26870: Kondrat (info): Aristide and ostracism (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Peter Kondrat <kondr8@gmail.com>

From: *The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia,* 6th ed. Copyright (c) 2005,
Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.


 ostracism[os'tr*u*siz"*u*m]
Pronunciation Key <http://www.infoplease.com/pronkey.html>

ostracism , ancient Athenian method of banishing a public figure. It was
introduced after the fall of the family of
Pisistratus<http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0839192.html>.
Each year the assembly took a preliminary vote to decide whether a vote of
ostracism should be held. If a majority approved holding an ostracism, a day
was set for the voting. When the polling took place, each voter put into an
urn a potsherd (*ostrakon*) marked with the name of a person he wished
ostracized. The man named on the most *ostraka* was exiled, unless fewer
than 6,000 votes were cast (some authorities believe that a total of 6,000
votes was necessary to ostracize a person). The exile lasted normally 10
years with no confiscation.
Aristides<http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0804702.html>,
Cimon <http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0812258.html>, and others were
recalled before 10 years were up. The last ostracism was probably that of
Hyperbolus (416? B.C.), a demagogue of humble origin. Other cities used
ostracism also. Numerous *ostraka* have been found in modern excavations,
many bearing the names of Aristides and Themistocles.

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