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.
Hospitality in the Ancient Greek world was not only a tradition, but a sacred ritual. Being hospitable was a way of honoring the gods and respecting the patron of strangers, the god of gods itself, Zeus. Besides, it was believed that the gods would sometimes come to earth to test people’s hospitality and they would often leave without being recognized. The reader is presented to this possibility right in the first book, when Athena, disguised as Mentes, goes to Ithaca and advises Telemachus on learning about his father’s fate. The prince receives the goddess with great hospitality, even though she looks like a stranger:
Pausing beside her there, he clasped her right hand and relieving her at once of her long bronze spear, met her with winged words: ‘Greeting, stranger! here in our house you’ll find a royal welcome.
Have supper first, then tell us what you need. (1.142-146)
The hospitality scenes also set a tone to characters and to the episode being described. Here, Telemachus is immediately recognized as a generous man, worthy of his status as prince of Ithaca and victim of the suitors, that doubt of the stranger’s credibility, an attitude that contrasts to that of the royal prince. Hospitality is also an essential part of what the greeks understood as civilization, receiving a guest properly showed that gue...
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...raged departure prayer. Unlike the traditional prayer, however, Polyphemus asks for Ithaca’s king journey to be even longer and full of pain. Poseidon, then, hearing his son’s prayer, prevents Odysseus from going home for many more years after that, being the main reason for his journey home to last 20 years.
These long travels that the heroic characters in the Odyssey are submitted are, therefore, direct consequences of the their interaction to the unknown world that they come to meet. The hospitality episodes are an essential part of the narrative as it is through them that their journey is lengthen. They are also an indicator of the characters’s integrity and through their analysis, they initiate an important reflexion on greek culture and values in social interactions, one of the aspects that are most distinct between the ancient world and the contemporaneity.
Through his use and experience of the practice, the reader follows his story of maturity. It is evident that, no matter the circumstance (such as the annoyance of the suitors), he is more than willing to exercise Greek hospitality: "Welcome, stranger. You shall be entertained as a guest among us. Afterward, when you have tasted dinner, you shall tell us what your need is" (Book I, lines 122-124). After he greeted this stranger (who was truly Athene in disguise), his servants provided them with a place to wash their hands, food, and drinks. This act may have put Telemachos on great terms with Athene, who helped him on the journey to attempt the discovery of his father 's whereabouts. Without the hospitality, Athene may not have helped Telemachos on his journey. While on his journey, Telemachos experiences Greek hospitality in all of the households that he comes across. Even the hosts of those households were very open to him (and Athene), and made them feel welcomed into their
The first words the reader hears from young Telemakhos are those of greeting to an unknown visitor. Seating the stranger in an elaborate throne to one side, providing finely worked implements, and acquiring generous portions of food and drink, Telemakhos displays the very soul of hospitality. Why? The poet states in Book 1, line 167 “…he wished privacy to ask for news/about his father, gone for years.” The island of Ithaka and indeed the whole of Greece were composed of isolated pockets of civilization. Travel on the unpredictable sea and over the mainland’s mountainous terrain was no easy feat; therefore news of the world by any means, even at the mouth of strangers, was welcomed and well-rewarded with hospitality.
“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling” (1 Peter 4:8-9). Hospitality can lead down a path of happiness and joy when ensued. In Homer’s epic The Odyssey, Xenia is an important factor in the foremost important character’s journey home. The role of xenia in the odyssey when followed can be very beneficial and when not followed, deadly. When abiding by xenia, Telemakhos and Odysseus make great steps towards regaining the power from the suitors in Ithaka.
...of ancient Greek society. The act of; providing strangers a meal, a place to sleep, and a welcoming spirit before they continue their journey, are strongly encouraged. The hosts don’t ask for the guests’ identity—to be polite—and treat them with courtesy. For instance, Nestor welcomes Telemachus to his island, and offers him to join a big feast without having the knowledge of where he came from or who he was. The guests are also expected to return the favor of kindness. On the other side of hospitality, the host-to-guest relationship isn’t as pleasant, and the gods strongly forbid the mistreatment of strangers. Going against their wishes will result in misfortunes. For example Cyclops got his eye blinded, and the suitors were deprived of existence. Thus, although the rules of hospitality aren’t written down, there are clear guidelines between generous and hostile.
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. Right at the beginning of The Odyssey, the reader is shown the hospitality that Telemachus has. Athena arrives, disguised, and he invites her into his home by saying: "'Greetings, stranger!
In the Odyssey the people of Ithaca are accustomed to hospitality. In Odysseus’s lengthy journey home he learns to maintain modesty. Odysseus’s family never give up on him throughout his entire 20 year journey, and they kept Ithaca for him when he came back. The Greek values of hospitality, humility, and loyalty are conveyed in The Odyssey.
To start, within the course of The Odyssey, Odysseus displays hubris through many of his actions. The most prominent instance in which Odysseus shows hubris is while he and his men are trying to escape from the Cyclops Polyphemus. They drug the monster until it passes out, and then stab him with a timber in his single eye. Polyphemus, now blinded, removes the gigantic boulder blocking Odysseus’ escape, and waits for the men to move, so he can kill them. The men escape from the cave to their boat by tying themselves under flocks of rams, so they can easily slip by. Odysseus, now proud after beating the giant, starts to yell at Polyphemus, instead of making a silent escape. Odysseus’ men ask him to stop before Polyphemus would “get the range and lob a boulder” (436). But Odysseus shows hubris by saying that if they were to meet again, Odysseus would “take your life” and “hurl you down to hell!” (462; 463). Polyphemus, now extremely angry with Odysseus, prays to his father, Poseidon, to make Odysseus “never see his home” again, and after which, throws a mountain towards the sound of Odysseus’ voice. (470). Because of Odysseus’ hubris after blinding Polyphemus, Poseidon grants the prayer, and it takes Odysseus 20 years to return home, at the cost of the lives of all his men.
Home was a prevalent concept in Ancient Greece. Not only was there a goddess of the hearth and home, Hestia, but hospitality towards others was highly stressed. Home was regarded as a place to escape from chaos in the outside world. Homer and Euripides in The Odyssey and Medea, respectively, use the motif of home to show the difference in an individual’s public manner versus their personal, more natural manner. This difference is caused by the different levels of comfort individuals have in different settings. Specifically, the two works portray the difference through experience of the characters, mistrust developed towards others, and the maintenance of dual identities.
In The Odyssey, a Greek hero, Odysseus, journeys back home after the Trojan War. Throughout this long voyage, Odysseus meets many people who take him in out of their own courtesy and hospitality. Within this text, the re-occurring theme of hospitality has had much significance and has also made a presence in today’s society. Xenia was common in the Greek culture; however, changes throughout society have made this form of hospitality a smaller occurrence today. Xenia, or the concept of hospitality, is the main theme present in the Odyssey.
(1.118-124, 130-134) Not only was he shocked a guest was at the door, he made her more comfortable than himself, not even knowing she was a goddess. This shows the gods that people are behaving correctly and putting others comfort before their own. Homer did this to introduce the hospitality theme. He went farther into detail in this passage to tell the audience what hospitality was like during that time as well as characterize Telemachus. He sounds very generous when welcoming Athena into his house and the audience starts to understand who he is.
The Odyssey, with its various examples of good and bad hospitality, offers the reader a look into the world of the Greeks, and the importance of the cultural element that hospitality played in their daily lives. The importance of hospitality goes beyond being a gracious host; there is a threat of violence if a host or guest does not fulfill their responsibilities. Throughout the novel, bad hospitality is punished with bad “karma” and good hospitality brings rewards to the people who demonstrate it. For example, Telemachus was highly respected because he follows the common greek archetype of being hospitable. Polyphemus, on the other hand, was not respected but instead seen as rude and inconsiderate because he was not hospitable. Hospitality
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.
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 Odyssey” is an epic poem that tells the story of Odysseus and the story of his many travels and adventures. The Odyssey tells the main character’s tale of his journey home to the island of Ithaca after spending ten years fighting in the Trojan War, and his adventures when he returns home and he is reunited with his family and close friends. This literary analysis will examine the story and its characters, relationships, major events, symbols and motifs, and literary devices.
... hospitality should be given to a guest because of how they treat Telemachos. The Cyclops, Polyphemos, shows how xenia can be not given at all, by the way that he treats Odysseus and his men. How one disregards the rules of hospitality, and does it knowingly, is how the suitors behaved. Throughout the Odyssey, Homer writes about many different instances of good hospitality, like the people of Pylos. Homer also shows instances of bad hospitality, like how the suitors behave as guests and how Polyphemos treats his guests. No matter if it is a good or bad example of hospitality, the impression of how important xenia is to the Greeks is always present. All of the Greeks follow the rules of hospitality to the nines, for fear that they will be struck by Zeus’s lightning bolt.