''Xenos'' (; ) is a word used in the

Greek language Greek ( el, label= Modern Greek, Ελληνικά, Elliniká, ; grc, Ἑλληνική, Hellēnikḗ) is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece, Cyprus, southern Italy ( Calabria and Salento), souther ...

from

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

onwards. The most standard definition is "stranger". However, the word itself can be interpreted to mean different things based upon context, author and period of writing/speaking, signifying such divergent concepts as "enemy" or "stranger", a particular hostile interpretation, all the way to "guest friend"' one of the most hallowed concepts in the cultural rules of Greek

hospitality Hospitality is the relationship between a guest and a host, wherein the host receives the guest with some amount of goodwill, including the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. Louis, chevalier de Jaucourt describes ...

Meanings

''Xenos'' can be translated both to foreigner (in the sense of a person from another Greek state) and to a foreigner or traveler brought into a relationship of long distance

friendship Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection between people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an "acquaintance" or an "association", such as a classmate, neighbor, coworker, or colleague. In some cultures, the concept of ...

. ''Xenos'' can also be used simply to assert that someone is not a member of your community, that is simply foreigner and with no implication of reciprocity or relationship. ''Xenos'' generally refers to the variety of what a particular individual can be, specifically guest, host, stranger, friend, and, as previously mentioned, foreigner. The ambiguity of the meaning of ''xenos'' is not a modern misunderstanding, but was, in fact, present in ancient Greece.

Sophocles Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or c ...

uses the vagueness of the word ''xenos'' in his tragedy ''

Philoctetes Philoctetes ( grc, Φιλοκτήτης ''Philoktētēs''; English pronunciation: , stressed on the third syllable, ''-tet-''), or Philocthetes, according to Greek mythology, was the son of Poeas, king of Meliboea in Thessaly, and Demonassa ...

'', with

Neoptolemus In Greek mythology, Neoptolemus (; ), also called Pyrrhus (; ), was the son of the warrior Achilles and the princess Deidamia, and the brother of Oneiros. He became the mythical progenitor of the ruling dynasty of the Molossians of ancient Ep ...

using the word exclusively for

to indicate the uncertain relationship between the two characters. ''Xenos'' can be used to refer to guest-friends whose relationship is constructed under the ritual of '' xenia'' ("guest-friendship"). In this usage it is commonly translated as "guest-friend" to distinguish it from the Greek word ''philos'', which was used to refer to local friends and to relatives not strictly bound by ''xenia''. The Greeks used this ambiguity because they thought strangers could be gods or goddesses in disguise, so they were always kind and respectful to strangers, because if it was a god, they could be blessed by that god or goddess.

References

Ancient Greece Greek words and phrases {{AncientGreek-lang-stub

Meanings

See also

References