Examples Of Xenia In The Odyssey

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

Hospitality(Xenia) is clearly shown here because Eurykleia has been taking care of Telemakos since he was a baby. Homer uses this metaphor to show how important hospitality(Xenia) is a sa Greek value because Eurykleia has been gracefully helping telemakos throughout his life. The use of the metaphor in book I of The Odyssey revel hospitality(Xenia), which is significant because Eurykleia loved and cared for telemakos and devoted most of her life to him. To sum up, Eurykleia has shown various amounts of hospitality(Xenia) by caring for Telemakos since he was an

Odysseus ends up in Phaeacia and forms relationships that he probably should not be forming while his wife is back at home waiting for him. After finally escaping from Calypso’s grasp and surviving Poseidon's rage, Odysseus washes up on the phaeacians land. Odysseus goes out to socialize with the girls walking around town, while naked and covered in filth and goes up to Nausicaa. He proceeds to tell her that she is the most beautiful person his eyes have ever landed on and that whenever he looks at her, a sense of wonder strikes him (6.148-177).

In the novel The Odyssey, Odysseus finds himself stranded on an island. He must then persuade Nausicaä to give him entry without jeopardizing himself because he is naked and is trying to get back home. Odysseus persuades Nausicaä to help him get back home. Nausicaä shows hospitality and is friendly towards Odysseus.

Odysseus uses many examples of words, images, and compliments in his attempt to persuade Nausicaa to assist him. He describes her as if she was Zeus’ daughter; she has her looks, and her form and the same stature as Artemis. He also compares her to being as beautiful as a tree. This tree he saw was like nothing he had ever seen before, something he had never seen grow from earth. Lastly he pretty much complains or pity’s himself to Nausicaa about what has happened to him through his travels back home, hoping that Nausicaa would feel bad for him and help him out.

In The Odyssey, xenia is an important trait for any homeowner to have. A host with good Xenia treats his or her guests with great respect. Good Xenia means taking a stranger in and treating the guest like family. Also, a good host questions their guests only after feeding and praising them. An example of a host with good Xenia is King Aquinas of Phaeacia. Both he and the Cyclopes Polyphemus hold Odysseus and his men overnight. They both provide food and shelter for Odysseus. Although they are both hosts, both of them aren’t good hosts. Aquinas showed good Xenia while Polyphemus showed bad Xenia.

In return, guests demonstrate respect to their hosts. Throughout The Odyssey we can see examples where Odysseus needed to learn xenia. For instance, on his way back home from the war, he encountered the Island of The Cicones and said, “I sacked the town and killed the men. We took their wives and shared their riches equally among us” (Homer 9). 40).

Next, Odysseus is offered by Penelope to have his feet washed by his old nurse, Eurycleia, and he turns down the offer. Odysseus replies saying that no woman should have to wash his feet. Penelope acknowledges how wise and hospitable the beggar truly is: “Never has any man so thoughtful--of all the guests in my palace come from foreign parts-- been as welcome as you” (19.397-400). One of the main traits Odysseus is known for is being hospitable, and even becoming angry when others are not showing hospitality. Penelope sees the character of the beggar is unusual for his type, and praises that to him by complimenting him for his thoughtfulness and geniality.

Xenia is the ancient Greek word for hospitality and is a major theme throughout The Odyssey. Xenia was the guest-host relationship in ancient Greece and was basically a set of rules and customs that people followed. Overall, the rules stated that the host and guest should be kind, generous, and polite toward each other. Hospitality was the main reason for Odysseus’ fortunes and hardships. People either let Odysseus into their house, turned him away or even worse, attacked him. In ancient Greece, hospitality was very important. A person's social status was based on how kind they were. Hospitality was a prominent force in these times and was a generally accepted rule of law.

These temptresses who hinder Odysseus are contrasted with the women who help Odysseus in his journey homeward. One example is Nausicaa, the Phaeacian princess. The shipwrecked Odysseus washes up on the Phaeacian shore. He comes across Nausicaa and her maids washing clothes. He beseeches her for help. Nausicaa kindly helps Odysseus by providing him with a bath, clothing, and food. She then advises Odysseus to enter the palace and ask for help from her mother, Queen Arete. Arete also wields much influence. Nausicaa tells Odysseus that if the queen “take[s] [him] to her heart”, then there is “hope” that he will return home (278). Nausicaa and Arete are instrumental in bringing about Odysseus’ homecoming.

The ideal approach of being hospitable towards visitors is first demonstrated in Book VII (7). After Odysseus washes up on Phaeacia and meets Nausicaa, the daughter of King Alcinous, he travels to the king’s palace with the directions she had given him. Upon reaching him, and showing himself as a beggar, King Alcinous treats Odysseus generously: “Hearing that, Alcinous, poised in all his majesty, took the hand of the seasoned, worldly-wise Odysseus, raised him up from the hearth and sat him down in a burnished chair, displacing his own son.” (Fagles 110). After Odysseus is treated with food and cleansed, he decides to tell his tale of hardship– what has brought him to Phaeacia.

Odysseus was sound asleep in the woods only to be awakened after hearing the sound of girls shouting. The girls were kicking around a ball when they woke Odysseus as they were waiting for the river-washed clothes to dry in the sun. Fate was taking place to connect the exhausted traveler with a princess, Nausikaa. The night before, Athena visited Nausikaa in her dreams with intentions to influence her to go to the river to wash herself and her clothes for reason to be able to meet Odysseus. Once Odysseus gathered himself to go see what was around him, he comes out from behind the bushes causing the maids accompanying Nausikaa to all scatter at the sight of him. He is compared to a calm mountain lion that looks to be roughened by his hardships,

Nausicaa comes to the riverbed with her handmaids, to wash clothes and such. Later on, Odysseus wakes up to find Nausicaa and her maids. While the maids run away from him in fear, Nausicaa stands bravely in front of Odysseus. After he is cleaned up, he looks considerably handsome, all to the thanks of the goddess Athena. Nausicaa talks about marriage to a worthy man, Odysseus for example.

As Telemachus tracks Odysseus' trail through stories from his old Comrades- in- arm, Athena arranges for the release of Odysseus from the Island of the beautiful goddess Calypso, whose prisoner and lover he has been for the last seven years. Odysseus sets sail on a makeshift raft, but the sea god Poseidon, whose wrath Odysseus incurred earlier in his adventure by blinding Poseidon's son, the Cyclops Polyphemus, conjures up a storm. With Athena's help Odysseus reaches the Phaeacians. Their princess, Nausicaa, who has a crush on the handsome warrior, opens the palace to the stranger. Odysseus withholds his identity for as long as he can until finally, at the Phaeacians' request, he tells the story of his adventures.

After assisting Telemachus, Athena ventures to the Island where Calypso lives to free Odysseus. Odysseus is then given a boat by Calypso to return to home. On the way home, he lands on a strange place which is unknown to him. Athena, cognizant of Odysseus' arrival, travels to the palace of Alcinous disguised as one of Nausicaa's friends. Athena enters the palace and gives Nausicaa advice to venture to river so she would clean herself up to make her presentable to men. In doing this, Athena has sent Nausicaa to meet up with Odysseus at the river. It was then Odysseus' turn to be disguised.