Ostracism

Lore & Background

The term ostracism derives from the pottery sherds used as voting tokens, called ostraka. Broken pottery, abundant and virtually free, served as a kind of scrap paper. Each year Athenians were asked in the assembly whether they wished to hold an ostracism. The question was put in the sixth of the ten months used for state business under the democracy. If a majority agreed, an ostracism would be held two months later. In a section of the agora set off and suitably barriered called the perischoinisma, citizens gave the names of those they wished to be ostracized to a scribe, and they were scratched on pottery shards. The shards were piled up facing down, so the votes would remain anonymous. Nine Archontes and the council of the five hundred supervised the process while the Archontes counted the ostraka submitted and sorted the names into piles. The person whose pile contained the most ostraka would be banished, provided that a quorum was met.

Reader's Guide

Ostracism was crucially different from Athenian law at the time; there was no charge and no defense could be mounted by the person expelled. The two stages of the procedure ran in the reverse order from that used under almost any trial system. It could take place at most once a year, and only for one person. Ostracism was an automatic procedure that required no initiative from any individual, with the vote simply occurring on the wish of the electorate—a diffuse exercise of power. In contrast to a trial, ostracism generally reduced political tension rather than increased it. Although ten years of exile may have been challenging for Athenians, it was a lenient punishment compared to the sentences that courts could impose. The elite Athenians who suffered ostracism were rich or noble men who had connections or xenoi in the wider Greek world and who, unlike genuine exiles, were able to access their income in Attica from abroad. Ostracism was a pragmatic measure; the concept of serving out the full sentence did not apply as it was a preventive measure, not a punitive one.

Did You Know?

• The word ostracism derives from pottery sherds used as voting tokens, called ostraka.
• The person newly ostracized had ten days to leave the city; if he attempted to return, the penalty was death.