GC: n

S: EncBrit – http://global.britannica.com/topic/ostracism (last access: 31 July 2015); http://history.howstuffworks.com/ancient-greece/ostracism.htm (last access: 12 November 2013).

N: 1. Ostracism, according to tradition, was introduced by Cleisthenes about 506 B.C., but the first known banishment was about 487 B.C. The practice was dropped after 417 B.C. because it had become a party weapon. Many prominent men were ostracized, including Aristides, Cimon, and Themistocles.
2. In the Greek city of Syracuse in Sicily the method was called petalism because the voting was done on olive leaves. The period of exile was five years. Petalism was used only a short time; it was abolished in 452 B.C. on the ground that it tended to keep worthy citizens from entering public life.
3. A method of temporary banishment by popular vote without trial or special accusation practiced in ancient Greece.
Exclusion by general consent from common privileges or social acceptance.

S: 1 & 2. http://history.howstuffworks.com/ancient-greece/ostracism.htm (last access: 12 November 2013). 3. MW – http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ostracism (last access: 1 December 2013).

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