Showing hospitality is a way to commit oneself to the care of another while communicating a sympathetic concern for their wellbeing. In Homer’s, The Odyssey, King Alcinous shows unwavering willingness to help Odysseus by demonstrating compassion, unselfishness, and generosity. Upon arriving on the shore of Scheria, Odysseus is helped by Nausicaa, King Alcinous’ daughter. She offers guidance to her father’s house and advises him to direct a plea at Queen Arete, a wise queen who will know how to lead him home. Once Odysseus reaches the palace and sees the queen, he immediately wraps himself around her knees and pleads for help. Odysseus then falls to the ground as Echneneus, the old reverend, notions King Alcinous to show some hospitality to the stranger. …show more content…
“Alcinous, poised in all 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” (7.199-202).
King Alcinous is shown giving up his son’s seat for an unknown stranger, thus executing the laws of Xenia. This simple act of kindness tells readers that a guest-host relationship surpasses the importance of a father-son relationship in Ancient Greece. Readers also notice the syntactic contrast between the status of the guest, Odysseus, and the host, Alcinous. Homer depicts the king “poised in all majesty” helping one who is “seasoned”. This diction used to describe these individuals helps to provide readers with a deeper understanding of hospitality as an unconditional system to aid a guest. Despite King Alcinous’ dignity of manner, he unselfishly goes out his way to help battle-weary Odysseus. The king’s actions, to some extent, increase the status of Odysseus in line 201, as Alcinous raises him from the floor and places him on a polished chair. He gives Odysseus a sense of self-assurance and worthiness to make him feel even more welcomed in his house than
before. In addition to his initial display of Xenia, King Alcinous also encourages the Phaeacian youth to prepare a ship for Odysseus’ voyage home. He orders a crew of young sailors to help Odysseus reach Ithaca. In order to provide Odysseus with a formal hero’s welcome, King Alcinous also prepares a feast and games. This event further displays the king’s generosity assuring Odysseus that he will go home with much to tell about the Phaeacians’ kindness and compassion towards him. In Homer’s, The Odyssey, King Alcinous’ display of hospitality gives readers insight into the Ancient Greek society as well as show the importance and impact of selflessness in this epic poem.
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.
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.
The Greeks have been known for their hospitality and politeness, especially when treating guests- whether strangers or not. This is demonstrated near the beginning of the Odyssey when Telemachus went to Pylos to visit Nestor. Nestor, not knowing who he was taking into his home as guests, treated them with great honor and respect. "Now is the time," he said, "for a few questions, now that our young guests have enjoyed their dinner. Who are you, strangers? Where are you sailing from, and where to, down the highways of sea water (p 299)?" If ever Greeks were to serve themselves before their guests or even a little better than them, then they were breaking the most basic of all Greek customs, for this tradition of hospitality was passed down from generation to generation, and breaking it would bring embarrassment and dishonor upon the home.
Upon his return home after twenty years, Odysseus slaughters all the wooers of his wife, Penelope with the help of his son, Telemachus despite the pleas of mercy from some of them. He even murders all the servants and even the priest. I believe that the killings of many of the wooers, servants and priest were severe and brutal. While the killings of some of the wooers were justified, the slaughter of the other wooers, servants and priest were not justified in my mind. Odysseus could have definitely punished them in a less harsh manner.
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.
“Our life’s journey of self-discovery is not a straight-line rise from one level of consciousness to another. Instead, it is a series of steep climbs, and flat plateaus, then further climbs. Even though we all approach the journey from different directions, certain of the journey’s characteristics are common for all of us.” Author Stuart Wilde’s impression of journeys and their shared commonalities supports the claim that all journeys have a motive and an outcome. In the epic poem, The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus sets off to defeat Troy, leaving his wife and child behind. After accomplishing his goal, Odysseus faces many problems while trying to return him and his crew back home to Ithaca. Similar to Odysseus’s physical journey, the goal in
Hospitality in the Iliad gives us an insight in ancient greece and was a major characteristic of their culture. In the Iliad there are many instances of the applications of hospitality in the lives of the people back then. We use the Iliad as a tool to look into their culture because this would have been passed down orally for generations as some of the only literature they had. SO their worldviews and values would be apparent in these precious tales.
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.
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.
As the cold hard sea churns, Odysseus and his men face gods and goddess eager to just get home alive at the best. In the book The Odyssey, by Homer, Odysseus, the main character, adventures the Mediterranean sea taking on numerous battles and facing gods that are inhuman. I’ll show how Odysseus and I are similar in two ways: self-restraint and determination.
Stressed greatly in ancient Greek culture, hospitality is evident throughout Homer’s writing, which reflects and expresses many different value systems within it. For example, when in the cave of the Cyclops, Polyphemus, Odysseus confronts him by saying, “we therefore humbly pray to show us some hospitality and otherwise make us such presents as visitors may reasonably expect” (92). To the Greeks, hospitality was very important, to the point that it was an expectation and not just a quality as it is in today’s culture. If you feared Zeus and the gods, you were to show hospitality. In opposition to this, Odysseus’ request for hospitality is followed by the Cyclops stating, “you are a fool…we Cyclopes do not care about Zeus or any of your blessed gods for we are ever so much stronger than they” (92/93). In accordance to this, the greatest reason for one to show hospitality was because they believe...
In book 19 of the epic poem The Odyssey, by Homer, his specific use of language and epic conventions help develop the plot and establish the characters. In the passage, Odysseus has entered his home for the first time since his return when he left almost twenty years ago. Disguised as a beggar, Odysseus tells his own story (slightly changed) to his wife, Penelope, but never reveals his true identity. After Penelope is deeply moved by the knowledge that her husband is still alive, she offers the stranger a place to sleep and new clothing. Odysseus kindly declines and instead requests a bath to soothe himself. Odysseus asks that his old maid, Eurycleia, wash him because all of the other maids are loyal to the suitors so they hate and abuse him.
In ancient Greece, hospitality was essential to the maintaining of some form of order. In a time where there was no central government and no central form of protection such as police forces, travelers relied on the good of others during their ventures. Without hospitality, traveling would have been far too dangerous in the ancient world. Shipwrecks happened often, storms could occur, pirates filled up power vacummus on the sea. Hospitality also intermingled with long-standing concepts of honor. Lavishing gifts onto visitors allowed the family name to be spread – individuals receiving guest gifts would spread the name of the gift-giver to those who came to their own homes. Nestor was a shining example of an excellent host. Odysseus’s son, Telemachus, visited Pylos to inquire about his missing father. Nestor sent his children to obtain a cow, another to cover its horns in hold, and sends another son to tell the women to prepare a large, glorious feast for their visitor. He refused to allow Telemachus to sleep on the ship, but rather offers him blankets, rugs, and a warm place to sleep within the palace. In the morning, he provides Telemachus transportation and his son as a guide to Sparta. Telemachus, though he refuses to return to Nestor’s home after they depart in fear that Nestor would keep him for days in Pylos, praises him for his
In conclusion in the Odyssey the Greeks were very kind hosts. They save the best food and the best entertainment for their guests, and the bests gifts were offered to their guests. They wanted to please their guests and be the best host that they could be to open a good relationship with their guests. But as we seen in Trimalchio as a freedman Roman he was not a good host. As a host his intention was to show off his immersive wealth and to show his guest ignorance. From his décor to the dining room and the food he served, and his vulgarity he was showing off.