The Greeks would commonly practice Xenia, the means having hospitality to your guests. So when any person showed up on their doorstep the person would let them in and treat them well. The three main parts of Xenia are respect from host to guest, the host must be nice and offer food and drink to a guest before asking questions. Secondly the guest must respect the host, the guest should be nice and courteous and not pester or annoy the host. Finally the host should give the stranger a parting gift. Zeus is the god of Xenia and those who mistreat their guests or mistreat their hosts will receive grief from him.
The Odyssey contains many examples of Xenia and many examples of bad fortune coming to those who treat their house guests with disrespect. For example when Eumaeus, the loyal swineheard, welcomes Odysseus into his house he offers him food and drink and gives him the better chair. The swineheard entertains him with talk while he eats and drinks. Then the guest asks him a few questions. After the host answered the questions the guest then asks him who he is, what is his story, where does he come from and how did he end up here? The guest answered all of the questions and told his life story.
A example of bad Xenia is when Ctesippus, a guest in the home of Telemachus, disrespected a beggar in Telemachus's home. When the beggar was getting food from everyone he came to Ctesippus and he threw a oxhoof from the floor and threw it at the beggar, but fortunatly he missed his target. In Greece at this time attacking a guest would be horrible, dangerous even. In tales the Gods disguise as beggars and visit people, often just to see if they would get any grief from this individual.
Now that you have seen Xenia and examples of it:
1. Do you think that Xenia was reasonalble? As in do you think it is resonable to give so much respect and gifts to a person you barely know?
2. Do you think that Odysseus was trying to get one of the suitors to be mean to him, like Ctesippus was? If so why, in your mind, would he do this?
3. Do you think Xenia is still alive? If so then describe the differences between modern Xenia and ancient Xenia. If not then say why you think it isn’t alive anymore.
I think that Xenia was reasonable in that time period, because people weren't seen as criminals unless you saw them doing bad things with your own eyes. Giving guests a lot of gifts were to ensure that your guest left with a mindset that you live in a good household, and that you are very kind. Yes, I think that Odysseus was trying to get Ctesippus to look mean, because it would bring out the evil of suitors, and let him know whether or not they deserve his punishment. I don't really think that Xenia is still alive today. The difference is that in the past, people were more trusting of strangers, while in the present, most people expect the worst to strangers.
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ReplyDeleteI think that in modern times, xenia is not reasonable. Children are taught about "stranger danger" and if someone asks you to open your home to them, it is presumed they are a fugitive. I think your location depends on whether xenia is still alive or not. In big cities like Houston, people aren't very trusting, however, in small town America, where everybody in the town knows each other, xenia might still be alive. I think one of the main differences between modern xenia and ancient xenia is that people today are willing to open their homes and be hospitable to friends but not to complete strangers. I think ancient xenia isn't alive anymore because we are so much more interconnected with the world and the dangers out there than we were thousands of year ago.
ReplyDeleteSure, during times where one false action toward a mysterious guest could mean immediately getting struck by a thunderbolt, xenia was definitely something to treasure. However, nowadays, as humans become more cunning and sinister, xenia is not something we should practice. There are frauds everywhere. In fact, just the other day I saw a man, pretending to be a cripple, and walking normally when no one was around. It's a disgusting feeling when someone you help turns out to be a fraud, someone only trying to trick you. I think this is why xenia isn't alive today, because of that fear we have.
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