ostrakismi

Ostracism is a political practice originating in ancient Greece, most famously in Athens. It involved the temporary exile of a citizen who was deemed too powerful or dangerous to the democracy. The process was initiated by a vote in the Athenian assembly, where citizens would write the name of the person they wished to exile on a pottery shard, known as an ostrakon. If a sufficient number of votes were cast for a particular individual, usually around 6,000, that person would be exiled for a period of ten years. The ostracized individual was not disgraced or stripped of their property; they simply had to leave the city and its surrounding territory for the stipulated time. The purpose of ostracism was not punitive but preventative, aimed at maintaining the balance of power and preventing any single individual from gaining tyrannical control. While the practice was most prominent in Athens, similar forms of banishment existed in other Greek city-states. Over time, ostracism fell into disuse, with the last recorded instance occurring in the late 5th century BCE.