Pieces of broken pottery as voting tokens. The persons nominated are Pericles, Cimon and Aristides (top to bottom)

Ostracism (Greek ὀστρακισμός ostrakismos) was a procedure under the Athenian democracy in which a prominent citizen could be expelled from the city-state of Athens for ten years. While some instances clearly expressed popular anger at the victim, ostracism was often used pre-emptively. It was used as a way of defusing major confrontations between rival politicians (by removing one of them from the scene), neutralizing someone thought to be a threat to the state, or exiling a potential tyrant. Crucially, ostracism had no relation to the processes of justice. There was no charge or defence, and the exile was not in fact a penalty; it was simply a command from the Athenian people that one of their number be gone for ten years. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 314 × 598 pixelsFull resolution (403 × 768 pixel, file size: 491 KB, MIME type: image/png) selbst erstellt, GNUFDL File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Ostracism ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 314 × 598 pixelsFull resolution (403 × 768 pixel, file size: 491 KB, MIME type: image/png) selbst erstellt, GNUFDL File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Ostracism ... Pericles or Perikles (c. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Aristides (530 BC–468 BC) was an Athenian statesman, nicknamed the Just. He was the son of Lysimachus, and a member of a family of moderate fortune. ... The speakers platform in the Pnyx, the meeting ground of the assembly where all the great political struggles of Athens were fought during the Golden Age. Here Athenian statesmen stood to speak, such as Pericles and Aristides in the 5th century BC and Demosthenes and Aeschines in the 4th... The word citizen may refer to: A person with a citizenship Citizen Watch Co. ... Exile (band) may refer to: Exile - The American country music band Exile - The Japanese pop music band Category: ... A city-state is a region controlled exclusively by a city. ... Athens (Greek: Αθήνα - Athína) is the largest city and capital of Greece, located in the Attica periphery of central Greece. ... The Politics series Politics Portal This box:      A politician is an individual who is a formally recognized and active member of a government, or a person who influences the way a society is governed through an understanding of political power and group dynamics. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

The procedure is to be distinguished from the modern use of the term, which generally refers to informal modes of exclusion from a group through shunning. Derived as it is from the Greek world, still, the classic social anthropological example of ostracism is the precolonial Australian Aboriginal social expulsion of tribe members sometimes even resulting in actual physical death. Shunning is the act of deliberately avoiding association with, and habitually keeping away from an individual or group. ...

Procedure

The name is derived from the ostraka, (singular ostrakon , ὄστρακον), referring to the potsherds or pieces of broken pottery that were used as voting tokens. Broken pottery, abundant and virtually free, served as a kind of scrap paper (in contrast to papyrus, which was imported from Egypt as a high-quality writing surface, and was thus too costly to be disposable). An ostracon with Pericles name written on it (c. ... In archaeology, a sherd is a fragment of pottery or other ceramic. ... Papyrus plant Cyperus papyrus at Kew Gardens, London Papyrus is an early form of paper produced from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, a wetland sedge that was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt. ...

Each year the 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 (January or February in the modern Gregorian Calendar). If they voted "yes", then an ostracism would be held two months later. In a roped-off area of the agora, citizens scratched the name of a citizen they wished to expel on potsherds, and deposited them in urns. The presiding officials counted the ostraka submitted; if a minimum of six thousand votes were reached, then the ostracism took place: the officials sorted the names into separate piles, and the person receiving the highest number of votes was exiled for ten years The ecclesia or ekklesia (Greek έκκλησία) was the principal assembly of the democracy of ancient Athens. ... The Gregorian calendar is the most widely used calendar in the world. ... An agora (αγορά), translatable as marketplace, was an essential part of an ancient Greek polis or city-state. ... In archaeology, a sherd is a fragment of pottery or other ceramic. ... Maya funerary urn For the computing term, see Uniform Resource Name. ...

The person nominated had ten days to leave the city — if he attempted to return, the penalty was death. Notably, the property of the man banished was not confiscated and there was no loss of status. After the ten years he was allowed to return without stigma. It was possible for the assembly to recall an ostracized person ahead of time; before the Persian invasion of 479 BC, an amnesty was declared under which at least two ostracised leaders — Pericles' father Xanthippus and Aristides 'the Just' — are known to have returned. Similarly, Cimon, ostracised in 461 BC, was recalled during an emergency. ^[1]. Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is the execution of a convicted criminal by the state as punishment for crimes known as capital crimes or capital offences. ... The Greco-Persian Wars or Persian Wars were a series of conflicts between the Greek world and the Persian Empire that started about 500 BC and lasted until 448 BC. The term can also refer to the continual warfare of the Roman Empire and Byzantine Empire against the Parthians and... 479 pr. ... Pericles or Perikles (c. ... Aristides (530 BC–468 BC) was an Athenian statesman, nicknamed the Just. He was the son of Lysimachus, and a member of a family of moderate fortune. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Distinction from other Athenian democratic processes

Ostracism was crucially different from Athenian law at the time; there was no charge, and no defence 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 — here it is as if a jury are first asked "Do you want to find someone guilty?", and subsequently asked "Whom do you wish to accuse?". Equally out of place in a judicial framework is perhaps the institution's most peculiar feature: that it can take place at most once a year, and only for one person. In this it resembles the Greek pharmakos or scapegoat — though in contrast, pharmakos generally ejected a lowly member of the community. The law courts in classical Athens (4th and 5th centuries) were a fundamental organ of democratic governance. ... Pharmakos (Greek φαρμακος) in Ancient Greek religion was a kind of scapegoat. ... The Scapegoat by William Holman Hunt, 1854. ...

A further distinction between these two modes (and one not obvious from a modern perspective) is that 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. By contrast, an Athenian trial needed the initiative of a particular citizen-prosecutor. While prosecution often led to a counterattack (or was a counterattack itself), no such response was possible in the case of ostracism as responsibility lay with the polity as a whole. In contrast to a trial, ostracism generally reduced political tension rather than increased it.

Although ten years of exile would have been difficult for an Athenian to face, it was relatively mild in comparison to the kind of sentences inflicted by courts; when dealing with politicians held to be acting against the interests of the people, Athenian juries could inflict severe penalties such as death, unpayably large fines, confiscation of property, permanent exile and loss of citizens' rights through atimia. Further, 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. In Plutarch, following as he does the anti-democratic line common in elite sources, the fact that people might be recalled early appears to be another example of the inconsistency of majoritarianism that was characteristic of Athenian democracy. However, ten years of exile usually resolved whatever had prompted the expulsion. Ostracism was simply a pragmatic measure; the concept of serving out the full sentence did not apply as it was a preventative measure, not a punitive one. Atimia was a form of disenfranchisement used under classical Athenian democracy. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Xenia (Greek). ... Attica (in Greek: Αττική, Attike; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a periphery (subdivision) in Greece, containing Athens, the capital of Greece. ... Mestrius Plutarchus (Greek: Πλούταρχος; 46 - 127), better known in English as Plutarch, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist. ... Majoritarianism is a political philosophy or agenda which asserts that a majority (sometimes categorized by religion, language or some other identifying factor) of the population is entitled to a certain degree of primacy in society, and has the right to make decisions that affect the society. ...

One curious window on the practicalities of ostracism comes from the cache of 190 ostraka discovered dumped in a well next to the acropolis.^{[citation needed]} From the handwriting they appear to have been written by fourteen individuals and bear the name of Themistocles, ostracised before 471 BC and were evidently meant for distribution to voters. This was not necessarily evidence of electoral fraud (being no worse than modern voting instruction cards), but their being dumped in the well suggests that their creators wished to hide them. What they do indicate is that groups attempted to influence the outcome of ostracisms, although how successful these attempts were is unknown. The two-month gap between the first and second phases would have easily allowed for such a campaign. Any ancient pieces of broken pottery with writing on them. ... The Acropolis of Athens, seen from the hill of the Pnyx to the west. ... This article cites its sources but does not provide page references. ... Centuries: 4th century BC - 5th century BC - 6th century BC Decades: 520s BC 510s BC 500s BC 490s BC 480s BC - 470s BC - 460s BC 450s BC 440s BC 430s BC 420s BC 476 BC 475 BC 474 BC 473 BC 472 BC - 471 BC - 470 BC 469 BC 468... Electoral fraud is illegal interference with the process of an election. ...

That two-month gap is a key feature in the institution, much as in elections under modern liberal democracies. It first prevented the candidate for expulsion being chosen out of immediate anger, although an Athenian general such as Cimon would have not wanted to lose a battle the week before such a second vote ^[1]. Secondly, it opened up a period for discussion (or perhaps agitation), whether informally in daily talk or public speeches before the Athenian assembly or Athenian courts. ^* In this process a consensus, or rival consensuses, might emerge. Further, in that time of waiting, ordinary Athenian citizens must have felt a certain power over the greatest members of their city; conversely, the most prominent citizens had an incentive to worry how their social inferiors regarded them. An election is a decision making process where people choose people to hold official offices. ... Liberal democracy is a form of government. ... Public speaking is the process of speaking to a group of people in a structured, deliberate manner intended to inform, influence, or entertain the listeners. ...

Period of operation

Ostracism was not in use throughout the whole period of Athenian democracy (circa 506–322 BC), but only occurred in the fifth century. The standard account, found in Aristotle's Athenian Constitution 22.3 ^[2], 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 487 BC — nearly twenty years later. 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: (6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC - other centuries) (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium AD) Events Demotic becomes the dominant script of ancient Egypt Persians invade Greece twice (Persian Wars) Battle of Marathon (490) Battle of Salamis (480) Athenian empire formed and falls Peloponnesian War... Aristotle (Greek: AristotélÄ“s) (384 BC – March 7, 322 BC) was a Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. ... Cleisthenes (also Clisthenes or Kleisthenes) was a noble Athenian of the accursed Alcmeonidate family. ... Centuries: 7th century BC - 6th century BC - 5th century BC Decades: 550s BC - 540s BC - 530s BC - 520s BC - 510s BC - 500s BC - 490s BC - 480s BC - 470s BC - 460s BC - 450s BC Events and Trends 509 BC - Foundation of the Roman Republic 508 BC - Office of pontifex maximus created... Centuries: 6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC Decades: 530s BC 520s BC 510s BC 500s BC 490s BC - 480s BC - 470s BC 460s BC 450s BC 440s BC 430s BC Years: 492 BC 491 BC 490 BC 489 BC 488 BC - 487 BC - 486 BC 485 BC...

• 487 Hipparchos son of Charmos, a relative of the tyrant Peisistratos
• 486 Megacles son of Hippocrates; Cleisthenes' nephew (ostracised twice ^[3])
• 485 Kallixenos Nephew of Cleisthenes and head of the Alcmaeonids at the time (not known for certain)
• 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 (ostracised twice ^[3])
• 457 Menon son of Meneclides [less certain]
• 442 Thucydides son of Milesias
• 440s Callias son of Didymos [less certain]
• 440s Damon son of Damonides [less certain]
• 416 Hyperbolos son of Antiphanes (+/- 1 year)

Around twelve thousand political ostraka have been excavated in the Athenian agora and in the Ceramicus. The second victim, Cleisthenes' nephew Megacles, is named by 4647 of these, but for a second undated ostracism not listed above. The known ostracisms seem to fall into three distinct phases: the 480s BC, mid-century 461–443 BC and finally the years 417–415: this matches fairly well with the clustering of known expulsions, although Themistocles before 471 may count as an exception. This suggests that ostracism fell in and out of fashion. ^[4] This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Peisistratos or Peisistratus (Greek: )[1] (ca. ... Cleisthenes (also Clisthenes or Kleisthenes) was a noble Athenian of the accursed Alcmeonidate family. ... Pericles or Perikles (c. ... Aristides (530 BC–468 BC) was an Athenian statesman, nicknamed the Just. He was the son of Lysimachus, and a member of a family of moderate fortune. ... This article cites its sources but does not provide page references. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Miltiades Miltiades (c. ... Alcibiades Cleiniou Scambonides (Greek: ; English /ælsɪbaɪədi:z/; 450 BC–404 BC), also transliterated as Alkibiades, was a prominent Athenian statesman, orator, and general. ... Thucydides (Greek: Θουκυδίδης) was a prominent politician of ancient Athens and the leader for a number of years of the powerful conservative faction. ... Damon, son of Damonides, of the Athenian deme of Oe (sometimes spelled Oa), was an advisor of Pericles. ... Hyperbolos (Latin spelling Hyberbolus) was an Athenian politician active during the first half of the Peloponnesian war, coming to especial prominence after the death of Cleon. ...

The last known ostracism was that of Hyperbolos in circa 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; the question was put to the assembly each year, but they did not wish to hold one. Hyperbolos (Latin spelling Hyberbolus) was an Athenian politician active during the first half of the Peloponnesian war, coming to especial prominence after the death of Cleon. ... Centuries: 6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC Decades: 460s BC 450s BC 440s BC 430s BC 420s BC - 410s BC - 400s BC 390s BC 380s BC 370s BC 360s BC Years: 422 BC 421 BC 420 BC 419 BC 418 BC - 417 BC - 416 BC 415 BC... Combatants Delian League led by Athens Peloponnesian League led by Sparta Commanders Pericles, Cleon, Nicias, Alcibiades Archidamus II, Brasidas, Lysander The Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) was an Ancient Greek military conflict, fought between Athens and their empire and the Peloponnesian League, led by Sparta. ... Oligarchy is a form of government where most political power effectively rests with a small segment of society (typically the most powerful, whether by wealth, military strength, ruthlessness, or political influence). ... The Thirty Tyrants were a pro-Spartan oligarchy installed in Athens after Athens defeat in the Peloponnesian War in April 404 BC. Its two leading members were Tharamenes and Critias, a former acolyte of Socrates. ... Centuries: 6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC Decades: 450s BC 440s BC 430s BC 420s BC 410s BC - 400s BC - 390s BC 380s BC 370s BC 360s BC 350s BC Years: 408 BC 407 BC 406 BC 405 BC 404 BC - 403 BC - 402 BC 401 BC...

Purpose of ostracism

Because ostracism was carried out by thousands of people over many decades of an evolving political situation and culture, it did not serve a single monumental purpose. Still, observations can be made about outcomes, as well as the initial purpose for which it was created.

The first rash of people ostracised in the decade after the defeat of the first Persian invasion at Marathon in 492 BC were all related or connected to the tyrant Peisistratos, who had controlled Athens for 36 years up to 527 BC. After his son Hippias was deposed with Spartan help in 510 BC, the family sought refuge with the Persians, and nearly twenty years later Hippias landed with their invasion force at Marathon. Tyranny and Persian aggression were paired threats facing the new democratic regime at Athens, and ostracism was used against both. The Persian Empire was a series of historical empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the old Persian homeland, and beyond in Western Asia, Central Asia and the Caucasus. ... Marathon (Demotic Greek: Μαραθώνας, Marathónas; Attic/ Katharevousa: Μαραθών, Marathón) is a town in Greece, the site of the battle of Marathon in 490 BC, in which the Athenian army defeated the Persians. ... Centuries: 6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC Decades: 540s BC 530s BC 520s BC 510s BC 500s BC - 490s BC - 480s BC 470s BC 460s BC 450s BC 440s BC Years: 497 BC 496 BC 495 BC 494 BC 493 BC - 492 BC - 491 BC 490 BC... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Peisistratos or Peisistratus (Greek: )[1] (ca. ... Centuries: 7th century BC - 6th century BC - 5th century BC Decades: 570s BC - 560s BC - 550s BC - 540s BC - 530s BC - 520s BC - 510s BC - 500s BC - 490s BC - 480s BC - 470s BC Events 529 BC - Cambyses II succeeds his father Cyrus as ruler of Persia. ... Hippias was one of the sons of Pisistratus, and was tyrant of Athens in the 6th century BC. Hippias succeeded Pisistratus in 527 BC, and in 525 BC he introduced a new system of coinage in Athens. ... Sparta (Doric: Spártā, Attic: Spártē) is a city in southern Greece. ... Centuries: 7th century BC - 6th century BC - 5th century BC Decades: 560s BC - 550s BC - 540s BC - 530s BC - 520s BC - 510s BC - 500s BC - 490s BC - 480s BC - 470s BC - 460s BC Events and Trends Establishment of the Roman Republic March 12, 515 BC - Construction is completed on the... This page is about the religious concept of Tyranny. ...

Tyranny and democracy had arisen at Athens out of clashes between regional and factional groups organised around politicians, including Cleisthenes. As a reaction, in many of its features the democracy strove to reduce the role of factions as the focus of citizen loyalties. Ostracism, too, may have been intended to work in the same direction: by temporarily decapitating a faction, it could help to defuse confrontations that threatened the order of the State.

In later decades when the threat of tyranny was remote, ostracism seems to have been used as a way to decide between radically opposed policies. For instance, in 443 BC Thucydides son of Milesias (not to be confused with the historian of the same name) was ostracised. He led an aristocratic opposition to Athenian imperialism and in particular to Perikles' building program on the acropolis, which was funded by taxes created for the wars against Persia. By expelling Thucydides the Athenian people sent a clear message about the direction of Athenian policy. ^[5] Similar but more controversial claims have been made about the ostracism of Cimon in 461 BC. Centuries: 6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC Decades: 490s BC 480s BC 470s BC 460s BC 450s BC - 440s BC - 430s BC 420s BC 410s BC 400s BC 390s BC Years: 448 BC 447 BC 446 BC 445 BC 444 BC - 443 BC - 442 BC 441 BC... Thucydides (Greek: Θουκυδίδης) was a prominent politician of ancient Athens and the leader for a number of years of the powerful conservative faction. ... Forms of government Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      The term aristocracy refers to a form of government where power is hereditary, and split between a small number of families. ... // Cecil Rhodes: Cape-Cairo railway project. ... Pericles or Perikles (c. ... The Persian Empire was a series of historical empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the old Persian homeland, and beyond in Western Asia, Central Asia and the Caucasus. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Centuries: 6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC Decades: 510s BC 500s BC 490s BC 480s BC 470s BC - 460s BC - 450s BC 440s BC 430s BC 420s BC 410s BC Years: 466 BC 465 BC 464 BC 463 BC 462 BC - 461 BC - 460 BC 459 BC...

The motives of individual voting citizens cannot, of course, be known. Many of the surviving ostraka name people otherwise unattested. They may well be just someone the submitter disliked, and voted for in moment of private spite. As such, it may be seen as a secular, civic variant of Athenian curse tablets, studied in scholarly literature under the Latin name defixiones, where small dolls were wrapped in lead sheets written with curses and then buried, sometimes stuck through with nails for good measure. Look up Curse in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A curse tablet (defixio in Latin) is a type of votive deposit found in ancient Athens and other cities of the Greco-Roman world, in which someone would ask the gods or spirits to do harm to others. ...

In one anecdote about Aristides, known as "the Just", who was ostracised in 482, an illiterate citizen, not recognising him, came up to ask him to write the name Aristides on his ostrakon. When Aristides asked why, the man replied it was because he was sick of hearing him being called "the Just". ^[6] Perhaps merely the sense that someone had become too arrogant or prominent was enough to get someone's name onto an ostrakon. Events Qi Gao Di, ruler of the Chinese Qi Dynasty Byzantine emperor Zeno I issues the Henotikon, an attempt to reconcile the differences between the supporters of Orthodoxy and Monophysitism. ...

Fall into disuse

The last ostracism, that of Hyperbolos in or near 415 BC, is elaborately narrated by Plutarch in three separate lives: Hyperbolos is pictured urging the people to expel one of his rivals, but they, Nicias and Alcibiades, laying aside their own hostility for a moment, use their combined influence to have him ostracised instead. According to Plutarch, the people then become disgusted with ostracism and abandon the procedure forever. Hyperbolos (Latin spelling Hyberbolus) was an Athenian politician active during the first half of the Peloponnesian war, coming to especial prominence after the death of Cleon. ... Nicias expeditions, before the Sicilian campaign. ...

In part ostracism lapsed as a procedure at the end of the fifth century because it was replaced by the graphe paranomon, a regular court action under which a much larger number of politicians might be targeted, instead of just one a year as with ostracism, and with greater severity. But it may already have come to seem like an anachronism as factional alliances organised around Big Men became increasingly less significant in the later period, and power was more specifically located in the interaction of the individual speaker with the power of the assembly and the courts. The threat to the democratic system in the late 5th century came not from tyranny but from oligarchic coups, threats of which became prominent after two brief seizures of power, in 411 by the Four Hundred" and in 404 BC by "the Thirty", which were not dependent on single powerful individuals. Ostracism was not an effective defence against the oligarchic threat and it was not so used. (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium) The 5th century BC started on January 1, 500 BC and ended on December 31, 401 BC. // The Parthenon of Athens seen from the hill of the Pnyx to the west. ... The graphe paranomon was a form of legal action believed to have introduced at Athens under the democracy somewhere around the year 415 BC: it has been seen as a replacement for ostracism which fell into disuse around the same time. ... This page is about the religious concept of Tyranny. ... Forms of government Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      Oligarchy (Greek , Oligarkhía) is a form of government where political power effectively rests with a small, elite segment of society (whether distinguished by wealth, family or military prowess). ... Centuries: 6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC Decades: 460s BC 450s BC 440s BC 430s BC 420s BC - 410s BC - 400s BC 390s BC 380s BC 370s BC 360s BC 416 BC 415 BC 414 BC 413 BC 412 BC - 411 BC - 410 BC 409 BC 408... The Athenian coup of 411 BC was a revolutionary movement during the Peloponnesian War which overthrew the democratic government of ancient Athens, replacing it with a short-lived oligarchy. ... Centuries: 6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC Decades: 450s BC 440s BC 430s BC 420s BC 410s BC - 400s BC - 390s BC 380s BC 370s BC 360s BC 350s BC Years: 409 BC 408 BC 407 BC 406 BC 405 BC - 404 BC - 403 BC 402 BC... The Thirty Tyrants were a pro-Spartan oligarchy installed in Athens after Athens defeat in the Peloponnesian War in April 404 BC. Its two leading members were Tharamenes and Critias, a former acolyte of Socrates. ...

Other cities are known to have set up forms of ostracism on the Athenian model, namely Megara, Miletos, Argos and Syracuse. In the last of these it was referred to as petalismos, because the names were written on olive leaves. Little is known about these institutions. Megara (Greek: Μέγαρα; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is an ancient city in Attica, Greece. ... In Greek mythology, Miletus was the founder of the city described below. ... Coordinates 37°37′ N 22°43′ E Country Greece Periphery Peloponnese Prefecture Argolis Province Argos Population 29,505 Area 5. ... Syracuse (Italian, Siracusa, ancient Syracusa - see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a city on the eastern coast of Sicily and the capital of the province of Syracuse, Italy. ... Binomial name Olea europaea L. 19th century illustration The Olive (Olea europaea) is a species of small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean region, from Lebanon and the maritime parts of Asia Minor and northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian...

A similar modern practice is the recall election, in which the electoral body removes its representation from an elected officer. A recall election is a procedure by which voters can remove an elected official from office. ...

Current research on ostracism

See Social death Social death is defined as being discarded from or outside of society. ...

Notes and references

Notes

^  Oration IV of Andocides purports itself to be speech urging the ostracism of Alcibiades in 415 BC, but it is probably not authentic. Andocides, or Andokidès , (440–390 BC) one of the ten Attic orators. ...

Citations

1. ^ ^{a b} Plutarch, Life of Cimon 17.2–6.
2. ^ Aristotle, Athenian Constitution 22.3
3. ^ ^{a b} Lysias 14.39
4. ^ Mabel Lang, (1990). Ostraka: 3–6, Athens.
5. ^ Plutarch, Life of Pericles 11-12,14.
6. ^ Plutarch, Life of Aristides 7.7

Mestrius Plutarchus (Greek: Πλούταρχος; 46 - 127), better known in English as Plutarch, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist. ...

Additional ancient references

From Aristotle Constitution of the Athenians: Aristotle (Greek: Aristotélēs) (384 BC – March 7, 322 BC) was a Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. ... The Constitution of the Athenians or of Athens (or Athenaion Politeia, or The Athenians) is the name of either of two texts from Classical antiquity, one probably by Aristotle, the other attributed to Xenophon, but not by him. ...

• Athenian Constitution 22

From Plutarch's 'Lives': Mestrius Plutarchus (Greek: Πλούταρχος; 46 - 127), better known in English as Plutarch, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist. ...

• Life of Pericles 11-12
• Life of Pericles 14
• Life of Aristides 7
• Life of Cimon 17
• Life of Alcibiades 13
• Life of Nicias 11

• A list, differing slightly from that given above, of known ostracisms and many of the key Greek passages translated, from John Paul Adams's site at CSU Northridge.

Note that the ancient sources on ostracism are mostly 4th century or much later and often limited to brief descriptions such as notes by lexicographers. Most of the narrative and analytical passages of any length come from Plutarch writing five centuries later and with little sympathy for democratic practices. There are no contemporary accounts that can take one into the experiences of participants: a dense account of Athenian democracy can only be made on the basis of the much fuller sources available in the 4th century, especially the Attic orators, after ostracism had fallen into disuse. Most of such references are a 4th-century memory of the institution. As a means of recording the passage of time, the 4th century was that century which lasted from 301 to 400. ... A lexicographer is a person devoted to the study of lexicography, especially an author of a dictionary. ... The ten Attic orators were considered the greatest orators and logographers of the classical era (5th century BC–4th century BC). ...

Additional modern references

• (1996). "Ostracism". Oxford Classical Dictionary, 3rd edition. Oxford. ISBN 0-19-860165-4.
• Mabel Lang, (1990). Ostraka, Athens. ISBN 0-87661-225-7.
• Eugene Vanderpool, (1970). Ostracism at Athens, Cincinnati. ISBN 3-11-006637-8
• Rudi Thomsen, (1972). The Origins of Ostracism, A Synthesis, Copenhagen.
• J.P. Rhodes, (1994). "The Ostracism of Hyberbolus'", Ritual, Finance, Politics: Athenian Democratic Accounts presented to David Lewis p. 85-99, editors. Robin Osborne, Simon Hornblower, (Oxford). ISBN 0-19-814992-1.
• Mogens Herman Hansen, (1987). The Athenian Democracy in the age of Demosthenes, Oxford. ISBN 0-8061-3143-8.
• Josiah Ober, (1989), "Mass and Elite in Democratic Athens: Rhetoric", Ideology and the Power of the People, Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-02864-8.

The Oxford Classical Dictionary (OCD) is the standard one-volume encyclopedia in English of topics relating to Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Cincinnati, Ohio viewed from the SW, across the Ohio River from Kentucky. ... For other uses, see Copenhagen (disambiguation). ... Mogens Herman Hansen (b. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... The Princeton University Press is a publishing house, a division of Princeton University, that is highly respected in academic publishing. ...

External links

• Livius, Ostracism by Jona Lendering