Hospitality And Hospitality The Odyssey By Homer

Hospitality refers to the relationship between a guest and a host, where the host receives the guest with goodwill, and the guest returns the goodwill by being respectful to their host, showing courtesy, and refraining from abusing the hospitality that had been extended. The concept of hospitality is known as Xenia, a very ancient Greek concept that is still very important in many cultures today. Cultures may vary in other respect but any good society will accommodate the wandering guest (Puchner 127). The Odyssey by Homer has a central theme of hospitality and it reveals that hospitality was a very important virtue in the Greek culture. It was the basis for their everyday lives disregarding one’s social status. Everyone was expected to†¦show more content†¦Without any questions about who he was or where he was from, he was invited to join Nestor and his sons banquet. It was not until after Telemachus had eaten and gotten comfortable that he was asked who he was and where he was from as Nestor later said, â€Å"It is seemlier to ask our guests who they are / Now that they have enjoyed some food with us† (3. 76-77). This display of hospitality is seen many more times throughout the story, whereas the host asks the important questions later but first makes sure to welcome the guests with food and provide clothing. This shows what a good host is and Nestor is used as a great example of what a good host is supposed to do from early in the story. The second instance of genuine hospitality portrayed in The Odyssey came in later in the story in book six when Odysseus arrives in the Phaeacians’ country. King Alcinous and his family, especially his daughter Nausicaà ¤ gave a warm welcome to Odysseus. Nausicaà ¤ found Odysseus on the shores of Scherie, even though Odysseus must have appeared intimidating as he was naked, Nausicaà ¤ felt obligated to help because that was their culture and she later told her maids, This poor man c omes here as a wanderer, And we must take care of him now. All strangers, All beggars, are under theShow MoreRelatedVirtue Of Hospitality : Homer s Odyssey And The Holy Bible990 Words   |  4 Pages Virtue of Hospitality Homer is believed to have lived around 8th century B.C. Ironically, Homer’s life coincides with the earliest known manuscript of the Holy Bible, the Codex Amiatinus. Although Homer possibly lived during the rise of very significant biblical prophets such as Amos, Hosea, Zachariah, Isaiah and Jonah, Homer writes his epic poem, The Odyssey, in a strictly pagan method. 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