How the most just man in Athens was exiled for... justice

Imagine a politician whose nickname is “The Just”. Not irony, not mockery, but sincere respect from the entire people. His name was Aristides, and he was a living legend of ancient Athens. He was so honest, impartial, and virtuous that people believed him unconditionally.

But in Athens, there was a brilliant and somewhat crazy procedure - ostracism. Once a year, citizens could vote with clay shards (ostraka) to exile someone who, in their opinion, was becoming too powerful and dangerous for democracy. A kind of "reverse election" - you vote for the one you want to banish for ten years.

And so the day of such voting arrived. The streets were full of people, each looking for someone to take a shard and write the name of an unwanted politician.

Among the crowd wandered a simple peasant, an illiterate man far from the subtleties of big politics. He saw a noble-looking man who seemed suitable and handed him his shard with the words: “Hey, friend! Write a name for me here.”

“Of course,” replied the noble man. “Whose name should I write?”
“Aristides,” grumbled the peasant.

The man with the shard in his hands froze and looked at the villager in surprise.
“Aristides? But what did he do to offend you?” he asked.
“Nothing at all! - waved off the peasant. - I don’t even know him by sight. But I'm sick and tired of hearing at every corner: ‘Aristides the Just’, ‘Aristides the Honest’, ‘Aristides the Wise’! Enough of this!”

Thus, the irony of fate: it was decided to exile the man not for crimes, but for his impeccable reputation, which simply annoyed someone.

That noble man to whom the peasant complained about himself was... Aristides himself. He did not argue, justify, or lecture about injustice. He didn't even show it. He simply took the shard, carefully wrote his own name on it, and returned it to the peasant with calm dignity.

On that day, Aristides, the icon of justice, was exiled from the city by the results of the vote.

This is the essence of the story: it is both admirable and ridiculously absurd. It shows a person so principled that he is ready to impartially accept even such an absurd fate. He was just to the very end - even to those who did not appreciate his justice.

It is a lesson that popularity is fickle, but principles are eternal. And sometimes a crowd, tired of virtue, may choose the most worthy as a victim. Simply because his perfection became irritating.

An impeccable reputation, as it turned out, can be not only an advantage but also the main reason for disgrace. Such is the Athenian paradox.