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Odyssey: Xenia
“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.
The story is based around Odysseus’s journey around an unknown world. He develops the most guest-host relationships in the story based on the fact that on many occasions he must ask strangers for provisions in order for his journey to continue. “A grave housekeeper brought in the bread and served it to him adding many good things to it, generous with her provisions.”(Homer, Book 7) These provisions were needed in order for his journey home to continue. The housekeeper presented it in the act...
In the book The Odyssey, xenia is considered sacred. If one was to show xenia in a negative way they would later be punished for it and if someone was to show xenia in a positive way they would be rewarded for it. Yet if xenia was both good and bad, how would that affect the outcome? In the story “The Grace of the Witch”, the great and beautiful Goddess Kirke shows good xenia by giving her guests a warm welcome with rich wine, extravagant feast, and tall thrones to sit upon and feel magnificent, but does it all count if she drugged them to stay? The toss between good and bad xenia is questioned when Kirke shows Odysseus and his men good hospitality but it is also threatened when they are forced to stay or must leave and head to the homes of
Understanding a story requires more than just reading words and matching them with a general definition. One needs the ability to comprehend the themes by carefully reading between the lines. The concept of xenia is displayed numerous times throughout The Odyssey. Xenia is a type of hospitality that many of the Greeks found necessary to abide by. As Carly said in her description of xenia, it "describes guest-friendship as a sort of custom of the home." In order to fully grasp the idea of the book, one must understand this Greek hospitality and the significance it served to many Greeks during this era. If there were an absence of xenia, The Odyssey would not have any cultural depth to it; instead, it would be a book solely about a war hero who experiences few obstacles on his way home. The main characters of The Odyssey followed the unwritten code of xenos, even if it was not self-beneficiary. Them being
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.
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.
The epic poem of the Odyssey begins right after the Trojan War in the Iliad. In this new poem Homer attempts to bring a new perspective of the war. He endeavored to show how the Greeks faced injustices and danger on their way back to their hometowns. Homer makes it clear that the lives of the Greeks could not be the same after the war. One of the fundamental elements of Greek lives that Northern Europe had in common with the Mediterranean is hospitality. Hospitality is important in constructing a civilized society in the poem. It is an important custom to be polite to guests. And more than often the guests will be willing to repay them with a favor. However, there are often situations in which accommodating guests is not such a good idea. A perfect example is seen in the story of Circe and Cyclop...
All throughout The Odyssey there are scenes of good and bad xenia, or hospitality. It can be seen that hospitality is extremely important in the Greek culture, both how someone treats their guests and how the guests treat the host. A closer look chronologically into the good, then bad examples will show how one acts affects the actions that are brought upon them when they either follow or disobey Zeus' Law.
Whether friend or stranger, when a guest of any sort arrived the host would greet them and offer them food and drink before any further conversation or engagement of any kind would occur. If the host had considerable wealth, a maid would bring out a basin of water in a “graceful golden pitcher” to rinse their hands, seen in Book I (line 160) when Athena visits Telemachus, again in Book 4 (60) when Menelaus takes Telemachus and Athena as guests, and also in Book 7 when the King of the Phaeacians greets Odysseus. Appetizers, meats, and wines are all brought out and laid before the guest, as their coming is seen as a celebration, as seen when Telemachus is hosting Athena, “A staid housekeeper brought on bread to serve them,/appetizers aplenty too, lavishwith her bounty./A carver lifted platters of meat toward them,/meats of every sort…” (Book 1, 163-166) On several occasions, a particularly h...
In the times that The Odyssey was first composed, xenia seemed to be a very important concept and way of life for the ancient Greeks. Xenia was an ancient Greek tradition of hospitality which consisted of a host-guest ritual, which followed a series of steps and a permanent, unplanned agreement of friendship between strangers. In the first four books of the The Odyssey, or the Telemachy, xenia is seen to affect how people interact with one another in every situation where people greet one another. Though xenia is sacred and understood to be one of Zeus’s laws, there are still cases where it is broken, however this does not go unnoticed by the gods. Xenia also has a large impact on the maturation of Telemachus. In the Telemachy the concept of xenia is a central theme greatly influencing Telemachus and many, but not all, of his activities.
One of the most prominent reoccurring themes in The Odyssey is the concept of xenia, in other words, the Greek tradition of showing hospitality to those who are far away from home, or even strangers, since he or she can easily be a god in disguise. In The Odyssey xenia is often the force that seals the fate of specific characters. It is used as a way to show the fear (or lack of fear) of the gods in the characters’ hearts. It is also often tied into the idea of temptation, by showing whether or not a character’s intentions are pure.
Homer’s Iliad is ripe with a variety of social structures. The passage where Diomedes meets Glaucus in battle shows the reader how a variety of these structures interact, and how the Argives value them in relation to each other. There are times when the characters fight for glory, there are times when they strive to earn riches, but above all else, they respect xenia. Xenia is the ancient Greek concept of hospitality, and it is evoked any time a guest visits a host. The Achaeans respect it above all else, and failure to adhere to its strict customs could lead to the forfeiture of countless souls. By the end of the story, xenia has overpowered money, battle, and glory, cementing its place as the most powerful force in all of Homer’s Ancient
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...
In a modern world such as ours, it is sometimes difficult to understand special customs that were most highly respected in ancient cultures. However, some have been able to adapt with the times and transform into decorum that can be still valued today. Xenia can be a perfect example. Coming from the ancient Greeks, xenia was the religious and civic commitment of hospitality that was expected of all guests of people as well as from the hosts themselves. The ancient Greeks held xenia in the highest regard and believed in great consequences if the rules of xenia were abused in any way. Xenia, to them, was much more than guidelines for them to follow; it was a duty that required utmost regard.
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 the Odyssey, the reader is presented to many rituals from the ancient Greek world and the hospitality ritual is one of the most important and complex. This ritual is composed by many element that vary throughout the narrative, creating events that engage the characters in different ways. The distortion of the hospitality rituals and the variation of its elements is what prevents Odysseus and Telemachus from going home.
Through characters and situations, The Odyssey promotes and emphasizes many important ancient Greek values such as hospitality, pride, and fate. 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.