Exploring The Theme Of Hospitality In Homer's Odyssey

Throughout the epic of the Odyssey; readers can often find that one of the major themes in the reading is hospitality. Hospitality gives this work the essence of how in ancient times taking care and respecting the guest was important in the society. Most of the books in this epic covers this theme, beginning from the main characters to the ones that are not so relevant. Homer, the author of the book, considered that hospitality is important not only in ancient society for also for modern society, and even thought time goes, such morals should always remain as how the explains in this epic. For such reason the odyssey uses the theme of hospitality for the reader to discover more about the characters as they go through difficult times, also …show more content…
An example of a good family can be portrayed through the king alkinous and the Phaeacians. Once Odysseus had arrived to the castle of king Alkinous; the king knows that as Zeus had showed mercy and hospitality with his people, he must do the same with ‘stranger.’ After the king and queen had recognize that Odysseus had been helped by the princess; they immediately know that he must be a poor person in desperate need. The king and his court decided to help Odysseus to return to his homeland by providing everything he might need to get there. The king and Phaeacians even celebrate such decision by throwing a huge party without even knowing who Odysseus really was (). In this part of the book, the reader can contemplate how hospitality can draw a conclusion of how the Phaeacians and their king are a good family, and how together they decided to help a person that was a ‘stranger’ to them. A good family, based on Homer’s thoughts, are those people who in even in harsh moments support each other and tried their best to do the same for others who need it the most. They consider hospitality to be the base of stability and happiness for their …show more content…
In the case of the epic poem of the Odyssey, the main value send to the reader is hospitality. For the author, hospitality represents a way in identify the character and the way those characters behave. The aspect of how hospitable they are gives the reader a sense of a good or evil character. As mentioned in the examples, Telemachus and princess Nausicaa, are part of the good characters; they show that being helpful to others is more important than having all the power and money in the world. However the same theme shows that not all the times people will be grateful for what they way and will do the complete opposite thing of being hospitable. Clytemnestra showed to be a horrible wife; she was not hospitable with her husband after all the time that he was gone. The contrast between all the characters proves that hospitality should be the base in every society. Back to the time when the odyssey was written, hospitality was important, and with the time people are showing a lack of such value. Many critics agree that the study of this work should improve modern society to keep being hospitable and share the goods that they have received from the