Hospitality In Homer's The Odyssey

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Hospitality is making someone welcome in your home. Unfortunately, today hospitality is a dying courtesy. People have grown away from our old customs and common courtesies and have adopted the newer fast paced solipsist way of life. Fewer regular social norms that have been used for thousands of years are being passed onto the new generations. People are rude and lack an overall respect for other people. With this new movement, hospitality is dying. In The Odyssey by Homer, the theme of hospitality is regularly brought up. It is a common courtesy of the time period. It is expected by all who enter someone else's home no matter how poor or rich one is. Throughout The Odyssey, Homer conveys to the reader that all guests, no matter what their circumstances, should be treated well when in someone else's care. …show more content…

He escaped the island of Ogygia on a raft and then he was thrown into the sea by Poseidon, and he washed up on an island belonging to the Phaeacians. The Phaeacians gave Odysseus new clothing to replace his ripped clothing, fed him, and allowed him to bathe. Then they said, “we will show you the way to town” (p76), and they brought him to the palace of the king and queen. The king and queen extended their hospitality to him despite his appearance and gave him food, clothing, a place to rest, and even a boat to get home on. When Odysseus returns home in disguise, he visits a servant who runs a farm. This servant, although poor, offers Odysseus what he can and makes him feel welcome in his home. Homer shows that all guests should be treated well and receive the hospitality of those whose care they are in no matter their

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