The people of Pylos are the perfect role models of xenia in The Odyssey because they follow all the rules of hospitality unreservedly. The Cyclops is... ... middle of paper ... ... 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.
After the fall of Troy, the protagonist of the epic, Odysseus, set sail for his home, Ithaca, where his faithful wife and son were waiting for him. Over the course of his journey, Odysseus faced some of the most ferocious opponents known to the Greeks. Even through this formidable journey, Odysseus and his family have stayed true to the diverse aspects of the ancient Greeks. The Odyssey exemplifies the human ideals of hospitality, loyalty and perseverance. The Odyssey serves as a great example of an ideal that the ancient Greeks valued, the sense of hospitality towards others.
Then during his depart the next day, Nestor provides Telemachus with a chariot, a horse, and food to continue his journey. This shows how important it was for the ancient Greeks to treat their guests affectionately. From there on, his journey is given hope when he visits Nestor who gives him insight on the possibility of his father to be alive. While Telemachus is on a mission to find his father, Odysseus is encountering some of his own obstacles. His crew and him are stranded on the land of the Cyclops.
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 far as integrity goes, there is none greater than Telemachus. He is a moral and virtuous prince, devoted both to his mother and to his father’s house, so when Athena appears in the house of Odysseus, Telemachus does all that he can to show hospitality to her despite having little left to offer from Penelope’s suitors. These men are the scum of the Earth.
Ancient Worlds, n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2013. Atsma, Aaron J., ed. "Pandora."
New York, NY: Anchor, 1963. Print.
Hospitality is also an essential part of what the greeks understood as civilization, receiving a guest properly showed that gue... ... middle of paper ... ...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.
The Odyssey expresses Greek values of hospitality from the customs of Ithaca, humility from Odysseus’s reform, and loyalty from Odysseus’s family. 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.
If one wishes to be a good leader he must always honor strangers looking for shelter. The Greeks put a high value on hospitality to ensure no mistreatment of the gods should they visit in disguise. Homer begins with a prime example of a model host and leader. Alcinous “…awoke in his sacred might…” 1 is the paragon of a good host. This is first exampled when he holds an assembly and gives a speech to the other leaders.
Even though the suitors have been pushing him around for years, he still finds it in his heart to provide strangers a lovely experience when they visit him. It seems as though he has seen how terrible it is to be treated with bad xenia and he in turn wants to treat his guests the way that he hopes to be treated. Other acts of hospitality are seen throughout The Odyssey. Telemachus has left on a journey to find out about his father and he comes across Nestor. Nestor shows multiple signs of good hospitality.