Xenos Meaning

The History of Xenos

Xenos Hospitality, Inc. echoes the ancient greek philosophy of xenia by connecting business “guest” travelers to “hosts” in destinations throughout the United States via the online portal, XenosUSA.com. Our mission is to provide the most exclusive and reliable information as it relates to doing business victoriously and facilitate relationships that otherwise may never have been realized.

Xenos derives from the term Xenia, the ancient greek concept of hospitality, or generosity and courtesy shown to those who are far from home. Xenos can be translated simply to assert that someone is not a member of your community, or that they’re simply a foreigner or traveler brought into a relationship of long distance friendship.

In ancient times, the concept of Xenia or guest friendship became a social and religious institution. The Grand Olympian Zeus himself was sometimes referred to as ‘Zeus Xenios’, meaning he was god of, among other things, travelers. This created a particular religious obligation to be hospitable to travelers, violation of which could have dire consequences.

The policy of xenia also included the protection of travelling bards. They would receive hospitality in the form of a place to sleep, food, and often an assortment of gifts in turn for entertainment and news from other parts of the ancient world. The safety of these bards were believed to have been secured by the aegis-wielding Zeus, and any violation of xenia would put the violator at the mercy of either Zeus or any lower god that he saw fit to enforce the unwritten code.

Ancient Xenia consisted of three basic rules: the respect from host to guest, the respect from guest to host, and the parting gift from host to guest, elements of which exist in the Greek concept of philoxenia even to this day.