OSTRACISM

Ostracism

Ostracism was a procedure under the Athenian democracy in which any citizen could be expelled from the city-state of Athens for ten years. While some instances clearly expressed popular anger at the citizen, ostracism was often used preemptively. It was used as a way of neutralizing someone thought to be a threat to the state or potential tyrant.

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ostracism

Noun

  1. In ancient Athens (and some other cities), the temporary banishment by popular vote of a citizen considered dangerous to the state.
  2. Banishment by some general consent.
  3. Temporary exclusion from a community or society.


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: ostracism
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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