To Anyone Who Could Become a Stranger at Any Time [Slate]

Why Xenia Became a Difficult Norm to Uphold

Xenia, in ancient Greek, is the norm for welcoming guests. When a stranger stood at the door, water for washing and food would be offered before even asking for their name. There was no option to verify their identity before deciding whether to be hospitable.

Movie still cut from "Odyssey".

Director Christopher Nolan reminds us of this concept through 'Odyssey.' It's not simply out of a fondness for the classics. Today, the way we treat strangers has changed. Even before a name, a favor, or a helping hand, we now respond with suspicion until identities are confirmed.

Xenia did not demand unconditional goodwill. Rather, it held that human society could only be sustained if we maintained a minimum level of dignity for others, at least until their identity was known. This was not naive idealism but a practical survival strategy. In the Mediterranean, where sailing and trade were essential to life, the stranger welcomed today could easily be the master of an unfamiliar land tomorrow.

'Odyssey' illustrates with the tale of the Trojan Horse how lost trust is hard to restore. The city gates were opened under the pretense of offering a gift to the gods, but soldiers emerged from within. From that point on, no guest could be welcomed with full confidence. One act of betrayal cast doubt on a hundred more acts of kindness that came after.

This collapse does not end with a single mythic incident. It persists in today’s conflicts. Neighbors instantly become declared enemies, and individuals are reduced to mere statistics. The moment we decide there is no need to listen to the other side, the minimal promise upheld by xenia has already been broken. In the absence of that commitment, violence easily finds its justification.

Still cut from the movie 'Odyssey'.

Of course, xenia did not always operate in a romantic way. The original 'Odyssey' is filled with stories of its failure. The abduction of Helen was an act of betrayal by a guest invited into the master’s home. The Cyclops upended the rules of hospitality by devouring his guests. Penelope’s suitors exploited hospitality by settling in an absent master’s home and squandering his property. The reason xenia is emphasized is paradoxically because it was so often broken. Today's society is no different. We speak of hospitality, but when it comes to refugees, migrant workers, and others truly unfamiliar, few are willing to open their doors first.

The responsibility was never one-sided to begin with. Hospitality was not a one-way act of charity, but a mutual obligation. Guests were required to observe propriety in the host’s home, and hosts were not to abuse or exploit their guests. This reciprocity remains relevant in current debates. A society that accepts strangers is responsible for guaranteeing them basic dignity, and at the same time, those who are welcomed must respect the order of the society that accepts them. The moment only one side of this equation is emphasized, xenia collapses.

There is another important point to address here. Xenia is predicated on the idea that these mutual obligations will eventually be verified over time. At some point, the guest reveals their name, and the host, at some point, is repaid for their kindness. Today, this is rarely the case. Most relationships are fleeting, with little chance to return a favor. However, it is in the absence of a return that the true nature of hospitality is revealed. Goodwill granted with the expectation of repayment is, in effect, closer to a transaction. Only when we extend kindness, knowing it may never be reciprocated, does xenia truly operate in its original sense.

Movie still cut from "Odyssey".

In that brief moment when we first encounter a stranger, what do we set as the default—suspicion or minimum respect? Three thousand years ago, Greeks cloaked their answer in religious language, partly out of a fearful belief that the stranger at the door might be a god in disguise. We no longer have such mythic safeguards. And yet, the fact remains—then as now—that the choice we make in those moments when we encounter the unfamiliar ultimately shapes the character of the entire society. That instant, when we decide whether or not to open the door, is xenia, newly written in our time.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.