Values
Many Greek values are based on the individual in relation to the family, the local community and the wider society. Western notions of privacy, individuality, personal concience and independent decision-making differ from the traditional Greek sense of the individual. The expectations of immediate and extended family as well as members of a person’s broader community (village, neighbourhood and church congregation) determine the person’s behaviour and responsibilities. Greek culture emphasizes the communal and public rather than the private sphere. For many Greek immigrants, especially the elderly, their identity is closely tied to their behaviour within the communal and public spheres. The values which stem from this understanding of the individual revolve around the ways in which a person behaves and presents to others.
Filotimo means the love of honour. It refers to the respect individuals have for themselves and for others. A person who has filotimo is hospitable, generous, considerate and has a sense of right and wrong.
Filoxenia literally translates as the love of foreigners or strangers. This refers to hospitality. Since ancient times this value has been highly regarded in Greek society. In Greece’s villages and smaller communities travelers were welcomed into people’s homes where they would share a meal and be put up for the night. Nowadays it commonly refers to the hospitality offered to acquaintances, friends or relatives who are guests in one’s home.
Axioprepia refers to a person’s dignity. Greeks use this term frequently. They are referring to an individual’s acquired or earned honour or respect. A person is axioprepisif he/she behaves in a way regarded by the broader community as worthy of respect.
Ypohreosi is one’s sense of obligation or duty to another person for a special favour or service received. It also expresses the requirement or commitment to take some course of action, often as defined by custom or communal expectation.
Shame and honour are important characteristics of the Greek world view. Behaviour and actions can reflect an individual’s filotimo in the eyes of his/her family and community. If a person behaves in a certain manner shame or honour is cast on the entire family. Public or community knowledge of an individual’s actions likewise will mean shame or honour for both the individual and his/her family. Actions which do not become public knowledge are not described as honourable or shameful. Instead they are considered to be a matter of moral conscience. This is closer to the Western cultural framework and the Christian sense of guilt and innocence.