Ostracism

Ostracism was a procedure under the Athenian democracy where a prominent citizen could be expelled from the city for ten years. Not considered a penalty, the expulsion could be pre-emptive, to remove someone thought to be a threat to the state (or who just seemed too powerful), or it might be a way of diffusing a major confrontation between rival politicians. But the command that it made was a neutral one: We think it better you not be here for a time.

Period of operation

Ostracism was not in use throughout the whole period of Athenian democracy (c. 506–322 BC), but was a feature of political life only in the fifth century. The standard account, found in Aristotle's Athenian Constitution 22.3, attributes the establishment to Cleisthenes, a pivotal reformer in the creation of the democracy. In that case ostracism would have been in place from around 506 BC. The first victim of the practice, however, was not expelled until twenty years later. This was Hipparchos son of Chormos, a relative of the tyrant Peisistratos. Over the course of the next sixty years some twelve or more individuals followed him: the list may not be complete, but there is good reason to believe the Athenians did not feel the need to eject someone in this way every year. The list of known ostracisms runs as follows:

Related Topics:
Athenian democracy - Fifth century - Aristotle's - Athenian Constitution - Cleisthenes - 506 BC - Tyrant - Peisistratos

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• 487 Hipparchos son of Charmos
• 486 Megacles son of Hippocrates
• 485 (name unknown)
• 484 Xanthippos son of Ariphron; Pericles' father
• 482 Aristides son of Lysimachus
• 471 Themistocles son of Neocles (last possible year)
• 461 Cimon son of Miltiades
• 460 Alcibiades son of Kleinias; grandfather of Alcibiades
• 457 Menon son of Meneclides
• 443 Thucydides son of Milesias
• 440s Callias son of Didymos
• 440s Damon son of Damonides
• 416 Hyperbolos son of Antiphanes (+/- 1 year)

Something like 12,000 political ostraca have been excavated in the Athenian agora (and in the Ceramicus). They seem to fall into three distinct phases: the 480's, mid-century 461-443 and finally the years 417-415: this matches fairly well with the clustering of known expulsions (Themistocles before 471 may count as an exception), suggesting that the Athenian zeal for ostracism had its peaks and troughs. (Lang 1990:3–6)

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The last known ostracism was that of Hyperbolos in c. 417 BC. There is no sign of its use after the Peloponnesian war, when democracy was restored after the oligarchic coup of the Thirty had collapsed in 403 BC. However, while ostracism was not an active feature of the 4th-century version of democracy, it remained a presence. Each year the question was still put to the assembly: did they wish to hold one. But it was no longer a matter for real consideration.

Related Topics:
Hyperbolos - 417 BC - Peloponnesian war - Oligarchic - The Thirty - 403 BC

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