{"id":2229,"date":"2018-09-21T11:30:48","date_gmt":"2018-09-21T08:30:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greekislandyachtholiday.com\/?p=2229"},"modified":"2018-09-23T15:45:24","modified_gmt":"2018-09-23T12:45:24","slug":"philoxenia-ancient-roots-greek-hospitality-greekreporter-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greekislandyachtholiday.com\/philoxenia-ancient-roots-greek-hospitality-greekreporter-com\/","title":{"rendered":"Philoxenia: The Ancient Roots of Greek Hospitality | Greekreporter.com"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Greek word\u00a0Philoxenia<\/a>, literally translated as a \u201cfriend to a stranger\u201d, is widely perceived to be synonymous with hospitality.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

For Greeks, it is much deeper than that. It is an unspoken cultural law that shows generosity and courtesy to strangers.<\/p>\n

Greeks are enormously generous when inviting others to their home, or being invited themselves.\u00a0In villages, it is not uncommon for villagers to show up at the door of a resident foreigner (or even a temporary visitor renting a room) with a sack full of fresh tomatoes, or even a bottle of local olive oil.<\/p>\n

Philoxenia today can be as simple as a smile, helping a stranded motorist, buying a meal for a homeless person, or opening your home to friends and family.<\/p>\n

Zeus Xenios<\/strong><\/p>\n

This cultural law has its origins in Ancient Greece.\u00a0The Greek god\u00a0Zeus<\/a>\u00a0is sometimes called Zeus Xenios\u00a0\u2014 as he was also a protector of travelers. He thus embodied the religious obligation to be hospitable to travelers.<\/p>\n

The beautiful story\u00a0written by the Roman poet Ovid in 8 A.D of Zeus and Hermes disguised as poor travelers, narrates the sacred relation between host and guest, embodying the ancient Greek tradition.<\/p>\n

The two ancient Gods, the story goes,\u00a0visited many villages in search of refuge for the night. A\u00a0poor elderly couple \u2014 Baucis and Philemon welcomed them as guests in their home and generously served them food and wine.<\/p>\n

After refilling her guests\u2019 cups many times over, Baucis noticed that the wine jug was still full. Philemon then realized the visitors were actually gods and she offered to kill their only goose to feed them. Touched by this gesture, Zeus rewarded their generosity by transforming the humble cottage into a beautiful stone temple.<\/p>\n

Zeus also granted the couple their ultimate wish: to be the guardians of the temple, die at the same time, and stay together for eternity as they were turned into trees, guarding each side of the temple\u2019s door.<\/p>\n

Trojan War<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to legend, even an event as momentous as the\u00a0Trojan War<\/a>\u00a0began because of a guest\u2019s violation of xenia. The Trojan prince Paris was a guest of King Menelaus of Sparta when he abducted Menelaus\u2019 wife, Helen.<\/p>\n

Both the\u00a0Odyssey<\/em>\u00a0and the\u00a0Iliad<\/em>\u00a0are filled with episodes in which xenia is either honored or ignored and the subsequent consequences are notable. For instance, when Odysseus sails to the island of the cyclops, the monster\u2019s treatment of Odysseus and his sailors is a violation of the custom of xenia. The cyclops is punished for the transgression. Odysseus blinds his \u201chost\u201d and escapes. The cyclops episode depicts an abuse of xenia.<\/p>\n

In another story, Odysseus\u2019 wife Penelope is forced by custom to entertain an entire household of suitors. The guests not only make unreasonable, burdensome requests that were impolite for guests but they do so with the assumption the host himself is no longer alive. The conclusion of the poem involves Odysseus\u2019s slaughter of the suitors. This violent ending can be seen as retribution for an egregious abuse of xenia, or conversely, a violation of its very precepts.<\/p>\n

Reasons for philoxenia<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are many possible reasons why hospitality was more prevalent in those times.<\/p>\n

Traveling in\u00a0Homer\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0time was much more extensive and lengthier than in modern times. Because of this, many more nights were spent away from home in many different locations. Also, there were not hotels or inns where travelers could pay and stay the night.<\/p>\n

Because of this, travelers had to rely on the hospitality of others for shelter, food, and protection. There was, however, some payment for this hospitality in the form of a gift exchange.<\/p>\n

Another possible reason for this hospitality was the fact that there were not nations that would allow travelers to enter their territory safely. Without such hospitality, strangers could be captured or even killed for entering a foreign land.<\/p>\n

Another possible explanation for the amount of hospitality shown is that the Greeks believed the gods wanted them to show hospitality to anyone who showed up at their homes. It was also believed that turning away someone and not providing them this hospitality would result in some form of punishment from the gods.<\/p>\n

Finally, hospitality could have been used to spread ones name and bring them a sense of fame if they provided a high standard of hospitality to strangers. It also could have been a way to show how wealthy one was.<\/p>\n

Source:\u00a0\u00a0Greekreporter.com Tasos Kokkinidis<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Greek word\u00a0Philoxenia, literally translated as a \u201cfriend to a stranger\u201d, is widely perceived to be synonymous with hospitality. For Greeks, it is much deeper than that. It is an unspoken cultural law that shows generosity and courtesy to strangers. Greeks are enormously generous when inviting others to their home, or being invited themselves.\u00a0In villages, it is not uncommon for … <\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2230,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPhiloxenia: The Ancient Roots of Greek Hospitality | Greekreporter.com | GREEK ISLAND YACHT HOLIDAY<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.greekislandyachtholiday.com\/philoxenia-ancient-roots-greek-hospitality-greekreporter-com\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Philoxenia: The Ancient Roots of Greek Hospitality | Greekreporter.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Greek word\u00a0Philoxenia, literally translated as a \u201cfriend to a stranger\u201d, is widely perceived to be synonymous with hospitality. 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