Xenia, in ancient Greece and Rome, were table delicacies graciously presented to a tired stranger upon his or her arrival in the host’s home. The word derives from the Greek word xenos, meaning stranger. In the Middle Ages, the custom of the xenia was co-opted by royalty who turned it from a free act of kindness to a compulsory tribute that subjects bestowed on their prince when he travelled through their land.<\/p>\n
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Xenia, in ancient Greece and Rome, were table delicacies graciously presented to a tired stranger upon his or her arrival in the host’s home. The word derives from the Greek word xenos, meaning stranger. In the Middle Ages, the custom of the xenia was co-opted by royalty who turned it from a free act of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-x"],"yoast_head":"\n