Ostracism

• Ostracism is the banishment of an individual by the rest of society.
• It originated in Ancient Greece, where a city would vote to banish an individual.

Ostraka

• An Ostrakon, plural Ostraka in Greek, is a broken shard of pottery or a stone bearing an inscription.
• In Ancient Athens the vote to exile an individual was made by citizens writing his name on an Ostrakon and if the majority of pieces counted were against him, he would be exiled for ten years.
• This became known as Ostracism.