Ostracism was first introduced by Cleisthenes in the 5th century, as a guard against tyranny. It was intended to serve as a safeguard against one individual gaining a disproportionate amount of power and influence in Athens; the punishment for one who was ostracized was 10 years of exile from Attica. The name ostracism is derived from the broken sherds of pottery that were used to cast votes. These sherds, called ostraka (or ostrakon, singular), were inscribed with the name of who one wished to exile and then deposited in urns to be counted. Ostraka have been found of vastly different materials--there are examples of sherds from figured, black-glazed, or plain pottery, as well as fragments from rooftiles and well heads. Approximately 11,000 ostraka have been found in the ancient Agora as well as the Athenian Karameikos, or potters quarter.

Some ostraka from the Agora Museum, Athens--names such as Aristeides and Kimon can be read [link]

It is important to note that Ostracism was not designed as a criminal punishment; the individuals who were ostracized, although forced to live away from Attica for a decade, were free to return after that period without any stigma. In addition, the wealth, property, and status of the exiled were protected; when an ostracized individual returned to Attica, they would be restored to their previous position in society.

The Ostracism process itself was remarkably straightforward to fulfill its purpose of guarding against Tyranny. Every year during the 6th pyrtany of the Assembly (ekklesia), a vote would be held to determine if the people wished to have an ostracism that year. If a majority was in favor, the ostracism would occur approximately two months after the vote was held. In January or February of the next year, the citizens would gather at the Agora; dividing into tribes, they would proceed to different enclosures. Here they would carve the name of the person they wished to ostracize into an ostrakon, or pottery sherd, and deposit it into an urn to be counted when the voting had been completed. Below is what was found inscribed on one of the ostrakon found from the ostracism of Xanthippus, Pericles' father:

"Xanthippos, son of Arriphron, is cursed for his rascality; Too long he has abused our hospitality."

--American School of Classical Studies The Athenian Agora: A guide (p. 170)

Not all ostraka were written with such care; most simply contain the names of the individuals to be ostracized, and those names are very often misspelled as well.

To ensure that the system worked out fairly, a quorum of 6,000 votes was required for the ostracism to be valid. This prevented popular or political factions from manipulating the voter turnout in their favor, and generally made the process as fair as possible. At the end of the voting, all the ostraka would be tallied, and if more than 6,000 votes were present, the individual with the most ostraka to his name would be ostracized, or exiled for 10 years. He was then given 10 days to leave Attica--the penalty for not complying with the decree was death.

An interesting find from a well on the north slope of the Acropolis is a set of approximately 190 ostraka, each inscribed with the name of Themistocles; however, careful examination shows that the sherds were carved by only fourteen different pairs of hands. These have been taken as evidence for a popular faction against Themistocles; the ostraka were most likely pre-prepared, to be distributed to illiterate citizens or those who had been persuaded to vote against Themistocles. Because they were found in a large horde, it is presumed that they were not used; however, they remain evidence of how popular factions attempted to influence the turnout of the ostracisms.

Though ostracism was used frequently in the 5th century, it was seldom used after that; a total of around one dozen ostracisms is known today. Some notable ostracisms are listed below--

--482: Aristides, one of the generals at the Battle of Marathon. He opposed Themistocles' plan to expand the navy, which was the probable reason for his ostracism.

--471: Themistocles, another general at Marathon, who was responsible for most of the development of the Athenian navy. He was also largely responsible for the Athenian victory at Salamis in 480. He lost ground to Kimon and was ostracized.

--461: Kimon, son of Militiades (also of Marathon fame). It is suggested that he lost support of assembly because of his support of Sparta; also, Athens' failure to help Sparta subdue a slave revolt in 462 was attributed to him. Some years after his ostracism, however, he was recalled to deal with crises that had arisen.

--443: Thucydides (not the noted historian), Kimon’s relative by marriage. He strongly opposed the Periclean building program for Athens, which used funds from the common treasury of the Athenian league to rebuild Athens. Pericles called for his ostracism, and was successful in 443 BC.

References

American School of Classical Studies. The Athenian Agora: A Guide. 2nd Ed; 1962

Camp, John M. The Athenian Agora: Excavations in the Heart of Classical Athens. Thames and Hudson, London; 1992

Camp, John M. The Archaeology of Athens. Yale University Press, New Haven; 2001

O'Neil, James L. The Origins and Development of Ancient Greek Democracy. Rowman and Littlefield, Boston; 1995

Roberts, J.W. City of Sokrates: An Introduction to Classical Athens. Routledge, London; 1998

Thorley, John. Athenian Democracy. Routledge, London; 1996

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Greek Archaeology