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Definition of xenia in the odyssey good and bad
Definition of xenia in the odyssey good and bad
Hospitality in ancient greek culture
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The Odyssey, one of Homer’s Greatest works, presents an ancient Greek society where righteous conducts of hospitality, or “xenia”, are strongly pursued. Various forms of hospitality, generous or callous, depict how civilized the person is. This concept of treating strangers with warmth was taken so seriously because they traveled frequently away from home and needed assistance along their journey to stay alive. Punishments for those who break the unwritten laws of this tradition are to be expected, as well as rewards for those who abide. Homer exaggerates the role of hospitality throughout the epic since it was one of the major customs that the Greeks depended upon to survive.
The news of Odysseus remains absent, but his son Telemachus is determined to find him, dead or alive. He goes to the island of Pylos to obtain information from King Nestor and is greeted with a feast accompanied with wine, which exemplifies generous hospitality. Homer describes the scene; “When they saw the strangers a hail went up, and all that crowd came forward calling out invitations to the feast” (p.36, lines 38-40). Then during his depart the next day, Nestor provides Telemachus with a chariot, a horse, and food to continue his journey. This shows how important it was for the ancient Greeks to treat their guests affectionately. From there on, his journey is given hope when he visits Nestor who gives him insight on the possibility of his father to be alive.
While Telemachus is on a mission to find his father, Odysseus is encountering some of his own obstacles. His crew and him are stranded on the land of the Cyclops. They come upon a cave but its inhabitant soon returns and imprisons Odysseus and the rest of his crew. Then he gorges down two men on the...
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...of ancient Greek society. The act of; providing strangers a meal, a place to sleep, and a welcoming spirit before they continue their journey, are strongly encouraged. The hosts don’t ask for the guests’ identity—to be polite—and treat them with courtesy. For instance, Nestor welcomes Telemachus to his island, and offers him to join a big feast without having the knowledge of where he came from or who he was. The guests are also expected to return the favor of kindness. On the other side of hospitality, the host-to-guest relationship isn’t as pleasant, and the gods strongly forbid the mistreatment of strangers. Going against their wishes will result in misfortunes. For example Cyclops got his eye blinded, and the suitors were deprived of existence. Thus, although the rules of hospitality aren’t written down, there are clear guidelines between generous and hostile.
Hospitality: Greek philoxenia; literally “love of strangers.” Homer might have had such a definition in mind when he introduced the theme of hospitality to his epic poem the Odyssey. A multitude of reasons for the prominent position this theme plays, both in the Odyssey and perhaps in Homer’s own society, are hinted at in the introductory books, often referred to as the Telemachy. Just two of these, namely the hunger for news and the belief in divinity, are illustrated by the words and actions of the hosts Telemakhos and Nestor.
In the Telemakhia, Telemakhos goes on a journey of his own using xenia to come closer to finding his father, Odysseus. During Odysseus’s absence Telemakhos welcomes a stranger (Athena) into his home: “Greetings, Stranger! Welcome to our feast. There will be time to tell your errand later” (I. 156-158). Welcoming Athena into the house was the best favor Telemakhos could give, resulting in blessings later. After staying with King Nestor for a while Telemakhos realizes he must leave and is rewarded for staying with Nestor: “Lord son of Atreus, no, you must not keep me. Not that a year with you would be too long; I never could be homesick here- I find your tales and all you say so marvelous. But time hangs heavy on my shipmates’ hands at holy Pylos, if you make me stay. As for your gift, now, let it be some keeps (IV. 635-640) Telemakhos was greatly welcomed by king Nestor and his palace, working greatly towards Telemakhos’s advantage later: ‘When they saw the strangers/ a hail went up and all that crowd came forward/ calling out invitations to the feast’ (III. 38-40). Telemakhos is rewarded with new crew members and a ship to find Oysseus.
In the Odyssey the people of Ithaca are accustomed to hospitality. In Odysseus’s lengthy journey home he learns to maintain modesty. Odysseus’s family never give up on him throughout his entire 20 year journey, and they kept Ithaca for him when he came back. The Greek values of hospitality, humility, and loyalty are conveyed in The Odyssey.
The suitors freeload on the food and supplies while they try wooing Penelope. Food and feast calls for celebration of life and guests in Greek society. The Greek code of xenia tested the hosts' hospitality, and was sometimes tested when gods came to visit. Hospitality was one of the most sacred bonds in Greek antiquity, forcing hosts to treat any guest with respect, and the guest had an obligation not to harm anyone as long as he or she was in the house. A great example would be of Helen and Menelaus and their food and silver utensils. Another example of food and xenia is when Telemachus meets King Nestor. "once they'd put aside desire for food and drink, / old Nestor the noble charioteer began, at last: / '... probe our guests and find out who they are. / Strangers— friends, who are you?'" (Homer 3.75-79). Nestor invites them to eat and settle down before actually asking who Telemachus is and what he wants. Even when Odysseus is seen alone and broken down, Nausicaa attempts to help him. "So, quick, my girls, / give our newfound friend some food and drink / and bathe the man in the river, / wherever you find shelter from the wind" (Homer 6. 229- 232). Everyone helps anyone who is in need of assistance in their society, including treating their guests with
The Odyssey is a tale that has changed literature and storytelling. In this tale Odysseus is a Soldier from the battle of Troy trying to get home to his island of Ithaca, where he is king. His wife and son must wait ten years while he is trying to make his way home. In Odysseus’s absence wooer’s, or better known as suitors, learn of his absence and travel to Ithaca to win his wife’s hand in marriage. These men come every day feasting on Odysseus’s food and wine, and give his servant’s orders. His son Telemachus, does his best to keep the suitors from ruining his fathers house but he is only a boy, and doesn’t receive the respect of an adult. Telemachus then has a visit from the god Athena, whom Odysseus is friends with, who advises him to travel to find out about his father. In his travels he hears that Odysseus may still be alive. Meanwhile Odysseus goes through a series of adventures and hardships that prove his wisdom. It is interesting in contrast of the Iliad, even though Achilles was much stronger and a better warrior, Odysseus was portrayed as a greater hero due to his wisdom. He uses this wisdom to escape from the Cyclops.
As Odysseus and his crew wander the land and visits Polyphemus’ home, we come to see how the guest can disobey the rules of Xenia.“To start with my men begged me to let them take away some of the cheeses. Then come back, drive the kids and lambs quickly out of the pens down to the good ship, and so set sail across the salt water.” (Homer 116). Through Odysseus’ short narration of his crew's desires, we can realize that they infact did violate the rule, of respecting the host. As they barged into someone's house and started to become a burden to the host, as they exploited the fact that there was a lot of food. By also using a post-colonialist lens, we can see how, the barged into someone’s house, and without permission started to take what was there. Homer, uses this scenario, to help instill in his readers that the guest should abide by the rules of Xenia, regardless of who the host may be. Following Xenia, was truly important during that time, as they feared the gods, and the punishments they could receive. Thus, when Odysseus assertively says: “Good sir, remember your duty to the gods; we are your suppliants, and Zeus is the champion of suppliants and guests. He is the god of guests: guests are sacred to him, and he goes alongside them” (Homer 117). He is trying to distill fear of the gods into the host, as he pleads to the host previously: “We find ourselves here as suppliants at your knees, in the hope that you may give us hospitality, or even give us the kind of gifts that hosts customarily give their guest.” (Homer 117). From this, Homer teaches us the true importance of host Xenia. As guests are sacred to Zeus, thus he also inturn accompanies the guests too. Inducing, more pressure on the host to follow the rules of Xenia. Through another interaction with Polyphemus we can analyse 2 important aspects of Xenia.“ ‘Here,
Telemachus who was an infant when Odysseus left now he has become a man and decides to leave Ithaca in order to find any evidence or knowledge about his father. He is a non experienced warrior that starts this journey in the love he has for his father. Although they never meet, their love is strong and keeps them moving forward. Even though Odysseus is at war he has never stopped thinking about his only son. On other hand Telemachus in a lack of a father figure decides to start his journey and find knowledge about his father whereabouts, hoping that he is still alive. This relationship between these two shows us how love can make us stronger and help us move
Home was a prevalent concept in Ancient Greece. Not only was there a goddess of the hearth and home, Hestia, but hospitality towards others was highly stressed. Home was regarded as a place to escape from chaos in the outside world. Homer and Euripides in The Odyssey and Medea, respectively, use the motif of home to show the difference in an individual’s public manner versus their personal, more natural manner. This difference is caused by the different levels of comfort individuals have in different settings. Specifically, the two works portray the difference through experience of the characters, mistrust developed towards others, and the maintenance of dual identities.
But the Odyssey also shows us many examples of bad hospitality. Later people could sit and share information while discussing. Both good and bad hosting of the guest is portrayed in Homer's book. The Phaeacians portray how to respect the custom of hospitality. The Zeus god of hospitality describes how the Ithaca people believed in religion. The suitors abuse Penelope's reception, and Calypso also shows an example of non-generosity. Therefore, Homer teaches both wrong and good kindness through The Odyssey. Finally, Homer is not shown lots of good examples of good hospitality and bad hospitality but shows as well good hospitality is rewarded in the Odyssey and bad hospitality is
In the poem, Odysseus is trying to get back to his wife and son, Penelope and Telemachus. However, his trip took nearly twenty years as he came into contact with many obstacles on his way. As he travels, the people he encounters are almost always willing to help him. One example of hospitality can be seen through the actions of King Alkinoos, who provided Odysseus with a place to eat and rest. King Alkinoos did this out of pure kindness and did not demand anything from Odysseus except for the story of his long voyage.
Learning the Greek rituals and after practicing them for many years, Odysseus, Odysseus' shipmates, and Telemachus became very reliant Greek tradition, especially that of treating all guests with great hospitality. At many times Odysseus would not have made it back to his wife and kingdom if it was not for the Greek tradition, that he relied on. After being at sea for seventeen days on a raft he had constructed, Odysseus spotted land. Poseidon then brought about a terrible storm, which wrecked his raft. After two days of battling waves that brought him near death, Odysseus was finally helped by a sea nymph onto the shore of Scheria. Once reaching the shore he kissed the earth, crawled under some olive trees, and fell asleep. Later, Princess Nausicca and her young friends went to the shore of Scheria to wash their clothes. Playin...
Xenia, the ancient Greek concept of hospitality, was one of the foremost forces in Homer’s Iliad. The Achaeans respect it above nearly all else, and failure to adhere to its strict customs could lead to the forfeiture of countless souls.
Hospitality in the greek is Xenia which was the guest to host friendship and obligations of the host and guest. The giving of gifts was usually done between guests and hosts. They really strived for a symbiotic give and take relationship in which the host does most of the leg work but a honorable and good guest would give so gift or reward in return. The only time when the host could really reject or throw out a guest was when a guest violated xenia terribly to the point where Zeus would give the order to seek justice for an act of such magnitude. For example when Paris is a guest in the King of Sparta Menelaus’ house as a guest and then steals his beautiful daughter from him and runs away. The theft of a princess is a major offense and would definitely deserve some repercussions it says many times in the Iliad of how the gods disapprove of this act.
Hospitality today is nothing like it was in Ancient Greece. Today, good hospitality is being friendly and respectful to a guest. In Ancient Greece, hospitality was something people had to do, or face the wrath of Zeus. 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. The guest, in turn, would not be a burden in any way. In The Odyssey, most people follow the rules of hospitality, but there are others who do not. The Greek concept of xenia shows the serious priority the Greeks place on the laws of the gods.
middle of paper ... ... In Homer’s Odyssey, both Odysseus and his son Telemachus embark on long, difficult journeys; Odysseus trying to return from Troy to his home in Ithaca, escaping Calypso and the island of Ogygia, and Telemachus from Ithaca to Pylos and Sparta in search of his lost father. While The Odyssey tells of the courage both men demonstrate during their respective travels, their quests are the results of the intentions and desires of gods. Odysseus is trapped in exile on Ogygia by the will of Poseidon, whose anger Odysseus attracts when he blinds the Cyclops Polyphemus, son of Poseidon, and by the love of Calypso, who wishes to make Odysseus her husband.