Philoxenia – Greek Hospitality – The Myth of Baucis and Philemon
The Greek word “Philoxenia”, meaning “friend to a stranger”
The Greek word “Xenia” meaning foreigner or stranger and “Philoxenia”, meaning “friend to a stranger”, are both words which depict the Ancient Greek idea of hospitality.
It was extremely important to the Ancient Greeks to extend hospitality towards strangers, not only to preserve their “philotimo” but to avoid incurring the wrath of Zeus (Roman Jupiter), king of all Greek gods, who, in his role as Zeus Xenios, as a protector of strangers, was frequently out and about disguised as a mere mortal walking amongst them!
Roman Marble Statue of Zeus (Jupiter) Altes Museum (Berlin) – Dated from the 5th century AD – Photo by noriko.stardust on flickr.
“The gods visit us disguised as strangers”
From “The Odyssey” by Homer – Greek poet – 8th century BC
You see, to display any form of inhospitality to a stranger was akin to dishonouring the gods.
(Theoxenía; Theo meaning god and xenia meaning hospitality, is the ancient Greek word meaning showing hospitality towards a god who visits as a guest.)
The Basic Rules of Ancient Greek Xenia or Philoxenia – Hospitality
Philoxenia
To cut a long story short, in ancient Greece, when it came to hospitality, the guest ruled!
The host was expected to offer the visitor not only food and drink but a bed, a bath, clothes and entertainment, in fact, anything that the guest desired.
The guests, on their part, were expected to be on their best behavior and return the hospitality if the host ever happened to call in on the guest in the future.
Both host and guest usually stuck to the rules as they never knew where Zeus might be lurking, because, after all, they were likely to be rewarded for their generosity or punished for any ungraciousness.
Nothing explains the meaning of Xenia better than the delightful tale of Baucis and Philemon written by the Roman poet Ovid in 8 A.D.
Baucis and Philemon
The myth of hospitality
Philemon And Baucis (1893) by Walter Crane used in A Wonder Book for Girls and Boys by Nathaniel Hawthorne published in Boston 1910.
The wonderful story of the god Zeus and Hermes, messenger to the gods, disguised as poor travelers, describes the divine relation between host and guest in the ancient Greek tradition.
Baucis and Philemon, an old married couple, who in spite of being poor, were the only ones in their town to welcome a couple of wandering peasants, looking for a place to spend the night.
Sinibaldo Scorza (1589 – 1631) – Landscape with the poor house of Philemon and Baucis – About 1620.
In welcoming the strangers into their home, Baucis and Philemon were showing an example of “xenia”, the Greek concept of hospitality, a moral obligation towards foreigners and guests.
Baucis, became suspicious when she realised that, even after serving copious amounts of wine to her guests, the wine jug remained full.
(From this myth derives the phrase “Hermes’ Pitcher”).
Gods in Disguise
Greek Gods Zeus and Hermes disguised as peasants used in A Wonder Book for Girls and Boys by Nathaniel Hawthorne published in Boston 1910.
Baucis suddenly realised these were no mortal guests, they were gods and she was right, it turned out the wandering couple were none other than the gods Zeus and Hermes, disguised as peasants!
In ancient Greece, showing hospitality to strangers was also seen as honouring the gods Zeus Xenios and Athene Xenia.
Baucis ordered her husband, to quickly catch the goose in order for her to prepare a meal for their auspicious guests.
Philemon ran about trying to catch the goose so he could make it into a tasty meal.
Philemon and Baucis Receiving Jupiter (Zeus), circa 1802- 03. Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres.
The Wrath of Zeus
Landscape with Philemon and Baucis (1620) by Peter Paul Rubens.
Zeus said to Philemon “never mind about the goose, we’re leaving town and I mean now!”
The reason for leaving was that Zeus was about to destroy the town and all their rich neighbours who had bolted their doors and turned them away.
Zeus told Baucis and Philemon to climb the mountain with him and Hermes; however, on no account were they to look back until they reached the top.
Divine Sanctuary
Philemon and Baucis in front of the temple 1801 by Janus Genelli.
Once they reached the top, Baucis and Philemon looked down on their town, only to see it had been destroyed by a flood and there, standing proudly alone, was a magnificent temple; Zeus had turned their humble cottage into a divine sanctuary!
The old couple begged Zeus to make them guardians of the temple; their wish was granted.
Together Forever
Arthur Rackham – Philemon and Baucis..
Baucis and Philemon also requested that Zeus, when the time came, would allow them to pass on to the afterlife together.
Not only did Zeus again willingly grant their wish, as he remembered that even though the couple was poor, their generosity far surpassed that of their rich neighbors but upon their death he changed the couple into an intertwining pair of trees, an oak and a linden.
Philemon and Baucis. Fables by Jean de La Fontaine (1621-95). Illustration by François Chauveau (1613-1676). Edition of 1728.
Philoxenia is still alive and well in Greece, everywhere you go the Greeks will greet you with open arms, feed and water you and assist you in every way.
“I knew that no matter what door you knock on in a Cretan village, it will be opened for you. A meal will be served in your honor, and you will sleep between the best sheets in the house. In Crete, the stranger is still the unknown god. Before him, all doors and all hearts are opened”
Nikos Kazantzakis. Greek writer, journalist, politician, poet and philosopher 1883 – 1957
Related Post:
Philotimo – The Virtue of Greeks
