Ancient Law That Created the Greek Mediterranean World - Zeus' Law

Summary by Krater

This video explores xenia, the ancient Greek rite of hospitality, examining its historical development, literary depictions in works like Homer's Odyssey, and its socio-political functions across the Mediterranean.

From the video

Answers: What was xenia and how did hospitality function in ancient Greece?

• ancient Greek hospitality
• xenia
• Theoxenia
• proxenia
• ritual friendship in antiquity

What it concludes

• The ritual of xenia defined Hellenic and Mediterranean culture from Homer to the Hellenistic kings.
• Ritual hospitality played a key role in how Odysseus and Telemachos overpowered the suitors in Ithaca.
• Polyphemus stands in for a natural world devoid of social rules, making his inhospitality metaphorical rather than literal.
• Euripides frames the murder of Aegisthos as a violation of traditional hospitality.
• Ritualized friendship and hospitality were fundamental in securing political alliances and diplomatic connections across the ancient Greek world.