To protect their fragile democracy from potential tyrants, the Athenians developed a procedure called ostracism. Once a year, citizens could vote to banish an individual from the city for ten years. The process was named after the 'ostraka'—shards of pottery—on which voters scratched the name of the person they wanted to exile. No formal charges were needed; it was simply a popularity contest to remove anyone deemed too powerful or dangerous to the state. The exiled person did not lose their property or citizenship rights, and they could return freely after the decade was up. While intended as a safeguard, it was often used by political factions to remove rivals. Famous figures like Themistocles and Aristides 'the Just' were victims of this process.