ABSTRACT
The Athenian democracy has been characterized as extraordinary stable. A constitutional safeguard named ostrakismos, which originated circa 500 B.C., was at least partly responsible for this stability (cf. Forsdyke, 2000). Each winter, the citizens of Athens decided collectively by casting votes (written on shards of pottery or ostraca) whether or not to banish people who had tried to become too powerful or wealthy. When a person received 6,000 votes or more, he was exiled for a period of 10 years. Interestingly, in most years the Athenian citizens chose not to exercise the power of exile, thereby suggesting that the mere threat of ostracism was a sufficient deterrent for greedy behavior.
