Violence Exposed In Homer's The Odyssey

Violence is an extreme way of solving problems. If an issue can’t be settled diplomatically, then people turn to violence; war rages, weapons are used, and harm is done. Sometimes these problems arise when people expect to be shown hospitality, or when they are not good guests. This may not have been a prevalent issue in ancient Greek culture because people were supposed to be hospitable, but surely it happened, as shown in The Odyssey. When people are staying somewhere where they aren’t welcome or wanted there will be repercussions regardless of the culture. In The Odyssey there are a few scenes of violence that arise because people overstayed their welcome and were not good guests. In Book IX, Odysseus makes the fatal mistake of assuming that the Cyclops will be hospitable to him and his men although his crew warns him to leave. He is sure that, like all the other people he has met along the course of his story, the Cyclops will give him food, gifts, and housing. In the story, the men enter and begin to eat the Cyclops’ food without permission. “Kindling a fire here, we made burnt offering and we ourselves took of the cheese and ate” (Homer 108). Odysseus believes that because he and his men are guests that they have a right to take the food and eat it. He learns that he is wrong in a harsh, violent manner when the Cyclops begins to eat and kill his men. “He seized on two and dashed them to …show more content…
These two important scenes of violence show that these characters should not have expected to take other people’s things and be given no repercussions. They were greedy, prideful, rude and deserving of their punishments. Today these rules still apply. People cannot walk into other people’s homes and take what belongs to them and expect no punishment. By being a good guest and putting aside pride, people will be shown respect and