The word
ostracism comes from the
Greek ostrakio,
which in turn derives from
ostrakon, which means
potsherd. During the annual vote on ostracism, the men of
Athens
would write
the name of the person they'd like to see
banished on a
potsherd. The man named on the most sherds was sent into
exile,
normally for a period of ten years.
Curiously enough, this was normally not considered a punishment, nor
was it something shameful. It was merely a mechanism for
maintaining political stability. Those ostracised were generally men
who had become too powerful or influential for the common good, and they were welcome
back when ten years had passed.
In his Athenian Constitution, Aristotle notes that the
first person to have been ostracised from Athens was Hipparchus.