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Aristides was an Athenian general and statesman, roughly 530 to 468 BC. Plutarch wrote a life of him. He is one of the very few men in Greek history that even unfriendly sources call honest. Athens nicknamed him "the Just".

Athens had a procedure called ostracism. Once a year the citizens could vote to send one man out of the city for ten years. No crime, no charge, no trial, no defence. You scratched a name on a broken piece of pottery and dropped it in. If enough of the sherds carried the same name, that man packed his things and left.

In 482 BC they ostracised Aristides. Plutarch records one moment from that day.

A man who could not read or write, a farmer who worked his own land, handed his sherd to a stranger standing near him and asked him to write "Aristides" on it for him. The stranger was Aristides himself.

He asked the man what harm Aristides had ever done him. The man said none. He had never even met him. He was simply tired of hearing him called "the Just".

Aristides wrote his own name on the sherd, handed it back to him, and said nothing.

The part I keep returning to is that the voter had not been lied to, had not been bribed, and was not angry about any policy or any decision. He was just tired. The reputation itself had become the irritation. And the system handed him a perfectly legal way to act on it.

So, question for the house: have you watched this happen here? Not somebody removed from a position because they stole or failed, but somebody pushed out because people simply got tired of them being the straight one in the room.

And if that is how it actually works, what is an honest person supposed to do about it. Stay and keep quiet. Make themselves less visible. Or accept the exile when it comes and say nothing, the way he did?

It is law of the evil eye at work. Anything you have that makes people jealous is... only God is just - every other person is a pretender, especially Aristides and the villagers knew it!

Omnitetris64:
Aristides was an Athenian general and statesman, roughly 530 to 468 BC. Plutarch wrote a life of him. He is one of the very few men in Greek history that even unfriendly sources call honest. Athens nicknamed him "the Just".

Athens had a procedure called ostracism. Once a year the citizens could vote to send one man out of the city for ten years. No crime, no charge, no trial, no defence. You scratched a name on a broken piece of pottery and dropped it in. If enough of the sherds carried the same name, that man packed his things and left.

In 482 BC they ostracised Aristides. Plutarch records one moment from that day.

A man who could not read or write, a farmer who worked his own land, handed his sherd to a stranger standing near him and asked him to write "Aristides" on it for him. The stranger was Aristides himself.

He asked the man what harm Aristides had ever done him. The man said none. He had never even met him. He was simply tired of hearing him called "the Just".

Aristides wrote his own name on the sherd, handed it back to him, and said nothing.

The part I keep returning to is that the voter had not been lied to, had not been bribed, and was not angry about any policy or any decision. He was just tired. The reputation itself had become the irritation. And the system handed him a perfectly legal way to act on it.

So, question for the house: have you watched this happen here? Not somebody removed from a position because they stole or failed, but somebody pushed out because people simply got tired of them being the straight one in the room.

And if that is how it actually works, what is an honest person supposed to do about it. Stay and keep quiet. Make themselves less visible. Or accept the exile when it comes and say nothing, the way he did?

Brilliantly written. What strikes me is this - looking at the malaise of electoral malpractice in Nigeria, our country. Just how many persons would be honest and disciplined enough to validate a vote against themselves if they had the power to switch or overturn it.

Omnitetris64:
Aristides was an Athenian general and statesman, roughly 530 to 468 BC. Plutarch wrote a life of him. He is one of the very few men in Greek history that even unfriendly sources call honest. Athens nicknamed him "the Just".

Athens had a procedure called ostracism. Once a year the citizens could vote to send one man out of the city for ten years. No crime, no charge, no trial, no defence. You scratched a name on a broken piece of pottery and dropped it in. If enough of the sherds carried the same name, that man packed his things and left.

In 482 BC they ostracised Aristides. Plutarch records one moment from that day.

A man who could not read or write, a farmer who worked his own land, handed his sherd to a stranger standing near him and asked him to write "Aristides" on it for him. The stranger was Aristides himself.

He asked the man what harm Aristides had ever done him. The man said none. He had never even met him. He was simply tired of hearing him called "the Just".

Aristides wrote his own name on the sherd, handed it back to him, and said nothing.

The part I keep returning to is that the voter had not been lied to, had not been bribed, and was not angry about any policy or any decision. He was just tired. The reputation itself had become the irritation. And the system handed him a perfectly legal way to act on it.

So, question for the house: have you watched this happen here? Not somebody removed from a position because they stole or failed, but somebody pushed out because people simply got tired of them being the straight one in the room.

And if that is how it actually works, what is an honest person supposed to do about it. Stay and keep quiet. Make themselves less visible. Or accept the exile when it comes and say nothing, the way he did?

Philosophy at it's very best

So what happened to Aristads afterwards and where did he relocate to ?

Egypt or Israel ?

peleson1:
Philosophy at it's very best

So what happened to Aristads afterwards and where did he relocate to ?

Egypt or Israel ?

I dont know, but here is a summary of his life -

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Gemini -

Aristides (c. 530–468 BCE), commonly known as Aristides "the Just" (Aristides the Upright), was an Athenian statesman and military general (strategos) celebrated in antiquity for his absolute integrity, fairness, and commitment to public duty.

In a political landscape defined by intense factional rivalry, political maneuvering, and wealth accumulation, Aristides stood out for his austere lifestyle, strict adherence to civic virtue, and selfless governance.

1. Background & Rise to Prominence
Aristides was born into a relatively noble but modest Athenian family (the son of Lysimachus). Unlike many of his contemporaries who relied on immense personal wealth or populist demagoguery to gain power, Aristides built his reputation entirely on character, judicial fairness, and military skill.

Battle of Marathon (490 BCE): Aristides was one of the ten Athenian strategoi (generals) at Marathon. Recognizing the superior tactical military mind of Miltiades, Aristides willingly yielded his turn in command to Miltiades, setting an example of placing the state's welfare above personal glory. He was subsequently left in charge of guarding the captured Persian spoils on the battlefield, performing the duty with complete honesty without taking anything for personal gain.

Archonship (489–488 BCE): Following Marathon, he was elected Archon Eponymous, the chief magistrate of Athens.

2. Rivalry with Themistocles & Ostracism
The central political dynamic of Aristides’ early career was his rivalry with Themistocles, a brilliant, pragmatic, and highly ambitious populist leader.

Ideological Clash: While Aristides favored a conservative, land-based defense strategy and strict aristocratic virtue, Themistocles advocated for naval expansion and radical democratic reform.

The Famous Ostracism (482 BCE): The political conflict culminated in Aristides' ostracism (a ten-year banishment voted on by Athenian citizens).

The Story of the Unlettered Citizen:

According to Plutarch, during the ostracism vote, an illiterate voter who did not recognize Aristides approached him and asked him to write the name "Aristides" on his ostrakon (potsherd). Aristides asked the man if Aristides had ever done him any wrong. The voter replied, "No, I don't even know the man, but I'm tired of hearing him called 'The Just' everywhere." Without revealing his identity, Aristides calmly took the potsherd, wrote his own name on it, and handed it back.

3. Recall & The Second Persian Invasion (480–479 BCE)
When Xerxes I invaded Greece in 480 BCE, Athens passed a decree recalling all banished citizens to help defend the city. Aristides immediately returned and set aside his personal feud with Themistocles for the common defense.

Battle of Salamis (480 BCE): Aristides landed on the island of Psyttaleia during the naval battle, leading Athenian hoplites to wipe out the elite Persian garrison stationing the island.

Battle of Plataea (479 BCE): Aristides commanded the Athenian forces (roughly 8,000 hoplites) under the overall Greek alliance command of the Spartan regent Pausanias, contributing significantly to the final decisive victory that repelled the Persian land army from Greece.

4. Architect of the Delian League
Aristides’ greatest lasting political legacy was his pivotal role in establishing the Delian League in 478 BCE—an alliance of Greek city-states formed to continue the fight against Persia.

Assessment of Assessment & Assessments (Phoros): The allied city-states mistrusted Sparta and were wary of Athenian imperialism, but they trusted Aristides implicitly. He was tasked with assessing the financial and military contributions each member state should pay into the League's treasury on Delos.

The "Tax of Aristides": His assessment was executed with such impeccable fairness and objectivity that it became known across Greece as the "Golden Tax" or "Tax of Aristides," satisfying all confederate cities without accusations of favoritism or extortion.

5. Death & Legacy
Despite overseeing vast public treasuries and holding high office for decades, Aristides died in poverty around 468 BCE—a testament to his incorruptibility.

Public Funeral: He left so little wealth that the state of Athens paid for his burial at Phalerum and provided state dowries and pensions for his daughters and son.

Historical Reputation: Classical historians such as Herodotus and Thucydides praised him as "the best and most honorable man in Athens." In classical philosophy and political history, he remains the archetype of civic incorruptibility, stoic public duty, and disinterested justice.

QuinQ:
It is law of the evil eye at work. Anything you have that makes people jealous is... only God is just - every other person is a pretender, especially Aristides and the villagers knew it!

Not always so. Some people can't stand people who are more "righteous". The prefer everyone be like them. A case of misery loves company.

erniok:
Not always so. Some people can't stand people who are more "righteous". The prefer everyone be like them. A case of misery loves company.

Same thing I was saying. Law of the evil eye: be very careful about anything you have that can make people jealous and that is always in their face. It can directly or indirectly bring you serious bad karma. If you have something that can make people jealous, don't flaunt it.