"Proxenus" redirects here. For the genus of moths, see Proxenus (moth).
Proxeny or proxenia (Greek: προξενία) in ancient Greece was an arrangement whereby a citizen (chosen by the city) hosted foreign ambassadors at his own expense, in return for honorary titles from the state. The citizen was called proxenos (πρόξενος; plural: proxenoi or proxeni, "instead of a foreigner") or proxeinos (πρόξεινος). The proxeny decrees, which amount to letters patent and resolutions of appreciation were issued by one state to a citizen of another for service as proxenos, a kind of honorary consul looking after the interests of the other state's citizens. A common phrase is euergetes (benefactor) and proxenos (πρόξεινος τε ειη και ευεργέτης).
Inscription in honor of Straton, King of Sidon, giving him the title of proxenos: "Also Straton the king of Sidon shall be proxenos of the People of Athens, both himself and his descendants".[1]Acropolis of Athens. This indicates that relations of proxeny existed not only among Greek cities but also with non-Greeks (Phoenicians in this case).
A proxenos would use whatever influence he had in his own city to promote policies of friendship or alliance with the city he voluntarily represented. For example, Cimon was Sparta's proxenos at Athens and during his period of prominence in Athenian politics, previous to the outbreak of the First Peloponnesian War, he strongly advocated a policy of cooperation between the two states. Cimon was known to be so fond of Sparta that he named one of his sons Lacedaemonius (as Sparta was known as Lacedaemon in antiquity).[2][3]
Being another city's proxenos did not preclude taking part in war against that city, should it break out – since the proxenos' ultimate loyalty was to his own city. However, a proxenos would naturally try his best to prevent such a war and to resolve the differences that were threatening to cause it. And once peace negotiations were on the way, a proxenos' contacts and goodwill in the enemy city could be profitably used by his city.
The position of proxenos for a particular city was often hereditary in a particular family.
Monceaux, P., Les Proxénies Grecques (Paris, 1885).
Walbank, M., Athenian Proxenies of the Fifth Century B.C. (Toronto, 1978).
Marek, C., Die Proxenie (Frankfurt am Main, 1984) (Europäische Hochschulschriften: Reihe 3, Geschichte und ihre Hilfswissenschaften, 213).
Gerolymatos, A., Espionage and Treason: A Study of the Proxeny in Political and Military Intelligence Gathering in Classical Greece (Amsterdam, 1986).
Knoepfler, D., Décrets Érétrians de Proxénie et de Citoyenneté (Lausanne, 2001) (Eretria Fouilles et Researches, 11).
Gastaldi, Enrica Culasso, Le prossenie ateniesi del IV secolo a.C.: gli onorati asiatici (Alessandria: Edizioni dell'Orso, 2004) (Fonti e studi di storia antica, 10).
Encyclopædia Britannica
External links
Look up proxeny in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Media related to Proxenoi at Wikimedia Commons
January 29, 2023
proxeny, proxenus, redirects, here, genus, moths, proxenus, moth, proxenia, greek, προξενία, ancient, greece, arrangement, whereby, citizen, chosen, city, hosted, foreign, ambassadors, expense, return, honorary, titles, from, state, citizen, called, proxenos, . Proxenus redirects here For the genus of moths see Proxenus moth Proxeny or proxenia Greek pro3enia in ancient Greece was an arrangement whereby a citizen chosen by the city hosted foreign ambassadors at his own expense in return for honorary titles from the state The citizen was called proxenos pro3enos plural proxenoi or proxeni instead of a foreigner or proxeinos pro3einos The proxeny decrees which amount to letters patent and resolutions of appreciation were issued by one state to a citizen of another for service as proxenos a kind of honorary consul looking after the interests of the other state s citizens A common phrase is euergetes benefactor and proxenos pro3einos te eih kai eyergeths Inscription in honor of Straton King of Sidon giving him the title of proxenos Also Straton the king of Sidon shall be proxenos of the People of Athens both himself and his descendants 1 Acropolis of Athens This indicates that relations of proxeny existed not only among Greek cities but also with non Greeks Phoenicians in this case A proxenos would use whatever influence he had in his own city to promote policies of friendship or alliance with the city he voluntarily represented For example Cimon was Sparta s proxenos at Athens and during his period of prominence in Athenian politics previous to the outbreak of the First Peloponnesian War he strongly advocated a policy of cooperation between the two states Cimon was known to be so fond of Sparta that he named one of his sons Lacedaemonius as Sparta was known as Lacedaemon in antiquity 2 3 Being another city s proxenos did not preclude taking part in war against that city should it break out since the proxenos ultimate loyalty was to his own city However a proxenos would naturally try his best to prevent such a war and to resolve the differences that were threatening to cause it And once peace negotiations were on the way a proxenos contacts and goodwill in the enemy city could be profitably used by his city The position of proxenos for a particular city was often hereditary in a particular family Contents 1 See also 2 References 3 Bibliography 4 External linksSee also EditHospitium XeniaReferences Edit IGII2 141 Honours for Straton king of Sidon The History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Donald Lateiner Richard Crawley page 33 ISBN 0 486 43762 0 Who s Who in the Greek World by John Hazel page 56 ISBN 0 415 12497 2Bibliography EditMonceaux P Les Proxenies Grecques Paris 1885 Walbank M Athenian Proxenies of the Fifth Century B C Toronto 1978 Marek C Die Proxenie Frankfurt am Main 1984 Europaische Hochschulschriften Reihe 3 Geschichte und ihre Hilfswissenschaften 213 Gerolymatos A Espionage and Treason A Study of the Proxeny in Political and Military Intelligence Gathering in Classical Greece Amsterdam 1986 Knoepfler D Decrets Eretrians de Proxenie et de Citoyennete Lausanne 2001 Eretria Fouilles et Researches 11 Gastaldi Enrica Culasso Le prossenie ateniesi del IV secolo a C gli onorati asiatici Alessandria Edizioni dell Orso 2004 Fonti e studi di storia antica 10 Encyclopaedia BritannicaExternal links Edit Look up proxeny in Wiktionary the free dictionary Media related to Proxenoi at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Proxeny amp oldid 1106204341, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
