Essay On Hospitality In The Odyssey

Quotation: When the Emmaus first meets the beggar (Odysseus) he welcomes him into his hut for food and a place to stay.

However, the suitors did the worst thing a guest could do and, although in vain, plotted to kill Telemakhos as they feared that he would return from his trip to Pylos and Sparta with news of Odysseus. This is perhaps the biggest violation of Xenia that a guest can possibly commit and is punishable by death. In addition to overstaying their welcome and basically taking over the palace as their own, they also treated other guests of the palace poorly despite being guests themselves. In Book XX, Odysseus returned to his palace disguised as a stranger when the suitors were enjoying one of their banquets. Odysseus went around collecting scraps from the suitors so that he would learn to distinguish the good from the bad among them. However, Odysseus' inspection was not appreciated by Antinoos, and instead of giving him food as the others had done, he threw a stool at Odysseus, and struck him on the back (Greek Mythology Link). Without knowing it, the suitors, through Antinoos’ actions, had attacked their host which was another crime punishable by death.

They tried to stay quiet but the Cyclopes spotted them and asked what they were doing in his cave. He really didn’t care because he snatched two of his men up, smashed their heads, torn them limb by limb, ate them. Day by day he did this and when the Cyclopes was sleeping, Odysseus told his men that they needed to find a way to get out of there and so they did. When the Cyclopes awoke, Odysseus offered him some of his wine and he tried it and begged for more so Odysseus just kept giving it to him drink by drink until he was drunk. The Cyclopes asked Odysseus what his name was and Odysseus said “Nothing.” As soon he asked that, he fell over and slept peacefully. While he was sleeping Odysseus found a large branch and asked his strongest men to put the tip in the fire and when it was burning red, they shoved the hot part of the stick into the Cyclopes’ eye. The Cyclopes let out a loud roar that woke up his neighbors. They came running and asked if someone was killing him and the Cyclopes answered “Nothing is killing me!” So his neighbors left without second thought. When the Cyclopes let his herd of sheep out Odysseus and his men clang to the bottom of the sheep and left the island safely.

In the morning light you'll bathe him and anoint him so that he'll take his place beside Telemakhos feasting in hall."(P. 363 ln 375-380) This treatment of a mere beggar who showed up to her house, is very odd considering she has been trying to fight off over one hundred other guests for a number of years. Telemakhos even comments that such treatment of a guest is very much not in Penelope's character, "Nurse, dear nurse, how did you treat our guest? Had he a supper and a good bed? Has he lain uncared for still? My mother is like that, perverse for all her cleverness...?" (P. 379 ln146-149). This comment by Telemakhos shows that in the past Penelope has not been as hospitable toward guests. Therefore it is interesting that she would treat such a beggar with such care and compassion. The reason she does this is that she now has an increasing suspicion that the beggar is in fact her husband, Odysseus.

Hospitality goes two ways; Guest have responsibilities just like the host does. The suitors, who are actually unwelcomed, guest takes Odysseus’s wife hospitality for granted as they waste all the goods and try to get at her constantly. Also when Odysseus returns in the disguise of an old man, the suitors treat him with great inhospitality.

The Odyssey is an epic poem attributed to the now-famous Greek poet, Homer, written approximately in the early sixth century B.C.E. The poem shares the tale of the wily adventuring solider, Odysseus', return from the Trojan war to his wife and home in Ithaca. The poem details his misadventures, the efforts of his son, Telemachus, to find him, and revenge on his wife's suitors. While many themes run through this poem, the most prevalent is that of hospitality. The Host-Guest relationship is significant in the Odyssey as it acts as one of the main thematic devices used by Homer and examples of good hospitality versus bad hospitality and their results serve as the main plot elements throughout the tale.

Xenia is an obligatory, socially- regulated hospitality shown to suppliants and strangers by god-fearing hosts. This notion can be broken into two aspects: conduct and food and libations. When welcomed in to a residence, hosts are expected to treat a guest respectfully and amicably- this then transitions to the food and libations portion of xenia. This facet revolves less on entertainment, but rather is symbolic of a host opening their home as a place for a suppliant to rest and find asylum from the woes of travel. It is the recipient’s responsibility to treat the host with respect, as they are visitors. I assert that xenia has a direct effect on a relationship and its ensuing trajectory because respect is the foundation of xenia; these effects can be seen throughout The Iliad and The Odyssey, particularly in the interactions of

Homer is believed to have lived around 8th century B.C. Ironically, Homer’s life coincides with the earliest known manuscript of the Holy Bible, the Codex Amiatinus. Although Homer possibly lived during the rise of very significant biblical prophets such as Amos, Hosea, Zachariah, Isaiah and Jonah, Homer writes his epic poem, The Odyssey, in a strictly pagan method. Both The Odyssey and the Holy Bible praise the virtue of hospitality; however, it is evident that the Ancient Greeks and the Hebrews have contrasting motivations for hospitality. Therefore, it is no surprise that Odysseus’ voyage home was epically arduous.

During Odysseus’ journey in ‘The Odyssey’, Odysseus runs into a couple problems. He leaves home ready to fight in the Trojan War. Although he had plans on coming home, he never made it home. His wife Penelope and his son Telemachus assumed that Odysseus was dead. It was not until Athena came to Telemachus and gave him everything he needed to make it to his dad. What Telemachus did not know was that Odysseus wanted to come home, but he could not because he was being held prisoner on an island named Ogygia. Odysseus wants nothing more to return home and see his lovely wife Penelope.

Throughout Homer's The Odyssey, Odysseus the main character in the story is tested with the true meaning of hospitality. In the heroic age, hospitality was viewed as punishment or acceptance of a stranger. While Odysseus longed for his return to home, he faced the two different kinds of hospitality offered within the heroic age. My theory is that Odysseus was provided with good hospitality when he would enter a town that allowed him to eat at their table, bathed within their baths, and sleep within their homes. The townspeople and their king often provided superior hospitality for strangers without questioning them first. It's thought that maybe the wonderful hospitality was provided in return of viewing the stranger as a

While the suitors are attempting to marry Penelope after Odysseus goes missing, Telemachus stays passive and does not speak up. As the suitors are eating up their food, the narrator recounts, “Prince Telemachus, sitting among the suitors, heart obsessed with grief” (1. 132-133). Telemachus allows the suitors walk over him as he drowns in his sadness, which is not mature or heroic. However, as time passes, Telemachus experiences new variety of emotion; anger, frustration and the same overwhelming sadness. As Telemachus is talking to the suitors and the council, he lets his feelings take over. The narrator says, “Filled with anger, down on the ground he dashed the speakers scepter- bursting into tears” (2. 86-88). Telemachus cannot hold in his frustration and grief which blocks him from seeming put together and mature in front of the suitors, which is crucial to garner their respect. After the failed speech was done, Telemachus was still boiling with rage while talking to a suitor. The epic states, “But self-possessed Telemachus drew the line”...“the anger seethes inside me . . . I’ll stop at nothing to hurl destruction at your heads” (2. 343, 350). Instead of firmly putting his foot down, he snaps, resulting in the suitors mocking him. Their respect for him drops as he cannot keep his emotions in check. Telemachus matures rapidly, which helps him in his journey, and yet his emotions prevent him from

The next morning, Alcinous rose Odysseus and led him to the Parliament Square. Athena, in the shape of the king's herald, went around the city telling the people to come to the parliament to hear about the stranger that showed up at the palace the previous day. Soon the whole square was full of people. Alcinous introduced Odysseus to the crowd and said Odysseus had asked him to help Odysseus to get back to Ithaca. Alcinous asked the crowd for 52 oarsmen and for them to prepare a boat and when they had finished that, to come back to the palace.

Odysseus has a sense of hubris that leads to adversity and causes him harm, he also has humility; however, the lack of balance between these emotions takes Odysseus through many tough obstacles. When Odysseus tricks Polyphemos, he does it logically, and he uses his mind and reason; however, his hubris comes out when he feels the need to expose his true identity thus leading to his difficulty to return to Ithaka and future problems. Odysseus’s men beg him to stop harassing the beast, but Odysseus has one other plan in mind when he says, “Kyklops / … Odysseus raider of cities, took your eye: / Laertes’ son, whose home’s on Ithaka!” (Homer 160). This provoking of Polyphemos that Odysseus displays is a cause for the pain Ithaka is going though, as well as personal and direct grieving directed at Odysseus and his immediate

The girls washed, fed, and clothed him. Impressed with his manliness, Nausicca told him how to get into town and appeal to her mother for even greater hospitality. Queen Arete and King Alcinous gave Odysseus the best of what they had and showed him great hospitality. The King also offered his daughter's hand in marriage, or if he desired, assistance in returning home.

Listen, I have been fooled by many mortals that snuck into my cave at night. Their ship landed on my island and have wandered into my dwelling. They took advantage of me and have done terrible things to me. Will you do me a favor, and punish them severely. I came back to my cave from a day of hard work and I shut the door and spotted them in my reach. I was furious, and out of rage ate some of his men. Who is he you ask?, Odysseus, the king of Ithaca and his men who are on their return home from the Trojan War. Do you know who he is? First, he told me his name was “Nobody”, and I fell for it, what stupidity of me father. He gave me this drink called wine in which I passed out from. Later, I just awoken from immense pain, Odysseus and his