Stranieri e ospitalità nei proverbi antichi (e moderni)

In Book 6 of the Iliad , two enemies meet on the battlefield only to discover that they are tied by an ancient bond of hospitality; they do not fight, but exchange weapons as a token of friendship. This episode became proverbial, also because one of the two exchanges his golden weapons for the other’s bronze weapons, which became a perpetual symbol of self defeating behaviour. In fact, hospitality, reception of the stranger is seen in ancient proverbs as a sacred duty: the guest is invited to drink, eat and enjoy himself; he must be welcomed in a honourable way, but without excessive, embarrassing attentions, and even though expenses turn out to be a profit, they nevertheless should not exceed meas- ure, just as gifts should not be too binding, since what is important is that they a re made with a true heart. There exists, however, also the memory of betrayal against guests, who, on the other hand, al- ready in Antiquity were like fish they began to smell after three days. As usual, traditional expres- sions, topoi and proverbs are indi cative of a culture’s sensibility towards a problem, and this is why they are contradictory, and for every proverb an opposite exists: because our feelings and our behaviour with regards to certain themes are never unambiguous or free from contradictions.