Significance Of Xenia In The Odyssey

Xenia is an important theme throughout The Odyssey. Xenia is the ancient greek word for hospitality, and affected everyone during that time period. Xenia was the guest-host relationship in ancient greece and was basically a set of rules and customs that people followed. Overall the rules stated that the host and guest should be kind, generous, and polite toward each other. In ancient Greece hospitality was very important. A person's social status was based on how kind they were. Hospitality was a prominent force in these times and was a generally accepted rule of law. People practiced good hospitality out of love and fear. Some greeks were kind and loving toward their guests because they truly cared about their fellow man. However, this way of thinking was not shared by the entire culture and many more people only practiced good hospitality out of fear. Ancient greeks believed that the Gods on Mount Olympus, would …show more content…
“Give the stranger food and drink, my girls.”(6.273) “Come, follow me into my place, old man, so you,at least, can eat your fill of bread and wine”. Both of these quotes show how kings and common folk helped Odysseus on his journey. Without them he would not have made it home to Ithaca. Odysseus was treated with respect and kindness during his travels, and often returned the favor. “The man is my host. Who would fight his friend?”(8.239) This quote shows that Odysseus also practiced good hospitality. When Odysseus was a good guest towards his host, the host usually helped him in some way. Circe was a host who helped Odysseus by giving him life saving advice about the Sirens, Scylla, and Charybdis. Circe only did this because Odysseus was a generous and loving guest. Good hospitality is praised in ancient Greece, and those who practice it are often rewarded. However, not everyone practiced good hospitality and this resulted in the hardships that Odysseus