Home And Hospitality In The Odyssey

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.

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.

In The Odyssey Homer develops three themes throughout his second epic. He shows that Odysseus acts uncivilized because of the war, wreaks vengeance against those who have taken over his home, and eventually enjoys his homecoming. Throughout his epic, Homer shows the themes of uncivilized men, vengeance, and homecoming through Odysseus’s experiences with Polyphemus the Cyclops, the suitors who invade his home, and his 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

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,

In the many adventures and hardships that Odysseus goes through, he experiences the Greek concept that shows courtesy and generosity that helps with his journey. This is also known as Greek hospitality. In the Odyssey, Odysseus is shown Greek hospitality by King Alcinous, Aeolus, and when he returns home by Eurycleia.

Courtesy. Catering. Helpfulness. These are all examples of the hospitality that is expected of those in ancient Greece. Citizens call for this welcoming behavior, no matter the company. This attitude towards visitors is quintessential, and it is the standard of hosting in this time period, even if the guest is unexpected. In Homer’s The Odyssey, hospitality is glorified, distinct in Greek culture, and similar to the principles demonstrated in the Bible.

In the epic poem, The Odyssey, by Homer, hospitality to a guest or a stranger that comes to their home was considered very crucial. The Greek considered the hospitality as a very important and natural behavior because they thought the stranger might be one of the gods who wants to test them. Throughout this epic poem, hospitality was shown numerous times in different situation and usually gave the guest or the stranger nice bath, food, drink, and place to sleep. However, not every person or a kyklop in the poem gives a nice greetings to his guests. Eumaios, a responsible swineherd, gives a great hospitality to “a beggar”, and Polyphemos, Poseidon’s son who’s a kyklop, fails to treat his guests nicely.

The origin of hospitality comes from the concept of traveling. In ancient times, travelers wandered on unknown regions of the earth in pursuit of trading gifts both material and nonmaterial, knowledge, and creating a network with people. Traveling to foreign areas expanded civilization and led to further innovations. It was a profound way to have business with other cultures, cultivate relationships with others, discover different types of food, clothes, and people. Such connections among natives and foreigners were very common among the Greeks during the Mycenaean Age. Greece is known to be a country that’s surrounded by bodies of water such as the Ionian Sea, Aegean Sea, Thracian Sea, Sea of Crete, and Gulf of Corinth. Although walking was

The themes of hospitality and home are present during Odysseus’ voyage back to Ithaca after the Trojan War, as they are the reason why his voyage extends to ten years, with the most prominent encounters being with Kalypso, Polyphemos, and Circe. A sense of hospitality is retained at the home of Telemachos and Penelope towards the 108 suitors that gather over the years of Odysseus’s absence, even though it is not deserved as the suitors are violating that code. Finally, Odysseus returns to Ithaca and is greeted with overwhelming hospitality though he is in disguise as a beggar, which allows him to conspire against the suitors for their violation of hospitality, and eventually murder them. Conclusively, hospitality and home are themes that are largely present throughout the duration of the poem and they have a great impact on the hero, Odysseus, therefore the importance of both cannot be

The Odyssey is a very interesting selection that can intrigue most readers and tells us even though sometimes it may not work hospitality is should always be an option and that brute strength sometimes is no match for cleverness. To begin the story tells the reader of one of the tales of Odysseus in his quest to return home after the Trojan’s defeat. In his journey he arrives at the land of the Cyclopes, which are uncivilized monsters with one eye. As they row in the see a prodigious man who is the Cyclops inside of a cavern. Upon arrival at the cavern Odysseus treats the Cyclopes as a normal human playing the part of being a polite guest and treating him with hospitality. The Cyclopes refuses this act of hospitality and states that he does

Hospitality was very important in ancient Greek culture. It was called xenia, meaning hospitality and it signified the relationship between the guest and host. The ancient Greeks believe that Zeus strictly enforced hospitality. To do this he would disguise himself as a stranger and ask for hospitality. If it was not shown, the perpetrator was severely punished. Since hospitality was very important in ancient Greek culture, it is prevalent in the epic poem, the Odyssey.

Many suitors had taken residence within the walls of Odysseus palace and they attempted to persuade his wife Penelope to marry them. In the duration of their stay they depleted Odysseus' wealth and disrespected both Telemachus and Penelope during the king of Ithacas absence. Their recklessness is paralleled in the Odyssey by Odyssues men who consume Helios cattle. Furthermore it was decreed by Poseidon who acts of vengeance against Odysseus serve as a kind of justice for the harm he has done to his

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.