Hospitality And Feasting In Homer's The Odyssey

In Homer’s “The Odyssey” the idea of feasting and hospitality is an ongoing image and it is portrayed in many ways. Elaborate banquets, poor hospitality, and gluttony are all found in this text. From the greedy suitors in Odysseus’ home to Circe's banquet of trickery, there is a repeated image of feasting. This idea is developed throughout the whole book. Hospitality and feasting are two images that consistently repeat and every time they appear in the text Homer seems to display a different side of them that enriches the image even further.
The First image of feasting and hospitality is found in book one. The feasting is being done by the suitors who are trying to win over Penelope, Odysseus’ wife. They're immature, gluttonous, and repulsive. Homer gives the reader an idea of how Athena viewed the feast when she went to visit Telemachus. The text reads

He seems to bring attention to different circumstances and how the character of each person is displayed through their idea of hospitality. For Penelope and Telemachus, they displayed patience and tolerance for the suitors who were taking their hospitality for granted. Circe was only pretending to be hospitable in order to deceive and hurt her guests. While on the other side of the spectrum Eumaeus seems to be genuine and kind. He wants to represent his master well and always extend hospitality to anyone who is in need. Aspects of Homer’s text also seem to indicate that feasting can be displayed in two different ways, gluttony and celebration. In each example of feasting the people who were eating were either overeating and overindulging themselves or they were being grateful for the kindness they received. Hospitality and feasting are two images that consistently repeat, and every time they appear in the text Homer seems to display a different side of them that enriches the image even