OdysseusHospitality, And Hospitality In Homer's The Odyssey

Odysseus crashes into a random island with strangers and like a good host they take care of him. Nausicaa finds Odysseus by shore naked. She doesn't know the man, hears his story and offers to take care of him. For example, it says “But here’s an unlucky wanderer strayed our way and we must tend him well. Every stranger

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

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.

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 Cyclops shows bad hospitality. He comes home to Odysseus and his men. Instead of being hospitable, he starts eating his men. When Odysseus asks the Cyclops for hospitality, the Cyclops replies “We Cyclops never blink at Zeus and Zeus’ shield of storm and thunder, or any other blessed god- we’ve got more force by far.”(Book 9, pg 220, Line 309). Odysseus didn’t act very hospitable. He asked and seemed demanding toward the Cyclops. When you are a guest you’re supposed to allow your host to extend hospitality not ask or demand. Although the Cyclops was not

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

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

            Odysseus was a man of honor, a man who had fought in a war and won.  For such a courageous man to return home to find it full, idly standing by would not be considered virtuous.  In order to prove that his status of King remained a strong title, Odysseus had to purge his home of rogues, and fancy women who had dishonored his lady.  Such was acceptable at his time, and therefore considered common.  Odysseus’s sense of honor was vital in his role as an adventurer and a monarch of Ithaka. 

In the book of the Odyssey one will find that Odysseus was a Greek hero, but as one will find that he was known for how he tricked people all over the land. Upon his arrival to The Land of The Cyclops Odysseus discovered that they were not human and did not follow the required Geek Culture of Hospitality. Odysseus was demanding hospitality, but as one who should have been following Greek Culture a guest of another person’s home should not be

In Homer’s The Odyssey, hospitality is presented as a pretense for a host to garner information or a story from their guest. A good host is introduced as one who seemingly selflessly offers their home, food, and ear to the guest, asking for nothing tangible in return. However, guests are expected to respond to such a hospitable reception by being civilized, not over extending their welcome, and supplying their host with their due fare: information. Throughout The Odyssey, and specifically in Book 1: Athena Inspires the Prince, these qualities of an amicable hospitable exchange, the consequences if it does not go smoothly, and the façade of hospitality as a ruse to acquire information become apparent.

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,

On a myriad of occasions, in the face of a tragedy, the protagonist is salvaged by an eminent opportunity for hope. In the instance of Odysseus, this opportunity comes in the manifestation of the Phaeacians. When arriving at this foreign land in book 6, Nausicaa and the king cordially welcome Odysseus with open minds and arms, evidently when Nausicaa states “‘This man is an unfortunate wanderer who has strayed here, and we must look after him… give him food and drink, girls, and bathe him in the river where there’s shelter from the wind’” (6.203-208). The royals are oblivious to Odysseus’s regal identity, yet they treat him as an equal. When departing, the Phaeacian noble families charitably endow him with various riches and essentials; this ensures a safe passage to his fatherland. This is also conspicuous when Telemachus, Odysseus’ son, is also treated with fine hospitality when visiting Menelaus. His initial visit to Sparta was to learn of his father’s desperate whereabouts; he spent weeks under ultimate generosity from Menelaus and others. This theme of kindness proves constant in The Long Walk as well; Slav encounters multitudes of individuals who offer hospitality through his excruciating journey. One of the first large groups of men, and last to speak English, that Slav’s group met was a small caravan. The leader of the group supplies food and other necessities for Slav’s crew, as well as

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.

Odysseus caused his own journey home to become a jagged trip because of his actions, he chose to make on his journey. In The Odyssey, by Homer, an epic, Odysseus’s lack of respect, overwhelming amount of hubris, and bravery demonstrated that the way a person acts will eventually be mirrored back by others. Odysseus was on his way back home to Ithaca after the Trojan War that he won, but runs into some inconvenience on the way home. Odysseus’s actions throughout the epic indicates what could happen in a real life situation where other peers could mirror the way that person acts toward them. In the Odyssey, Odysseus shows these characteristics, which guide his journey back home to Ithaca.