Tip of the day

Approaching people, Crete, Greece
There is a very fitting word for the Greek attitude toward foreign visitors: filoxenia (hospitality). Throughout history, hospitality has been a typical virtue of the Greeks. In the Homeric epics there are scenes where a foreign visitor shows up at the door, receives the warmest welcome, and is treated like a “sacred person.” The Greek gods (and especially Zeus) would frequently take the human form and show up at people’s doors either to help them with some important matter or to take care of their own business (which was frequently of an amorous nature). The ancient Greeks knew that, so whenever a visitor knocked on their door they received him with the greatest honours and treated him with utter respect. They invited him to dine with them, filled his glass with exquisite wine, offered him a place to rest, and only when the stranger was well fed and rested did they dare to question him about his name and business.