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Three examples of greek hospitality in "the odyssey.
Various relationships between gods and humans in mythology
Three examples of greek hospitality in "the odyssey.
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The Odyssey Essay
Meme Zarzyski
Greek Hospitality is represented multiple times in The Odyssey. In The Odyssey there is a law that men should show hospitality to any guests, but sometimes they do not. A few times they do show hospitality is when Odysseus goes to Alkinoos’ castle, when he goes to the home of Eumaeus, a trusty swineherd, and one time he does not see hospitality, is when he finds himself in the home of the cyclopes Polyphemus.
Odysseus gets many forms of hospitality in Phaeacia. When Odysseus meets princess Nausikaa, she offers to bring him back to her kingdom and have her father help him. She takes him back to the kingdom and tells him to wait until he goes to the castle. Then Athena, disguised as a child, leads him, in a
cloud of fog, to the castle. He goes in and begs for mercy and hospitality and the King “Alkinoos, calm in power, heard him out, then took the great adventurer by the hand and led him from the fire. Nearest his throne the son whom he loved best, Laodamas, had long held place; now the king bade him rise and gave his shining chair to Lord Odysseus.” Then, “A serving maid poured water for his hands from a gold pitcher into a silver bowl, and spread a polished table at his side; the mistress of provisions came with bread and other victuals, generous with her store. So Lord Odysseus drank, and tasted supper.” The outcome later is that Odysseus tells the Phaeacians about his travels and we learn about many things that happened to him. This is very relevant to the story because it is where we first learn about the things that happened to Odysseus on his voyage home. A second time where Odysseus gets hospitality is when he finally returns to Ithaca. When he returns he is disguised as a beggar and goes, for protection, to Eumaeus’ home. Eumaeus is a very old and trusty swineherd. It says “Odysseus is simply but politely entertained in the swineherd’s hut.” Which shows he is shown great hospitality. The outcome is that in the hut he meets Telemachus for the first time since he left for Troy. This is very important to the story because Odysseus finally returns home and sees his son. This also leads to Odysseus taking back his castle from the suitors, which is very relevant. A time where Odysseus is not shown hospitality is when he arrives on the cyclopes’ island and enters Polyphemus’ cave home. When Polyphemus returns to his cave home he sees the men there and asks why they are in his home. Odysseus says who they are and that “It was our luck to come here; here we stand, beholden for your help, or any gifts you give- as custom is to honor strangers.” The cyclopes responds unhappily and refuses to show hospitality and eats the men and treats them terribly. The outcome of this however, is that Odysseus tricks Polyphemus and once again shows his ideas and wit. This very relevant to the story because Polyphemus talks to his father Poseidon and curses Odysseus and makes it very hard for him to get home. In conclusion, it is known that men should show hospitality to their guests but, that does not always happen. Such as in these examples where Alkinoos shows hospitality, Eumaeus does too, but Polyphemus does not. All these examples are very relevant to the story, because if they were or were not shown hospitality instead of what happened, the story would be different.
Humbly, he is “on the ground, in the ashes by the fire”(VII,190). He does not intrude into to their home and forcibly take gifts as he did on the Cyclops island. He accepts the care given to him from the Phaeacians and does not ask for more than he is given. Odysseus takes accountability of his actions when King Alcinous blames his daughter for bringing stranger into their home, Odysseus tells King Alcinous to not take “fault with a flawless daughter now, not for my sake, please”(VII,342-343). He is grateful for her help in giving him hospitality. After King Alcinous assures Odysseus he will get home, Odysseus prays,“May the king fulfill his promise one and all! Then his fame would ring through the fertile earth and never die”(VII,380-382). He is appreciative of the help so Odysseus calls to Zeus for good things for Alcinous. Not thinking of himself and wishing positive impacts on others is a sign of maturity.
Odysseus tries to gain the pity of Nausicaa by suggesting that he thinks she resembles a goddess and says that her ‘beauty, grace and stature’ remind him of Artemis, he does this to gain Nausicaa’s trust by making her think he genuinely admires her and by mentioning Artemis specifically he shows that he is familiar with the gods therefore making her more likely to listen to him as being close the gods was a heroic trait. Odysseus also states that the person who gets to marry Nausicaa is ‘most blessed’ which implies that Odysseus himself wants to marry Nausicaa, which is a possibility if Nausicaa helps Odysseus get to her father’s castle which she will do if she wants to marry him, which in turn will give Odysseus an opportunity to return to
“I often gave to vagabonds, whoever they might be, who came in need.” (Homer, 351) Hospitality was evident in Homer’s time period and eventually was seen as an institution in the Greek culture. A guest-host relationship, known as Xenia, takes place throughout The Odyssey whether it’s to gain relationships or to avoid punishments from the gods. It is a major theme and is apparent in every book of The Odyssey. Hospitable characters who use xenia are what keep this novel going. Xenia affects the plot in many ways and influences characters actions and choices throughout the novel.
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.
“What goes around comes around”,this great saying means that kindness is key. In the Odyssey by Homer, one important theme states how hospitality and kindness are always the best policy. Temptations and Obstacles represents a glimpse of allegory in life. Friendship is also a great thing in life because it's about support through tough and good times. Always feel generous with your kindness and support like Odysseus did on his journey.
...o all guests saved Odysseus and helped him return home to his wife, son, and kingdom. Even though people from many different kingdoms and islands took Odysseus in their home and showed him great kindness on his return home, the individual who helped him most was the goddess Athena. In many occasions Athena assisted Odysseus. One such example is when Odysseus was fighting of the suitors and they threw spears at him. "Re-forming, the suitors threw again with all their strength, but Athena turned their shots, or all but two (p 566)." Another instance which Athena aided Odysseus was when she disguised him as a beggar on his arrival to his homeland. "Would even you have guessed that I am Pallas Athena, daughter of Zeus, I that am always with you in times of trial, a shield to you in battle (p 444)." "Your goddess-guardian to the end in all your trials (p 539)."
Altogether, hospitality was an important theme for Odysseus, during his adventure back to Ithica. Hospitality also played an important role for Telemachus, and the search for information about the whereabouts of his father. Without this tradition of Greek hospitality, the sequence of events in The Odyssey could have changed drastically. Not only was this Greek custom of hospitality important in The Odyssey, it was also important to Greek citizens. Just the simple tradition of hospitality, whether positive or negative, can explain much about Greek citizens, and how they treat each other.
Hospitality In The Odyssey by Homer, hospitality plays a very important role. There are certain rules of hospitality needed, such as inviting a stranger into your home, not asking them their name before they have dined at your table, and sometimes even gift offerings. If these rules of hospitality are not carried out, the consequences are very severe. Hospitality is to be given to all by all. Being a good host is very important in The Odyssey, even to the gods. It is a sign of respect for all no matter where they are from or how poor they appear to be. This means that as soon as you see a stranger, you invite them into your home to sit at your table just as king Nestor did. "As soon as they saw the strangers, all came crowding down, waving them on in welcome, urging them to
The Role of Phaeacia in the Odyssey The episode with Phaeacia begins where Odysseus has been away from his home for twenty years, and is longing to return to Ithaca and Penelope. This book is very important and involves certain tests for Odysseus to come across. At the beginning of this book, we are told that the princess, Nausicaa, is described as “tall and beautiful as a goddess.” Alcinous as good as offers Odysseus his daughter for marriage to him by saying he would be lucky to have Odysseus n his family. This is a test for Odysseus because he has to decide whether to stay here on this magical island, but he refuses to be tempted, and still chooses to try and return to Ithaca.
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.
The Greek value of hospitality is exhibited in The Odyssey by Odysseus and Penelope. Odysseus and his hungry men entered an unfamiliar cave, which was home to the Cyclops. Once the Cyclops saw the men he asked why they are there, and in Odysseus's explanation he mentions “It was our luck to come here; here we stand beholden for your help, or any gifts you give-as custom is it to honor strangers” (line 194). Odysseus is tried to convince the cyclops to let him and his men live by using the Greek value of hospitality. He wants the Cyclops to view him as a guest, not food. To Odysseus it was second nature to help out a guest or person in need. While Penelope was speaking to the suitors she noted “Here is a poor man come, a wanderer, driven by want to beg his bread, and everyone in hall gave bits, to cram his bag” (line 1116). She shamed Antinous for not helping the man, because in Ithaca its is accustomed to provide the hungry and poor with food. The fact that Antinous “threw a stool” at Odysseus, and “banged his shoulder” appalled Penelope. The thought of doing such a thing was unheard of to Penelope since hospitality is a part of her way of life along with all other Greeks. The people of Ithaca from The Odyssey a...
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.
In most cultures, guests are generally treated with respect from their hosts. There are customs that both the guest and host must follow. These customs fall under the category of house etiquette. We can see one such example of the house etiquette of Ancient Greek culture in Book 1 of Homer’s Odyssey, when Athena visits Odysseus’s palace and is greeted by his son, Telemakhos. Athena enters the room carrying her spear on her left hand and Telemakhos takes it to put on a rack, yet we are not told why Athena carries her spear on her left hand or why Telemakhos has to take it away. This is similar to how most people view rules of etiquette. They don’t know why they follow these rules, but they do so because that is what the rest of society tells them to do. But what is the purpose of etiquette and why do
Far removed from our individualistic society today is the ancient Greece portrayed in The Odyssey, by Homer, where hospitality and good will are the way of things. As decreed by Zeus himself, those who wish the favor of the Gods must welcome foreign 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 is a sense that those of high status are the main givers of hospitality, but they are not the only ones commanded to offer hospitality. Homer emphasizes hospitality from everyone during Telemachus’ and Odysseus’ journeys, using a man’s xenos, host/guest relationships, with his guest to infer his integrity and character. If a man isn’t pure, then he doesn’t show hospitality and Homer makes sure that man is put in his proper place through the vengeance of those he has wronged.
Whatever the reason for hospitality, be it a socially acceptable norm due to the circumstances of the times, or for the sake of protection against gods or invaders, hospitality plays a very important role in the two stories The Odyssey and Tristan and Isolde. It portrays the vital aspect in ancient Greek culture, as well as the importance of random acts of kindness.