Ostracism
Ostracism, in ancient Greece, the method by which persons whose power and influence seemed to be dangerous to the democratic state could be temporarily banished from the community by popular vote. The procedure varied from place to place. In Athens the voting was done on pieces of pottery, or ostraka, from which the name ostracism was derived The ostracized person was banished for 10 years but might be recalled earlier. He did not lose his property or citizenship and was not regarded as a traitor or criminal.
Each year the assembly of citizens in Athens balloted on the issue of holding a vote of ostracism. If the decision was affirmative there followed a voting in which each citizen wrote on an ostrakon the name of the person he wanted to banish. The rules are uncertain, but apparently only one person could be banished each year and at least 6,000 votes were required.
Ostracism, according to tradition, was introduced by Cleisthenes about 506 B.C., but the first known banishment was about 487 B.C. The practice was dropped after 417 B.C. because it had become a party weapon. Many prominent men were ostracized, including Aristides, Cimon, and Themistocles.
In the Greek city of Syracuse in Sicily the method was called petalism because the voting was done on olive leaves. The period of exile was five years. Petalism was used only a short time; it was abolished in 452 B.C. on the ground that it tended to keep worthy citizens from entering public life.