Xenia in the Odyssey

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.

The host-guest ritual is one that Telemachus and many of the people who he comes across follow. Both the guest and the host have important parts that they must play. The host begins by receiving the guest,

Daydreaming so as he sat among the suitors, he glimpsed at Athena now and straight to the porch he went, mortified that a guest might still be standing at the doors.

Pausing beside her there, he clasped her right hand and relieving her at once of her long bronze spear, met her with winged words: “Greetings, stranger!

Here in our house you’ll find a royal welcome.

Have supper first, then tell us what you need.” (Homer I:138-145).

Here we see that if the Greeks had a guest before asking questions or anything, the guest would be offered supper and in many cases a bath. Telemachus is shocked he had not noticed a visitor and was not at once at his service. When the guest has finished his or...

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...e in ancient Greek culture as this is shown to be true by how close Telemachus and near everyone he meets follows it. Though xenia is very important, both the nymph Calypso who is holding Odysseus captive, and the suitors to Penelope who burden Telemachus, break most of the fundamental laws, but this does not go unnoticed by the gods. Xenia has been a very important part of Telemachus’s life, but it is not what has given him confidence in the host-guest ritual or what has helped him mature. It is a shame that this host-guest relationship has been lost over the years, it makes much stronger bonds between people, much more than we have nowadays. Despite a select number of people breaking the laws xenia, it is still a very unique and important cultural tradition and it would have a great impact on todays world if we still practiced it today.

Works Cited

The Odyssey