Importance Of Guest Friendship In The Odyssey

The concept of guest friendship is an essential tool that promises safety in everyday ancient Greek life and the significance it carries is reflected in Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. It is enforced not only by the mortals in traditional domestic settings, but also on the battlefield and by the gods themselves. The warriors in the Iliad and the Odyssey respect xenia more than they desire kleos. It is not merely the mortals who respect xenia and the implications it creates, but the Gods provide and honor the sanctity of guest courtesy in Greek culture as well. Zeus, ruler of the gods, is often known as Zeus Xenia, or the god of travelers. He protects Greek travelers and the mortals respect xenia in fear of Zeus’ wrath and not only to adhere

In the encounter between Diomedes and Glaukos guest friendship is evoked, however this is typically a situation that occurs in a domestic setting where a traveler is welcomed into a home and honored as a guest. A battlefield is the antitheses to a home as a warriors life and death are in constant threat on a battlefield. However the bonds of guest friendship endure after the guest has left the house and xenia between families in passed down. The same protection and gurantee of safety at the hands of the guest-host is provided during war it is in times of peace. The bond that is initiated by the guest friendship is so strong that is overrides each warrior’s individual alliance to his army. Rather the alliance to each other as guest friends becomes more crucial. This reveals the power of guest friendship in ancient Greece as it is honored is all times and locations and remains a lasting force through

Diomedes suggests he and and Glaukos exchange armor as a token of their guest friendship, however this suggestion benefits him and hinders Glaukos. Diomedes is shedding his bronze armor in favor of Glaukos’ gold armor, which is is valued ten times greater than armor made of bronze. (Iliad VI 236). This is not merely a gesture of good-will as the gods have to obstruct Glaukos’ better judgement in order for him to agree. Negative implications regarding xenia are revealed here as it it is revealed that while xenia is a dual transactions, the trades do not have to be equivalent. Although Diomdes does not fight Glaukos, he is utilizing xenia as a strategy to give himself an advantage over his opponent warrior. Athene also employs xenia as a deceptive tool. Similar to Diomedes changing his armor, she is changing her appearance and emplying a rouse in order to gain trust with Telemachos. She takes the form of Mentes, a guest friend of Telemachos’ father Odysseus. As a mortal Athene is able to gain the confidence of Telemachos, something she could not in her goddess form. Once more xenia is shown to be more powerful than the god’s, and a device the god’s themselves use when attempting to persuade mortals. While xenia is a sacred tradition that ensures safety and is based on