E. V. Leonova ΞΕΝΟΣ in Greek folk songs (pp. 585–594)
Author
E. V. Leonova (Lomonosov Moscow State University)
Pages\n 585–594
Summary\n
The word ξένος has two different meanings in the Greek folk songs: 1) a person who leaves his native land for a foreign country (a compatriot); 2) a person who was born in another country (region) and lives there (a foreigner). The majority of the contextual synonyms of the word ξένος characterize the protagonist of the folk song with the reference to his family status. He is shown in 3 hypostasis: a son, a spouse / a love mate, and a brother. Moreover, in most cases the character is described with regard to one of his female family members: his mother, his wife / his bride, or his sister. Generally, the protagonist of this folklore genre is virtually surrounded with female characters only. They are either his “native” family back in his homeland, or people he meets in the foreign land. This approach reveals that the hero-wanderer is not capable to dispose his destiny (e.g., the blame for making an “illegal” family in a foreign land is not on the hero himself, but on a woman who seduced him through a lie, or due to her magic powers). An enormous associative complex related to the humiliating social status of the hero-stranger in a foreign country can be revealed in the Greek folk songs. According to the folklore, a life in a foreign land is tightly bound to the idea of «improper fate»: a hero leaving for a foreign country is destined to have an improper status which dishonors him as a man, as a member of a society, and as a human being.
Keywords\n
Greek folk songs, a foreign country, ξένος, folklore view of life, concept, a wandering protagonist.
References\n
Guy Saunier To dimotiko tragoudi tis xenitias. Athens, 1990.
Koridis Giannis. Ta Oraiotera Dimotika Tragoudia. Vol. 4. Athens, 2002.
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