The concept of ostracism is a very important concept at a social and historical level since it refers to the act by which a society decides to remove from its bosom an individual or element that it considers dangerous. Ostracism can also be, in addition, a personal decision when the individual considers that it is dangerous for himself to remain in that society (whether for political, cultural, social reasons) and decides to move away, to leave that place to go to another.
The term ostracism comes from the Greek term ostrakismós that represented the idea of exile, estrangement. In Ancient Greece, the practice of ostracism was very common when a polis considered that an individual could be dangerous for the well-being and security of its population, for which they banished or forced them to move away from there. This exile was understood as a humiliation and the interesting thing is that in many cases, ostracism was not an act that was applied only to the most humble sectors of society but to the whole of it, that is, without marking privileges or inheritances. Thus, at different times in the history of Ancient Greece, there were many characters who had held important political positions who were exiled or ostracized due to actions or ways of acting considered incorrect. In general, the decision to condemn a person to this state of ostracism was a decision that was made in the agora or public square where all citizens met to debate and vote on the case.
Today, the term ostracism can be applied or used in many different situations, very specific as well as very general situations. In this sense, it is common to say that a person suffers from some kind of ostracism when they are segregated from the rest of society, as often happens with some ethnic, social or cultural groups. This type of ostracism does not necessarily imply that the person or persons have to leave the place, but rather that they suffer some type of discrimination, separation or estrangement from the rest of society. At the same time, ostracism can have to do with the act of leaving the country in which one lives when a person is forced to choose exile for political or social reasons. These cases are much more specific since in them we can speak more clearly of particular cases rather than complex social groups.
