Etiquette In The Odyssey

Xenia is the generosity and hospitality the Greek give to their guest when people come over to their home. Hospitality plays a major role in Greek society. In American society, today hospitality is not a priority. The most we do is let guest in to sit and offer maybe food and water. In the Odyssey Homer shows in Greek culture that hospitality is very important several times in the text and should treat everyone as royalty.

Hospitality, nothing strange about that, we all have experienced it at some points in our lives. However, some of us might not know that hospitality has played an important role in many people’s lives over thousands of years. Hospitality changes people’s lives.

Everyone loves to receive gifts. For some it makes them feel special or important. In the Odyssey gift giving can be seen as sign of respect. Xenia, an important aspect to Homeric society, can be described as the guest-host relationship. It was of importance in Homeric society because it was something that could make or break the relationship you have with someone. Throughout the Odyssey xenia influences those who Odysseus comes into contact with impacting the plot of the story. Focusing on the theme of gifts and gift giving throughout the Odyssey I will support Odysseus assertion that gift giving was connected to respect with three specific examples.

The Odyssey is an epic about Ancient Greek culture written by Homer. This is one of the two major Greek poems. Odysseus is on a long journey back to Ithaca after the fall of Troy. The most valued life traits in an Ancient Greek culture is respect. Odysseus helps portray this by worshiping gods through the epic.

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.

attitudes, and speech of one’s life. Lives in the 1950’s of one’s family were at risk because of

Many forms of popular culture today are inspired by themes, characters, and other references in various types of classical literature. John Denver's song 'Calypso'; is about the relationship between men and women, and he bases this comparison on the relationship between Kalypso and Odysseus in Homer's the Odyssey. In 'Calypso'; Denver portrays women in general as being superior to men by using the beautiful and enchanting goddess, Kalypso, from Homer's epic. John Denver encompasses all women in his song by providing Kalypso as a universal symbol. Along with the relationship between Odysseus and Kalypso and men and women, there are other interpreted allusions from the Odyssey to Kalypso's song.

Traditions and customs make a group of people different from others. For example many families have different traditions when it comes to holidays, like fireworks for the 4th of July or making turkey for thanksgiving. All these types of traditions are important in daily life. In The Odyssey by Homer, many examples of Greece customs and

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

Over the course of the last several decades, the polarization of American society’s use of positive and negative social etiquette in all interactions has reached its greatest level in recorded history. Never before have we been more aware of the greater events taking place in the world, yet ignorant and uncaring of the smaller more personal intricacies of our daily lives. At least, this is what freelance writer Todd Schwartz would lead us to believe in his thought provoking paper “American Jerk”. The majority of statements Schwartz’ makes in this article are accurate for the majority of American society, yet he draws several flawed parallels and fails to provide the necessary information to prove his greater accusations. This results in

By contrast with the Phaeacians, Odysseus had previously met the race of the Cyclops, whose qualities exhibited that they did not practice the norm of hospitality. Through the language used, it is evident in the astoundment in Odysseus’s voice to find lack of hospitality. As Odysseus narrates in Book Four: “We sailed hence, always in much distress, till we came to the land of the lawless and inhuman Cyclopes… They have no laws nor assemblies of the people, but live in caves on the tops of high mountains; each is lord and master in his family, and they take no account of their neighbours…” (IV: 599-604).

In The Odyssey, the code of hospitality is stressed tremendously. During the Ancient Greek times, hospitality meant a lot more than doing small, simple things for your guest. The word Xenia, which meant ritual hospitality, was an word that these people had. With Hospitality being one of the ground rules of ancient Greek society, The relationship between the guest and host was made much more significant. The host would be responsible for providing food and shelter and even money if necessary, no matter who the guest to their house was. The people who followed the code, helped everyone they could; no matter the situation. The people who didn’t honor the code,

The Greeks have been known for their hospitality and politeness, especially when treating guests- whether strangers or not. This is demonstrated near the beginning of the Odyssey when Telemachus went to Pylos to visit Nestor. Nestor, not knowing who he was taking into his home as guests, treated them with great honor and respect. "Now is the time," he said, "for a few questions, now that our young guests have enjoyed their dinner. Who are you, strangers? Where are you sailing from, and where to, down the highways of sea water (p 299)?" If ever Greeks were to serve themselves before their guests or even a little better than them, then they were breaking the most basic of all Greek customs,

Sing I me, Muse, and through me tell the story of the lady nymph goddess Calypso. Oh so beautiful and immortal who lives in the sea- hollowed caves on the island Ogygia. She craved the hero of Troy, king of Ithaka, son of Laertes, a mortal and took him as her own. Nine long years they spent on the island together.

Each culture treats strangers and guests with distinct differences from every other culture. One of the most hospitable cultures was that of the ancient Greeks, exemplified in Homer’s The Odyssey by both gracious hosts and guests. In Greece and The Odyssey, not only was good hospitality etiquette expected, but the added pressure from the conviction that the gods would punish the host if guests were treated without respect (whether they were poor or rich) further compelled excellent manners. The Odyssey illustrates the proper etiquette when dealing with guests.