Xenos (Greek: ξένος, xénos, plural xenoi) is a word used in the Greek language from Homer onwards that has a wide gradient of meaning, signifying such divergent concepts as “enemy stranger” as well as “ritual friend”.
Meanings
Xenos can be translated to both foreigner (in the sense of a person from another Greek state) as well as a foreigner or traveler brought into a relationship of long distance friendship. 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.[1] Sophocles uses the vagueness of the word xenos in his tragedy Philoctetes, with Neoptolemus using the word exclusively for Philoctetes to indicate the uncertain relationship between the two characters.[1] 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.
See also
References
- ^ a b Belfiore, Elizabeth (1993). "Xenia in Sophocles' Philoctetes". The Classical Journal 89 (2): 113–129. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0009-8353%28199312%2F199401%2989%3A2%3C113%3AXISP%3E2.0.CO%3B2-V. Retrieved 2006-10-23.
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