The Odyssey By Homer 's Odyssey Essay

The Odyssey was an extremely popular story that is told around the world. The Odyssey shows many of the traits that the Greeks would have valued. In The Odyssey, the hero Odysseus is coming home from the hard fought Trojan War. On his journey back, he goes through many difficult quests that delays his return by 10 years. Once getting home, he is faced with even more challenges that he has to overcome. During his many adventures, many of the Greek’s valued traits are shown. The Odyssey reflects the Greek values of loyalty, obedience, and hospitality; those who don’t follow it are punished.

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 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 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

The author’s tone is excited yet maintains a calmness, like someone in modern times might talk about something expensive that they bought. At points the author speaks with reverence of the palaces. The use of words like “feasted” and “echoing” helps in demonstrating the enormity of what they do for things that may seem like every day encounters, such as having a visitor over. This idea helps to demonstrate that the Greeks valued luxury and leisure so they could reap the rewards from the work that they had done.

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 Pylos, hospitality is clearly shown when the natives see Telemakhos and Mentor, as “a hail went up, and all that crowd came forward/ calling out invitations to the feast” (36). Likewise, in Sparta, King Menelaos shows unhesitating hospitality to welcome Telemakhos at the wedding feast, even calling Eteoneus an “idiot” for suggesting otherwise (54). On the other hand, suitors who lack proper hospitality plague Ithaka. They appeared at Odysseus’ manor uninvited, taking everything when nothing is offered. In Telemakhos’ own words, “[the suitors] squander everything” (21). The people of Pylos and Sparta obey the rules of hospitality, while the people on Ithaka disregard

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.

The ancient Greek concept of hospitality, Xenia, reoccurs throughout Homer’s The Odyssey. Routinely, hosts offer guests a bath with luxurious oils, a large banquet with a feast, and extravagant gifts. Although these practices were common in Ancient Greece, Athena’s role as Odysseus’ guardian poses important questions about how much of an effect her enchantments play in Odysseus’ successful journey home.

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.

Hospitality in the Odyssey may seem philanthropic at first but in actuality,

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,

Since you were a toddler, you’ve probably heard the saying, “Treat others how you want to be treated.” This idea, although taken much more seriously, was heavily embedded in the culture of the Greek and thus has had an appearance throughout the book The Odyssey. The Odyssey was originally written by Homer, an ancient Greek, and has been translated by many different people. The story describes the struggle of Odysseus trying to return home after participating in the Trojan War. This tedious journey lasted years, meanwhile, Odysseus’ son, Telemahkos, and wife, Penelope, hold off suitors who are trying to woe Penelope into marriage. Since the story takes place in ancient Greek, the idea of hospitality constantly appears throughout The Odyssey, as it was believed that by treating all strangers you meet with kindness to avoid the chance of mistreating a God in disguise. Because of this constant appearance in the story, the idea that you should be hospitable, or kind, to others you meet is the most important theme conveyed in The Odyssey.

Throughout The Odyssey, Odysseus is rarely focused on fulfilling this need because the Greeks value hospitality. As he is about to be sent away from Calypso’s island, Calypso says, “I will provide you with bread, water, red wine, as much as you like, you need not starve” (Homer 64). And later, the “two lay down in the corner of the lofty cave, and enjoyed their love together” (66). Together, these instances set a precedent for the rest of his journey. Odysseus is always offered food and shelter when he arrives at a Greek household. At one point, when he is weak and tired, “Athena shed sleep upon his eyes… that he might quickly rest from his weariness” (72). Greek hospitality, and a loose nymph, helps to fulfill Odysseus’ needs and enable him to focus on the other instinctoid needs.

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