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Overabundance of xenia in the odyssey
Overabundance of xenia in the odyssey
Hospitality in the ancient greek
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“The word ‘hospitality’ in the New Testament comes from two Greek words. The first word means ‘love’ and the second word means ‘strangers’. It’s a word that means love of strangers”-Nancy Leigh Demoss. The idea of Xenia might be one of the most important themes in the Odyssey. It is the Greek concept of hospitality, the generosity and courtesy shown to those who are far from home and/or associates of the person bestowing guest-friendship. In the Odyssey, Homer really shows the reader how important this value is. The theme Xenia is a major topic in Homer’s the Odyssey; by giving us many examples of what happens if you show good or bad hospitality. Homer clearly emphasizes the importance of Xenia to the plot by showing that people who showed good hospitality had a better fate opposed to the people that did not. Telemachus meeting Athena in disguise was an excellent …show more content…
Then you can go to you ship in a happy frame of mind, taking with you as a keepsake form myself something precious and beautiful, the sort of present that one’s give to a guest who has become a friend” (Rieu. 1.309-314)
This is a perfect example of what a host should be like. Because of his great show of Xenia, he is later rewarded for it when he finally meets his father and is able to get rid of all of the suitors. The second and best example of Xenia that we get in the Odyssey is when Odysseus meets the Cyclops, Polyphemus. Odysseus decides to go to Polyphemus’s cave in the hope that he will be hospitable. However, that did not happen since Polyphemus locked them in his cave and ate his men. Xenia is mainly prevalent in Ancient Greek society is because of their fear of the gods; however, since Polyphemus is the son of the Greek god Poseidon and he thinks that he is stronger than the gods, he believes that he will not have to deal with their punishment of the so he continues to be
For the Greeks, Homer's Odyssey was much more than just an entertaining tale of gods, monsters, and men, it served as cultural paradigm from which every important role and relationship could be defined. This book, much more so than its counter part The Iliad, gives an eclectic view of the Achean's peacetime civilization. Through Odyssey, we gain an understanding of what is proper or improper in relationships between father and son, god and mortal, servant and master, guest and host, and--importantly--man and woman. Women play a vital role in the movement of this narrative. Unlike in The Iliad, where they are chiefly prizes to be won, bereft of identity, the women of Odyssey are unique in their personality, intentions, and relationship towards men. Yet, despite the fact that no two women in this epic are alike, each--through her vices or virtues-- helps to delineate the role of the ideal woman. Below, we will show the importance of Circe, Calypso, Nausicaa, Clytaemestra, and Penelope in terms of the movement of the narrative and in defining social roles for the Ancient Greeks.
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.
Throughout history, gender discrimination has taken away countless lives of women, lowering the overall social status of women in society. For example, Salem witch trials, a series of unreasonably prosecution of women accused of witchcraft, in Massachusetts are an ancient example of gender discrimination towards women. The Odyssey by Homer exemplifies a modern vision of breaking free from the obsolete cultural expectations of the Greek society as well as the world, seeking for gender equality and demanding for a more egalitarian society. Despite the restrictions on the role of female in a typical patriarchal Greek society, Homer innovatively breaks the barrier that persistently favors males over females, which results in a unique influence on his male characters as well as a strong female attitude behind each line of the epic poem. This feminist aberration from traditional Greek values is portrayed through the intelligence of Penelope, the tenacious assistance of Athena for Odysseus in spite of Poseidon’s antagonism, and the imprisonment of Odysseus by Calypso.
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.
And that is the brilliance of Homer. He takes The Odyssey told in his day as an oral tradition and turns it into a masterful book that has meaning even into today. Homer believes that we should all be kind to our fellow man. In ancient Greece, that means being hospitable to whoever steps into your domain. Anyone who will show hospitality: Telemachus, Nestor, Menelaus, and Alcinous, is revered as a good man worthy of respect and honor, but those that cannot or will not respect xenos are subject to the vengeance that they receive: Aegisthus, Polyphemus, the Laestrygonians, and Circes. Homer wants us all to be hospitable in our lives and he uses Telemachus’ and Odysseus’ journeys in The Odyssey to show us this.
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
“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.
Odysseus ' principles and characteristics are a prototype of an ideal Homeric Greek leader. Odysseus is noble, clever and loyal. Through his distress and blunders, he gains knowledge that was not only crucial for his survival but for his companions too. Odysseus’s cleverness constantly allowed him to avoid death because he relied on trickery, rhetoric and disguise. “The society depicted in The Odyssey is one where male values were dominant and where all socially relevant transactions took place between the male members of the community”. (Whittaker 39) While males’ dominance takes the forefront in society, their principles are continuously being challenged by the allurement of women. In The Odyssey, many instances of such seduction reveals
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.
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
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.
Women play an influential role in The Odyssey. Women appear throughout the story, as goddesses, wives, princesses, or servants. The nymph Calypso enslaves Odysseus for many years. Odysseus desires to reach home and his wife Penelope. It is the goddess Athena who sets the action of The Odyssey rolling; she also guides and orchestrates everything to Odysseus’ good. Women in The Odyssey are divided into two classes: seductresses and helpmeets. By doing so, Homer demonstrates that women have the power to either hinder of help men. Only one woman is able to successfully combine elements of both classes: Penelope. She serves as a role model of virtue and craftiness. All the other women are compared to and contrasted with Penelope.
So Xenia throughout the Iliad gives us a glimpse at their culture and tradition. The Iliad is full of examples where strangers, are welcomed into the homes of strangers and are sent away full of food and protected for upwards of a week. Even in the midst of war the Greeks stuck to their belief system that they had during their upbringing. The Greek sset a great example for us to follow to give grace to everyone even in bad circumstances.
“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 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.