The book is the first comprehensive study of ostracism in Russian science - an important institution of ancient Athenian democracy, the extrajudicial expulsion of the most influential citizens from the state for a period of ten years. All the main aspects of the history of ostracism are considered: the origin of this institution, the time, reasons and goals of its establishment; the main elements of the ostracism procedure; the place and role of ostracism in the political system and political life of the democratic polis; factors that contributed to the withdrawal of ostracism from use. The problems associated with ostracism are studied in the context of the history of classical Athens, the formation and functioning of the phenomenon of polysyna democracy. The book is intended for specialists - historians, political scientists and lawyers, for teachers and students of humanitarian faculties of universities, for all interested in the history of antiquity.