Importance Of Hospitality In The Odyssey

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The Rules of Hospitality Throughout the Odyssey
Hospitality was an expected part of the ancient Greece culture due to the strictly followed guidelines of Xenia, but this generosity was not always appreciated, welcomed, or respected. Although it would be nice to say that these upstanding citizens welcomed strangers into their homes out of the goodness of their hearts, it is more likely their actions were out of fear of the gods or stranger 's wrath and social death. Hospitality should be something coming from the heart instead of an obligation forced upon us, but the feeling of obligation has morphed our reasonings due to fears of shame.
In ancient Greece culture, hospitality was expected as part of a survival need, because “without such hospitality, …show more content…

Because of the rules and customs of Xenia everyone was expected to be upstanding hosts and appreciative visitors with “some payment for this hospitality in the form of a gift exchange” (minerva.union). Due to this we see Odysseus offer the finest wine to the foreboding Cyclops, in book 9 of the Odyssey, in order to appease his wrath and ensure their safe stay in his cave of death they intruded. In return the Cyclops responded: “tell me your name this very minute! [and] I will give you a stranger 's gift which will make you very happy.” The gifts were exchanged, but the “stranger 's gift” turned out to be the pleasure of being the last eaten among his crew- which wasn 't a gift but more of a punishment for our hero Odysseus. The Cyclops, unlike most people, was not afraid to break the laws of Xenia or the stranger’s nor the gods’ wrath that was known to follow being a cruel host, because he was the son of Poseidon. This allowed him to bully the visitors as he pleased, with no fear of consequence. But in reality, neither host, nor guest was safe from harm in the end because Odysseus blinded the beast and in return got the wrath of Poseidon, making his journey home a long struggle. Although the Cyclops didn’t feel the pressure of following Xenia he also didn’t have a trace of warmth in his

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