‘FOR THEMISTOCLES OF PHREARRHIOI, ON ACCOUNT OF HONOUR’: OSTRACISM, HONOUR AND THE NATURE OF ATHENIAN POLITICS

Abstract This article offers a new interpretation of the Athenian institution ostracism and explores its significance for our understanding democratic politics. A popular scholarly trend interprets as an instrument pursuing (or regulating) conflict among aristocratic politicians, in accordance with view democracy dominated by restricted elite competing power prestige. aims to reassess this picture investigating light recent studies honour, which have stressed honour's potential balancing competition cooperation within communities. By using Themistocles case study, it argues that was manifestation institutionalized concern honour democracy. On one hand, could punish politically active citizens who, excessively enhancing their own failed respect equality. other, be employed tackling shameful behaviour placed agent below community's standards honour. The then sets against Athens’ broader institutional framework not so much concerned policing intra-elite designed foster balance between competitive cooperative values ensure broad participation political domain.