What Is The Guest-Host Relationship In The Odyssey

Hospitality, nothing strange about that, we all have experienced it at some points in our lives. However, some of us might not know that hospitality has played an important role in many people’s lives over thousands of years. Hospitality changes people’s lives.

The Homeric scene of hospitality described in the encounter of Odysseus and the Cyclops has the same elements of what we see in the other hospitality scenes, however, there is a change in the form and content. As Reece points out,

The guest/host friendship was an important aspect of social custom in the Bronze Age. Discuss its purpose in society and role in The Odyssey. Use at least 3 examples from the text illustrating when either it was being followed or it wasn’t.

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.

Moreover, Odyssey has seen exquisite hospitality. Homers, interpretation of hospitality is very hard to perfect. However, a superb host Aeolus the ruler of Aeolian shows many components of hostipitality. Aeolus was loved by the gods because he made sacrifices to them often. Aeolus treated Odysseus well because he could have been a god in disguise. Homer says, “Their a splendid palace, and Aeolus hosted me one entire month” (10.16-17). Aeolus lives in a Utopia, he hosted Odysseus for a month. Not only that but it states “He gave me a sack, the skin of a full-grown ox, binding inside the

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

One of the most important themes in The Odyssey is the concept of xenia, which is the old Greek word for hospitality. In modern times, hospitality is something we rarely think of, and the first thing that comes to mind is the hotel industry, but in ancient Greece, xenia was not about hotels, or just about etiquette, it was a way of life with many benefits in a world that was still mostly savage. Xenia was more than just being polite to strangers. It was a set of rules and customs that defined the guest-host relationship between two individuals, two groups of people, or an individual and a group. Some basic rules of this relationship were that the guest could not insult the

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,

Throughout the development of humanity, the random group of societies have been historically all-equipped to deal with challenges the state of disorganization is not conducive to advancement of society due to the chaotic nature of existence on planet earth. Humans have to impose will on a chaotic world. One way they can do this is through culturally perceived definitions of hospitality. In the Odyssey, written by Homer, Odysseus experiences various forms of hospitality. Odysseus’s journey is so long is that he is forced to the obligation of accepting the welcoming hospitality of people he meets along his path. This helps Odysseus and Telemachus learn about being away from home by some places being welcoming, and some places being not welcome. Hospitality is a way of life in a wide variety of cultures. The ways people in certain cultures act towards their guest may differ. Great hospitality has been apart of Greek culture for a good amount of time now, as it is seen many times in the epic. Characters open up their living area numerous times in the Odyssey. Main characters Odysseus and his son Telemachus were invited into many homes, where they were given anything they wanted on a silver platter until they had to depart on their journey again.

Xenia, a ancient greek concept of hospitality, was an important aspect in The Odyssey. The main character Odysseus relies on Xenia when he gets back to Ithaca. It seemed wrong to “send any stranger packing-even one arriving in worse shape than you”(Homer 14.64-65). Almost everyone in the past lived by this principle. They would feed them,bath them,house them, and treat them as if they were related. As time shifts on society change as well as people change. People now would never let strangers into their house or anywhere remotely on it. It would seem incongruous if a person let a stranger into their house. It may seem like an odd thing these days It is the complete opposite of what we think today. It would be extremely bad if you didn’t show

Throughout the entire epic poem The Odyssey, we see that our protagonist, Odysseus, struggled with his return home the Trojan War. He encountered many hardships, such as being held captive by goddesses, being stranded on islands and being punished by gods. Over a period of almost 20 years, Odysseus had to stay with numerous different hosts on his journey home just to stay alive. Obviously, there were no hotels back then, so he had to stay with people he didn’t know. This brings up the concept of guest-friendship, which was huge in Greek culture. Being a guest in Greek culture is much different than being a guest today. In Greek culture, hosts were expected to give anonymous guests warm welcomes. The hosts were also expected to give food, water, shelter, and information to their guests as well as a

Homer’s The Odyssey is one of the best, if not the best, historical epic of all time. Filled with action, adventure and romance, the poem has entertained for generations. However, no story (especially one that is over 400 pages long) can pass along without a few forms of “lubrication” to help everything. Xenia is one such “lubricant”.

Nearly every myth has a central theme, whether it be finding honor, reclaiming the thrown, how the earth was created or finding ones’ true purpose. Hospitality was a very important value in some myths. Xenia is the ancient Greek concept of hospitality. The rituals of hospitality created and expressed a relationship between the guest and host both in material benefits as well as non-material ones. Now depending on the area and time of the myth, the laws of hospitality has changed, but overall it remains the same. Hospitality allowed people to be a guest is someone else’s home with no fear of conflict or violence. A well-known myth from Greek

Hospitality was deeply embedded in ancient Greek culture. Hospitality was very important and seen as a code of conduct. The term used to describe the concept of Ancient Greek hospitality was xenia. Xenia is basically the generosity and courtesy shown to guests, strangers, or those far from home. Xenia consists of two rules. The first rule is from host to guest, in which the host must be hospitable to the guest and provide basic needs (food, drink, and a bath). The host also has to hold all questioning until after the guest has stated his/her needs. The second rule is from guest to host, in which the guest has to be courteous to the host and not a burden. In ancient Greek culture, xenia was seen as a religious duty. The people believed

The role of hospitality is seen in many examples throughout the Odyssey. However, it is not always the same in every example that Odysseus encounters. When Odysseus comes across the Cyclops Polyphemus, the hospitality he receives is totally outside the norm of civilization, which is what he is used to. Instead, because of his ego, Odysseus receives a barbaric welcome instead of the hospitable welcome that he is accustomed to.