The Odyssey, an epic story written by Homer, touches on the idea that xenia, hospitality was an essential part of greek life. In the epic a fearlesss, noble man named Odysseus struggles to get back to his homeland “Ithaca,” his wife Penelope, and his son Telemachus. Odysseus ventures to different islands and receives different types of xenia, good and bad. In the epic Homer shows how important xenia is. Homer doesn't directly say that xenia is important however, there are many situations in the story where xenia occurs.
Nothing bad happens to people in the Odyssey who show good xenia. In the story Alcinous greets Odysseus. “The king gave Odysseus his own son’s chair. He called for food and wine” (Homer 29). This quote from the story shows …show more content…
When people show bad xenia bad things happen to them. One example is the suitors. In the story Telemachus was on his way to go and look for his father when the suitors did this. “The suitors feasted in the hall. They made fun of Telemachus.” (Homer 13). This clearly shows bad xenia because the suitors are making fun of Telemachus and eating his food. They weren't welcomed in his home. Xenia is about showing hospitality. The suitors just came into Penelope and Telemachus’ home, took their things and expected Penelope to marry one of them. In the end Odysseus made his way home, met Telemachus and convinced him to help kill the suitors. They were rude and disrespectful so in the end they payed for it. Another character who shows bad xenia is Polyphemus. While Odysseus is on the cyclops island Polyphemus eats Odysseus's men. Later in the story Odysseus blinds him. In the Odyssey Homer is trying to show that the bad characters in the book get punished for not showing good xenia. When Odysseus blinds Polyphemus, Poseidon punishes him by not letting him get back to Ithaca and being stranded for 10 years. Polyphemus ate Odysseus's men so Odysseus blinded him. The suitors who showed the worst xenia, by stealing food from Odysseus for 12 years got murdered. As you can see Homer wants to make a point that the worse your xenia is the more severe the punishment
Nothing bad happens to people in the Odyssey who show good xenia. In the story Alcinous greets Odysseus. “The king gave Odysseus his own son’s chair. He called for food and wine” (Homer 29). This quote from the story shows …show more content…
When people show bad xenia bad things happen to them. One example is the suitors. In the story Telemachus was on his way to go and look for his father when the suitors did this. “The suitors feasted in the hall. They made fun of Telemachus.” (Homer 13). This clearly shows bad xenia because the suitors are making fun of Telemachus and eating his food. They weren't welcomed in his home. Xenia is about showing hospitality. The suitors just came into Penelope and Telemachus’ home, took their things and expected Penelope to marry one of them. In the end Odysseus made his way home, met Telemachus and convinced him to help kill the suitors. They were rude and disrespectful so in the end they payed for it. Another character who shows bad xenia is Polyphemus. While Odysseus is on the cyclops island Polyphemus eats Odysseus's men. Later in the story Odysseus blinds him. In the Odyssey Homer is trying to show that the bad characters in the book get punished for not showing good xenia. When Odysseus blinds Polyphemus, Poseidon punishes him by not letting him get back to Ithaca and being stranded for 10 years. Polyphemus ate Odysseus's men so Odysseus blinded him. The suitors who showed the worst xenia, by stealing food from Odysseus for 12 years got murdered. As you can see Homer wants to make a point that the worse your xenia is the more severe the punishment