Examples Of Xenia 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.

The concept of guest hospitality is extremely important in ancient Greece. Hospitality, or Xenia, is so essential in Greek society that Zeus, in addition to being the king of the Gods, is also the God of travelers (Wikipedia). This created an obligation for the host to be hospitable to their guests, and conversely, the guests had their own responsibilities as well. If either the host or the guest was to break any rule set by Xenia, there would be severe penalties dealt by Zeus and also by society (Wikipedia). In The Odyssey, Xenia is a theme which is shown repeatedly throughout the book: Nestor and Menelaos take in Telemakhos warmly as a guest and Eumaios plays an excellent host to Odysseus, while Odysseus is disguised as a wandering

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.

Odysseus was warned of the Sirens, Scylla and Charybdis. When he approaches the Sirens, he has his men tie him to the mass so he will not be lured to their tempting singing. When he reaches the location of the deadly whirlpool, Charybdis, and the concealed deadly trap across from Charybdis, Scylla: a six headed monster that catches men in her mouth and eats them; Odysseus sacrifices a few of his men for the majority of the other men. He sacrifices for the better good. Hiding his knowledge of these obstacles and sacrificing his men, takes a full amount of determination for his objective to get home; it shows his vast amount of unconditional willingness and sacrifice. Perseverance takes time and sacrifice. His time and knowledge lead him through another dangerous obstacle.

The society of Ancient Greece was very much centered around the gods, and a healthy fear of the consequences of not obeying their laws. The next most important staples of the society were the concepts of braver, pride, and hospitality, or Xenia. The significance of these values is shown quite clearly in The Odyssey of Homer.

Germany is allowing open borders to the refuges of Syria, an estimate of 800,000 people in 2015 alone, as an amazing display of hospitality, or as the Greeks call it, xenia. Xenia is an important feature in The Odyssey, an epic poem written by Homer in the 8th century B.C. Homer effectively uses xenia as a way to show that the gods need to be respected. He emphasizes the need for respect by showing what will happen if xenia is broken. If one breaks xenia, the gods will punish the offenders by striking them down or cursing them, as shown in the Cyclops and The Cattle of the Sun God.

In the Odyssey, Xenia is also shown to be one of the hallmarks of a civilised society, allowing us to judge the societies that Odysseus visits by their attitudes to xenia. For example, the Cyclopes are well informed about Xenia, yet disregard it because they have no fear of the God’s retribution. This tells us that the Cyclopes live in a formidable and amoral society. Even the Gods are shown to respect Xenia rules, for example in Book 5 when Calypso gives hospitality to Hermes. Good xenia is shown to have good repercussions for both the guest and the host: for example, Odysseus’ stay on the island of Calypso, where he is met with exceptional hospitality. Odysseus received this hospitality well and continued to please Calypso. Only at the end did he ever try to refuse her hospitality and leave, and even this caused no serious problems. Here we have an example of the guest-host relationship working well. Calypso is provided with a companion, even if it was not permanent, and Odysseus was provided with shelter, provisions, and protection for his men. In the end it proves to be a beneficial situation for them both.

Xenia is the ancient Greek concept of hospitality, the generosity shown to those who are far from home. Xenia is an important theme in the Odyssey – it is shown in the numerous characters, whether royal or monstrous, that Telemachus and Odysseus encounter, and could be shown as willingly given and wanted hospitality, unwanted/overwhelming, or unwillingly given; these encounters can also show lack of hospitality. This essay will discuss what xenia was to the ancient Greeks, and how this virtue was portrayed in the Odyssey.

Homer 's Odyssey chronicles the journey of the great Greek hero Odysseus and the setbacks he encountered on his way home from the Trojan war. Odysseus

The Odyssey, written by Homer, is an epic of the great adventures of Odysseus. It tells of the challenging travels form leaving his home to serve in the Trojan War, to his well-deserved return to Ithaca. Odysseus known as “the man of many wiles” endured many challenging tasks as he traveled in search of his once home. Leaving behind his wife Penelope and son Telemachus, he was forced to leave. Around the sixteenth year Odysseus was gone, many believed that their once great leader was left for dead on an unknown country or was never to return to the land of Ithaca once again. Soon the suitors of over a hundred filled the halls of Odysseus’s palace, trying to marry his beautiful wife Penelope. When

Xenia is the ancient Greek concept of hospitality – the generous and courtesy shown to those who are far from home. The rituals of hospitality created and expressed a reciprocal relationship between guest and host, with both parties receiving benefits. Hospitality was well shown through the long travels of Odysseus in the epic “The Odyssey.” In the story, the importance of hospitality goes beyond being a gracious host. In “The Odyssey,” the reciprocity of guest-host relationships can become vicious and deadly, as apparent in Circé’s island, the meeting with cyclops, and the suitors in Ithaca.

Offering a hot beverage, food, the safety of your home, or entertainment are all examples of presenting good xenia to guests. xenia is commonly used to portray hospitality or a guest/host relationship. xenia, is important in Ancient Greek society. Zeus is the God of travelers, in addition to being the king of the Gods. This forces for the host to feel obliged to treat their guests with much hospitality, and vice versa with guests, serving with high responsibility. Zeus would severely punish those who break the fine rules of xenia and hospitality. In the epic,“The Odyssey” by Homer, there are multiple examples of good and bad xenia. The group of 108 men who slouch around Penelope show poor xenia and are eventually stricken with their bitter death. Conversely, Eumaios presented great xenia when taking Odysseus in, even while he was disguised as a beggar. Xenia is a prevalent theme in the book and holds a central place in The Odyssey.

In The Odyssey, xenia is an important trait for any homeowner to have. A host with good Xenia treats his or her guests with great respect. Good Xenia means taking a stranger in and treating the guest like family. Also, a good host questions their guests only after feeding and praising them. An example of a host with good Xenia is King Aquinas of Phaeacia. Both he and the Cyclopes Polyphemus hold Odysseus and his men overnight. They both provide food and shelter for Odysseus. Although they are both hosts, both of them aren’t good hosts. Aquinas showed good Xenia while Polyphemus showed bad Xenia.

Xenia is the ancient Greek word for hospitality and is a major theme throughout The Odyssey. Xenia was the guest-host relationship in ancient Greece and was basically a set of rules and customs that people followed. Overall, the rules stated that the host and guest should be kind, generous, and polite toward each other. Hospitality was the main reason for Odysseus’ fortunes and hardships. People either let Odysseus into their house, turned him away or even worse, attacked him. In ancient Greece, hospitality was very important. A person's social status was based on how kind they were. Hospitality was a prominent force in these times and was a generally accepted rule of law.

Homer's Odyssey is a story of the homecoming of Odysseus after the Trojan War.  Odysseus left his wife, Penelope, and their young son, Telemachos, almost twenty years before the telling of this story to fight in the Trojan War.  His absence places Penelope in a rather precarious position.  Faced with many different circumstances, both good and bad, Penelope is on her own to decide the path she wishes to take.  Depending on her decisions, the situations could either be filled with wonderful opportunities or perilous dangers. The strong character of Penelope is revealed by her decisions.