 BCE. Plutarch tells a story of an illiterate voter who asked Aristides himself to write Aristides’ name on his shard, but this is an anecdote, and its truth cannot be checked.
- Themistocles, the architect of a naval build-up centred on the Greek trireme, which was paid for in part by a windfall from the Laurion silver mines according to tradition and which proved decisive during the Greco-Persian conflict. He was ostracised around the early 470s BCE. He later fled to the Persian empire, according to ancient writers.
- Cimon, in the early 460s BCE, after a political dispute over Athenian policy toward Sparta.
- Thucydides son of Melesias, a rival of Pericles, around 443 BCE. He should not be confused with the historian of the Peloponnesian War.
- Hyperbolus, around 417 BCE, often regarded as the last ostracism, though precise dating is uncertain.
The dates are approximate and some come from late sources, so they should be treated as the traditional chronology rather than exact fact. The list also shows that ostracism was most often used against men of influence, not obscure citizens.
Why it faded
The ostracism of Hyperbolus is usually seen as the final use. Ancient writers suggest that it had come to look embarrassing, because Hyperbolus was seen as an unsuitable victim, and that the procedure lost its appeal. In the fourth century BCE, courts had more tools to deal with politically dangerous individuals, and ostracism was not applied again. Scholars debate how much weight to give these explanations.
Other forms of exile
Exile took several other forms in Greek cities, and it is worth keeping them separate from ostracism.
- Exile for homicide. In Athens, a person charged with killing could go into exile before the verdict, and a convicted killer was barred from the city. A person who killed unintentionally might later be reconciled with the victim’s family.
- Exile as a penalty. Courts could sentence a citizen to permanent exile, often combined with confiscation of property. This was far harsher than ostracism.
- Political banishment. After civil strife, a victorious faction might expel its opponents, and returning exiles were a recurring source of instability in many cities.
- Other ostracism-like measures. Ancient authors report similar procedures elsewhere. Syracuse is said to have used a version with olive leaves, called petalism, though it was reportedly short-lived. Evidence from some other cities, such as Argos, Megara and Miletus, is thin, and scholars are cautious about it.
Exile was a serious matter for ancient Greeks. Identity was tied closely to the home city, and an exile lost not only a home but religious ties, family networks and the protection of local law. Yet exiles were also a feature of Greek life, and men such as the historian Thucydides and the general-turned-writer Xenophon spent years away from Athens.
What ostracism shows
Ostracism offers a glimpse of how Athenians thought about power. It was a collective, preventive tool, and it relied on the same assembly that ran the Athenian democracy. It also shows the limits of our knowledge: much depends on late authors, and the shards, although numerous, record only names, not the reasons behind each vote.