Theme Of Hospitality In The Odyssey

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.

Hospitality is mentioned all throughout the book. Hospitality is important to the people in that time. Zeus’s law of hospitality is that any stranger that comes to your home, the host must be willing to feed, entertain, and maybe offer them a bath and anything else they might be in need of without question until those things had been given, and also give them a parting gift. “It’s wrong my friend, to send any stranger packing-even one who arrives in worse shape than you. Every stranger and beggar comes from Zeus and whatever scrap they get from the likes of us, they’ll find it welcome.” (Book 14 pg.303 Line 64) This statement shows how important it is that the people follow Zeus’ law of xenia. Along with providing great hospitality the guest has to be respectful as well. Some of the biggest parts in the book that shows hospitality is with the Cyclops, and the goddesses Circe and Calypso, the suitors and the Phaeacians.

Hospitality shaped Greek life. This unspoken code, highly valued in Greek society, established responsibilities for both guests and hosts. Demonstrating generosity and kindness, honorable hosts offered their guests extravagant feasts, luxurious baths, and lavish housing. In response, gracious guests showed courtesy and respect to their hosts by refraining from abusing the hospitality extended towards them. Hospitality reveals the moral character of both hosts and guests in the Homerian epic The Odyssey.

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,

Next, this theme includes Odysseus as he is eagerly fighting to return to his family, however he is unaware of their current predicament. Odysseus was his shipmates were time and time again led astray by the thought of being treated with hospitality. An example of this would be when the landed on the island of the cyclops, Polyphemus. As new arrivals to the island they made themselves comfortable inside a cave, where Polyphemus trapped them and killed two of his men. In the following exert from the book we see Odysseus trying to sympathize with Polyphemus.:“We are Achaians coming from Troy, beaten off our true course by winds from every direction across the great gulf of the open sea, making for home, by the wrong way, on the wrong courses. So we have come. So it has pleased Zeus to arrange it.

Throughout The Odyssey, we are given scenarios in which hospitality, both on the part of the guest and the host, plays a key role in the events that emerge immediately afterward. We the readers soon come to learn that a good or bad act of hospitality can often alter the outcome of events that transpire, in either a good or bad way. When comparing and contrasting different occasions of hospitality throughout The Odyssey, the importance of this theme will be better interpreted and understood. It is important to understand that hospitality in The Odyssey is different than any present definition or custom we know today. In today’s society, hospitality is thought of as, to treat guest in a warm, friendly generous way, to entertain a couple of friends and to host some parties.

In the era of Homer, hospitality is a crucial part of social existence, and all Greeks put an emphasis on hospitality no matter the circumstance. Taking place in the 10 years after the events in the Iliad with the Trojan War, Homer’s the Odyssey displays notable depictions of the themes hospitality and home. In this epic, hospitality and home can be said to be major themes in the sense that it is involved in nearly every situation and ultimately affects the protagonist, Odysseus, by either helping or hindering him throughout the poem, and s. First and foremost, hospitality and home are the reasons why Odysseus suffers a prolonged journey returning home to Ithaca, specifically when he comes across Kalypso, Polyphemos, and Circe. In the years of Odysseus’s absence, his wife, Penelope, abstained from remarrying,

Benjamin Franklin once said, "Fish and visitors smell after three days." This quote is very true in the modern era, when normal hospitality requires the host to provide for the guest’s basic needs and to make sure that they are comfortable. The cultural expectation for a guest is to politely thank the host and to leave in a timely manner. The traditions of hospitality are exaggerated in Homer's epic poem, The Odyssey, which is set in Ancient Greece. This epic poem is about the journey of the returning war hero, Odysseus, from Troy back to his home in Ithaka. In The Odyssey, the guest’s magnified expectation of hospitality, and the host’s vast obligation, is brought out by the actions

Cultural value have changed a lot over time. The way we welcome guests and treat them in our homes is a good example of one of those changed values. In Homer’s famous book, The Odyssey, there is a common theme of hospitality and generosity to travelers passing through. These actions were common in the day due to the lack of transportation and beliefs at the time, but are not as common in our cultures today. Whilst it used to be a key value in a home, time has changed the way we welcome travelers.

When someone goes to one’s house, they are usually offered food and drinks. In Greece, treasured items such as gold and a place to stay was offered. This was a very important value to the Greeks. In the epic poem The Odyssey, Odysseus was offered something many times. Although most think of it as a benefit, the hospitality of the Greeks impacted the plot and changed the course of events of the story by it being shown, and by the lack of it.

There are a lot of different views on Homers’ epic The Odyssey. Some readers do not find any interesting points or themes in the books. The epic could be one of the greatest epic poems of the ancient world. This story is widely read in high schools still to this day. The Odyssey is actually the sequel to the story Illiot. There are many unanswered questions throughout this epic as well. Odysseus is the father of Telemachus, who travels to fight in the Trojan War, and goes through trial and error on his way back to home to Ithaca. Athena talks Telemachus into going on a journey in search of his father so, Odysseus can come home and get rid of the suitors that are destroying their home and resume his marriage with Penelope. Throughout this epic the reader can see that there is a major aspect dealing with the importance of hospitality. The hospitality that society shows today is nothing like how it previously stands out in Ancient Greece or in The Odyssey. Currently, good hospitality is just being nice and friendly to people. In The Odyssey, hospitality is a must and not an option or they would face judgement by Zeus. The hospitality law is that any stranger that enters your land, the host must offer food, entertainment, anything else that this person might need, and also offering the guest a parting gift. Throughout the epic there is a lot of events showing hospitality in general, but the theme of hospitality goes beyond deeper than just the surface that many people may only see. There is a great importance of the positive and negative effects hospitality can have on the plot of the story.

Far removed from our individualistic society today is the ancient Greece portrayed in Homer’s The Odyssey, where hospitality and good will are the main focus of these people. As decreed by Zeus himself, those who wish the favor of the Gods must welcome foreigners and domestic with hospitality. A man was supposed to offer the best of his food, his home, and his knowledge before ever asking for his guest’s name or why he was there. There was a sense that those of high status are the main givers of hospitality, but they were not the only ones commanded to offer hospitality. Homer emphasizes hospitality from everyone during Telemachus’ and Odysseus’ journeys, using a man’s

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.

In Homeric society, hospitality was highly valued by all members of the society. The value of hospitality was shown in The Essential Homer: Selections from the Iliad and the Odyssey by the main character Achilles in his interactions with various other characters in the story. Achilles was welcoming to visitors to his home by offering them refreshments, dinner, and a place to rest. Showing your hospitality to guests like Achilles did in the Iliad demonstrated how hospitality in this time period defined the place of humanity in the cosmos.

Homer’s deliberate inclusion of the gods in every step of Odysseus’ journey reinforces Greek ideas that the gods play a great part in life, which people must be attentive to, and reflects on the import of their wishes. Odysseus has wandered for years, but eventually the need for him to return home grows as the suitors violate the host-guest relationship in his kingdom, a state the gods find extremely displeasing.