Hospitality In Homer's The Odyssey

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

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.

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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

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,

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 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.

In Greek society, hospitality is really important. The Greeks strongly believed in their gods, and they always wanted to be prepared if one came knocking at

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.

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.

The hospitality is both wanted by the guest and willingly given by the host, and Menelaus fulfills all the “requirements” that are expected of a good host. Telemachus is bathed by the women of Menelaus’s palace, which is a recurring example of good hospitality in Homer’s works. The women “draw warm fleece and shirts around their shoulders” (Homer, 240), and Menelaus welcomes him with a grand feast. He tells Telemachus to “Help yourselves to food, and welcome! Once you’ve dined we’ll ask you who you are” (Homer, 240); here he demonstrates that he knows the proper “principles” of xenia, as he only asks questions after he serves his guests. “I’ll give you a princely send-off – shining gifts, three stallions and a chariot burnished bright- and I’ll add a gorgeous cup so you can pour libations out to the deathless gods on high and remember Menelaus all your days” (Homer, 253). The “three stallions and a chariot” included in his gifts to Telemachus are meant to serve as transportation. “…and remember Menelaus all your days” – as stated previously, hospitality could have been used to spread a person’s name if they would provide a high standard of it to strangers, and Menelaus would have wanted to be known for his hospitality. He also would have wanted for Telemachus, the son of the known Odysseus, to remember that Menelaus

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 values the characteristic of hospitality because the characters who do not demonstrate this characteristic typically suffer fatal or near-fatal injuries. In the Odyssey, Penelope (Odysseus’ wife) was hosting an event to make one of the suitors (potential marriage partners) her new husband because she had given up hope that Odysseus would not return home. The men who were at her house would just eat and drink, and showed no hospitality (21.70-78). In the Odyssey, Odysseus had attended this event disguised, and became aware of Penelope’s discourteous guests. Odysseus then goes on a “rampage” and slaughters all of the guests except for a few men who Telemachus (Odysseus’ son) swore their loyalty (22.16-529). Additionally, in chapter 21, Antinoös was the first to be killed because of his abrupt and rude manners, and distinctly

Hospitality is the idea that no one is unwelcome in your home; everyone is treated like an honored guest. In the Iliad, written by Homer, this practice is extremely important in the culture present, as it a reoccurring idea throughout the books. The characters in the Iliad are split between the Greeks and the Trojans, excluding the gods, all with their own separate interpersonal conflicts, all of which are greatly affected by hospitality. Hospitality in The Iliad is an important theme, whose importance is shown through the situations it shifts along with its affects on character development, that is either respected or ignored, both with dramatically different results.

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.