The Odyssey

Homer’s great literary classic, The Odyssey, represents and illustrates many emotional and mental values. All of these values can be classified under three different main themes that are constant throughout the epic tale. These themes are: A boy’s struggle to be a man, a king’s struggle to reclaim his kingdom, and a man’s struggle to return home. As one reads this book it will become more and more evident to them that a man’s struggle to get home is the most important theme throughout Homer’s adventure.

However, the suitors did the worst thing a guest could do and, although in vain, plotted to kill Telemakhos as they feared that he would return from his trip to Pylos and Sparta with news of Odysseus. This is perhaps the biggest violation of Xenia that a guest can possibly commit and is punishable by death. In addition to overstaying their welcome and basically taking over the palace as their own, they also treated other guests of the palace poorly despite being guests themselves. In Book XX, Odysseus returned to his palace disguised as a stranger when the suitors were enjoying one of their banquets. Odysseus went around collecting scraps from the suitors so that he would learn to distinguish the good from the bad among them. However, Odysseus' inspection was not appreciated by Antinoos, and instead of giving him food as the others had done, he threw a stool at Odysseus, and struck him on the back (Greek Mythology Link). Without knowing it, the suitors, through Antinoos’ actions, had attacked their host which was another crime punishable by death.

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

Trade between city-states increased suspicions of the outsider. There were two main views of the stranger. "In the primitive times, the poet seems to be suggesting, man lived in a state of permanent struggle and war to the death against the outsider. Then the gods intervened, and through their precepts, their themis, a new ideal was set before man, and especially before a king, an obligation of hospitality: `all strangers and beggars are from Zeus'." One of Zeus' aspects was that of the god of hospitality, Zeus Xenios. The Guest-Friend relationship provided the traveling stranger with protection, kinsmen, refuge and store-house.

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.

Xenia is an obligatory, socially- regulated hospitality shown to suppliants and strangers by god-fearing hosts. This notion can be broken into two aspects: conduct and food and libations. When welcomed in to a residence, hosts are expected to treat a guest respectfully and amicably- this then transitions to the food and libations portion of xenia. This facet revolves less on entertainment, but rather is symbolic of a host opening their home as a place for a suppliant to rest and find asylum from the woes of travel. It is the recipient’s responsibility to treat the host with respect, as they are visitors. I assert that xenia has a direct effect on a relationship and its ensuing trajectory because respect is the foundation of xenia; these effects can be seen throughout The Iliad and The Odyssey, particularly in the interactions of

Hospitality is the idea that no one is unwelcome in your home; everyone is treated like an honored guest. In the Iliad, written by Homer, this practice is extremely important in the culture present, as it a reoccurring idea throughout the books. The characters in the Iliad are split between the Greeks and the Trojans, excluding the gods, all with their own separate interpersonal conflicts, all of which are greatly affected by hospitality. Hospitality in The Iliad is an important theme, whose importance is shown through the situations it shifts along with its affects on character development, that is either respected or ignored, both with dramatically different results.

Xenia is the ancient Greek concept of hospitality, the generosity shown to those who are far from home. Xenia is an important theme in the Odyssey – it is shown in the numerous characters, whether royal or monstrous, that Telemachus and Odysseus encounter, and could be shown as willingly given and wanted hospitality, unwanted/overwhelming, or unwillingly given; these encounters can also show lack of hospitality. This essay will discuss what xenia was to the ancient Greeks, and how this virtue was portrayed in the Odyssey.

The Odyssey, one of the most well known epic stories Introduces Odysseus, the King of Ithaca. This story demonstrates Odysseus’s physical and intellectual strength. Striving to return home after 20 years of his treacherous journey, he uses strength, skill, and superior ability to overcome his troubles. Although he faced numerous obstacles and fought many battles, he made it appoint to get home to his kingdom through his physical ability, intellectual insight, and overcoming his epic flaw.

When Odysseus is introduced to the malicious Cyclops, Odysseus quickly learns Cyclops negative outlook toward strangers. While Odysseus pleads for the Cyclops acceptance by stating "we're at your knees in hopes of a warm welcome, even a guest-gift, the sort that hosts give strangers", The Cyclops ruthlessly responded after Odysseus claimed his identity as a nobody, "Nobody? I'll eat Nobody last of all his friends- I'll eat the others first! That's my gift to you!" (Homer 219-220, 223). The Cyclops appears to have no difficulty in expressing negative hospitality while he states, "we Cyclops never blink at Zeus and Zeus's shield of storm and thunder, or any other blessed God- we've got more force by far" (Homer 220). Although, Odysseus experienced unpleasant hospitality within his journey, he was also lucky to find townspeople and their kings that accepted strangers with a positive outlook.

Ten years after the fall of Troy, the victorious Greek hero Odysseus has still not returned to his native land Ithaca. A band of rowdy suitors, believing Odysseus to be dead, has overrun his palace, courting his faithful—though weakening—wife Penelope, and going through his stock for food. With permission from Zeus, the goddess Athena, Odysseus' greatest immortal ally, appears in disguise and urges Odysseus' son Telemachus to seek news of his father at Pylos and Sparta. However, the suitors, led by Antinous, plan to ambush him upon return.

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.

The most common situation or scene from the ancient Greek literature often appears to be the scenes in which the characters are in foreign lands, lost, or just plain weary. This results in the need for hospitality to be shown to the travelers. Hospitality was shown to wandering strangers and wayfarers for several reasons. The most obvious of these, was that the host may himself, one day, be in trouble

The Odyssey is a celebrated epic filled with many different themes, motifs, styles, and characters that could be examined in vast detail, but the theme of hospitality is a reoccurring one throughout the entire narrative. Homer writes about examples of both great hospitality and very inhospitable characters in his epic poem. Hospitality in The Odyssey creates definition of how individuals are either punished or rewarded by the gods.

Hospitality is a Host-Guest relationship or a social expression in public arenas, individuals display both their connectedness to the society and display their culture and