Hospitality In The Odyssey Essay

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

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

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.

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 Homer’s, The Odyssey, Greek hospitality is demonstrated in the sections of the Cyclops. Expectations in Greek hospitality include, not only being graciously welcomed into the home of another, but also feasts, entertainment, shelter at times and bearings for their journey from which they came. Not only is this portrayed in the scenes with the Cyclops, but also in the beginning of the epic, where Telemachus warmly welcomes the suitors and goddess Athena into the home of Odysseus and his family. Ancient Greeks treated guests equivalent to their own. As common in Ancient Greece, there are consequences for disobeying or not following social conduct and culture. These inferred consequences are likely to include, misfortune, isolation or a curse. The reasons being that because most of Greek culture is derived from the gods, the power is present to determine punishment and the wellness of those who disobey forums. Because the Cyclops shows no signs of hospitality to Odysseus and his men, they have characteristics of being barbaric, brutish in nature and the overall damnation of being

Hospitality describes one's respect towards their peers when an invitation to a host’s house is involved, and can be expressed differently based on one's personality and actions. Through the Odyssey, characters display different examples of hospitality practices. How someone displays hospitality, determines the treatment the person obtains in return. As Odysseus and his crew encounter the cyclops, Circe, and the Swineherd, they receive hospitality as guests on a varied spectrum. The cyclops displayed poor examples of hospitality through his barbaric actions.

Throughout The Odyssey, there are many different themes that are extremely significant. The reader seems to learn about each character through specific themes that pertain to that character’s journey throughout the story. Hospitality is one of the strongest and most prevalent themes that Homer portrays in The Odyssey. Homer includes both positive and negative interpretations of hospitality in The Odyssey and gives many examples of how each one can shape characters, storylines, and outcomes.

The Odyssey by Homer has many themes that are important throughout its books, although hospitality is one to not forget. “Hospitality is our motto!” is what Scott Humphrey, one of the Bar J Wranglers, said when he hired me to work at the Bar J Chuckwagon for the summer. The hospitality found in The Odyssey holds true to our everyday lives as it did to the Greeks around 800 B.C.E. The greeting to a guest is very similar, the feast is eaten, and the new found friend is sent on his merry way. The greeting to a newcomer is crucial.

The Odyssey, as well as many other works of ancient Greek literature, emphasize the importance of “xenia”, or hospitality, and highlight its abundance and importance in daily Greek life. “Xenia” is depicted as a social norm for all Greeks, and refusal to adhere to the unspoken rule will lead to hostility and punishment by both mortals and gods. However, it is slightly dubious to expect all the Greeks to strictly comply with presenting mountains of treasure to any passing stranger without any knowledge if the supplicant would ever return the favor at all. It is not due to an inherent altruistic nature that Greeks generously give gifts but rather due to their fear of insulting, inciting, or provoking the gods that they practice “xenia”.

The Odyssey is a great book with many lessons about life and how to act.The Odyssey includes scenes of loyalty, trust, and wisdom. One of the most important cultural truths contained in the Odyssey involves hospitality. Hospitality involves how your treat someone as a guest, and how a guest should act in someone’s home. In the Odyssey, those who act hospitable, like Penelope towards her rude suitors, are rewarded, whereas those who are rude and inhospitable, such as the suitors, are punished.

The theme of the Odyssey that I’m gonna talk about is Hospitality. In The Odyssey, Hospitality is used many times from when they left Ithaca to when they come back from Troy and other places they had to cross upon. Example of Hospitality is when Ulysses with the Phaeacians, When Telemachus in Sparta, Circe and Circe and Calypso, and the last one when Penelope to the suitors. When Ulysses with the Phaeacians is the example of Hospitality because when they found Ulysses next the sea shore they didn’t know he was the king of Ithaca but they still treated him kindly and gave him food and clothes. They even took him to Ithaca without him even saying a word about him being a king or Ulysses.

I love going to hotels and getting to take home all the little shampoo bottles! Don't you? This is one-way hotels make you feel welcome! This act is called hospitality! Greek religion is a huge part of the Odyssey written by Robert Fitzgerald. In Greek religion, when the king has a visitor he is to feed him food and wine, and give him gifts. Hospitality is a main part of the Greek culture as it is in many.

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,

The final aspect of positive hospitality that is shown in the Odyssey, is by Eumaus, the old swineherd of Odysseus. Eumaus uses his very appropriate upbringing (he was kidnapped royalty) in order to provide help to Odysseys (in disguise as a beggar) all the help and wealth he can afford to share, in his meager setting. Odysseus used

Hospitality and kindness are important characteristics that all humans should have as these two characteristics show one’s compassion and genuine care of others. In Homer's, The Odyssey, Homer defines philoxenos, the love of strangers, as the show of hospitality and kindness towards strangers. Due to this, many characters in The Odyssey participate in philoxenos in fear that one of the strangers that they may encounter will be a god as they constantly want to be in a god's good grace. In the scene with Nausicaa at the river, Homer uses divine intervention, epic speech and juxtaposition to present the Grecian value that philoxenos is considered divine.