Hospitality In Greece Xenia

The people see the gods an authority figure so if they treat people bad they get punished. Also they give offerings as saying thank you protecter spare me, or treat me well. Odysseus makes sure to tell the Cyclops about Greek values,“‘ As custom is to honor strangers./We would entreat you, great Sir, have a care/ for the gods’ courtesy; Zeus will avenge/ the unoffending guest.’”(377). Just like any other

Trade between city-states increased suspicions of the outsider. There were two main views of the stranger. "In the primitive times, the poet seems to be suggesting, man lived in a state of permanent struggle and war to the death against the outsider. Then the gods intervened, and through their precepts, their themis, a new ideal was set before man, and especially before a king, an obligation of hospitality: `all strangers and beggars are from Zeus'." One of Zeus' aspects was that of the god of hospitality, Zeus Xenios. The Guest-Friend relationship provided the traveling stranger with protection, kinsmen, refuge and store-house.

Hospitality is mentioned all throughout the book. Hospitality is important to the people in that time. Zeus’s law of hospitality is that any stranger that comes to your home, the host must be willing to feed, entertain, and maybe offer them a bath and anything else they might be in need of without question until those things had been given, and also give them a parting gift. “It’s wrong my friend, to send any stranger packing-even one who arrives in worse shape than you. Every stranger and beggar comes from Zeus and whatever scrap they get from the likes of us, they’ll find it welcome.” (Book 14 pg.303 Line 64) This statement shows how important it is that the people follow Zeus’ law of xenia. Along with providing great hospitality the guest has to be respectful as well. Some of the biggest parts in the book that shows hospitality is with the Cyclops, and the goddesses Circe and Calypso, the suitors and the Phaeacians.

In Greek society, hospitality is really important. The Greeks strongly believed in their gods, and they always wanted to be prepared if one came knocking at

During 1200 B.C., Greeks were very thoughtful and caring of strangers who came to the homes. Hospitality was taken very seriously, considering Greeks thought one day it could be a disguised god or goddess that comes down to them, knowing that they would want to take care of them very nicely so the god or goddess will be on the mortal’s side and protect them when needed. As seen when Athena came to Nestor’s son Pisistratus, he “ waved [waving] them on in welcome”, Pisistratus welcomes in the strangers not knowing one of them is a goddess(Athena), he then “sat them down at the feast/ poured some wine…lifting it towards Athena/and greeted the goddess now with an invitation” (3.38-47). Greeks welcomed strangers with open doors and made them feel welcomed.

Historians have come up with some reasons why ancient Greeks were obligated to show Xenia to strangers. The traveller might be a god in disguise - if the host didn't show adequate hospitality, then they might receive punishment;

Hospitality shaped Greek life. This unspoken code, highly valued in Greek society, established responsibilities for both guests and hosts. Demonstrating generosity and kindness, honorable hosts offered their guests extravagant feasts, luxurious baths, and lavish housing. In response, gracious guests showed courtesy and respect to their hosts by refraining from abusing the hospitality extended towards them. Hospitality reveals the moral character of both hosts and guests in the Homerian epic The Odyssey.

One of the most important themes in The Odyssey is the concept of xenia, which is the old Greek word for hospitality. In modern times, hospitality is something we rarely think of, and the first thing that comes to mind is the hotel industry, but in ancient Greece, xenia was not about hotels, or just about etiquette, it was a way of life with many benefits in a world that was still mostly savage. Xenia was more than just being polite to strangers. It was a set of rules and customs that defined the guest-host relationship between two individuals, two groups of people, or an individual and a group. Some basic rules of this relationship were that the guest could not insult the

However, there is a contrary view of the topic to the ancient Greek. To them, hospitality meant to offer all you have to feed and house a complete stranger. We read examples of this extreme form of hospitality scattered throughout The Odyssey.

The Greeks viewed hospitality because they were under the impression that a god could be anywhere, anyone, at any given time. Lastly when Odysseus and his crew go to the land of the dead, when they arrive they made a sacrifice to lore in the blind prophet, Tiresias. When they put the blood in the center, shadows, or spirits arrived. Again the host is the shadows, and yet again the guests are Odysseus.

Each culture treats strangers and guests with distinct differences from every other culture. One of the most hospitable cultures was that of the ancient Greeks, exemplified in Homer’s The Odyssey by both gracious hosts and guests. In Greece and The Odyssey, not only was good hospitality etiquette expected, but the added pressure from the conviction that the gods would punish the host if guests were treated without respect (whether they were poor or rich) further compelled excellent manners. The Odyssey illustrates the proper etiquette when dealing with guests.

The most common situation or scene from the ancient Greek literature often appears to be the scenes in which the characters are in foreign lands, lost, or just plain weary. This results in the need for hospitality to be shown to the travelers. Hospitality was shown to wandering strangers and wayfarers for several reasons. The most obvious of these, was that the host may himself, one day, be in trouble

Sea is a big part of cultural life in Greece, it makes sense that many of the gods and goddesses in Greek mythology originated in the water. Though most of us think of the Olympian gods and goddesses when we think about Greek mythology, the gods and goddesses of the sea were also important parts of the the greek tradition. Poseidon Poseidon was the main god who controlled the sea. As the brother of Zeus, he was very powerful. Every sea creature and sea god and goddess fell under Poseidon’s domain.

The culture on Greek islands is such that it must be experienced. Everyone is incredibly laid back. Meals are enjoyed, not just eaten. Dinner is a social event that often runs into late night or morning. One thing about Greece is that everyone is very social. This is simply the culture. People go for coffee, for dinner, or just for a walk to speak together. Everyone is always out, and everyone is always talking. And when people talk, they talk about everything. Nothing is left out of the discussion, and no topic is feared.

The case talks about the difficulties faced by Carlo Fontana, General Manager of two four star hotels, hotel Lugano Dante and Hotel Berna. His father used to believe in serving guests, as a guest, not client. In support to that Carlo Fontana believes that in hotel industry it is normal that people spends lot of money in renovation/modification, but they will differentiate themselves by spending some to give guests a VIP experience. Moving forward with his belief, Fontana and team developed a new extensive customer service and operations information system and named it Happy Guest Relationship Management (HGRM).