Xenia, or rather reciprocated hospitality, is indispensible in ancient Greek life. Zeus, the god of xenia would ensure that Greeks were hospitable and cordial towards their guests, or consequently faced his wrath. Xenia is a mythical theme that appears countless times throughout The Odyssey. Hospitality is not only practiced throughout the epic, but moreover, hospitality is expected between hosts and guests. The scene at the house of Walsh is a primary example of xenia in O Brother, Where Art Thou. The escaped convicts, journey to Walsh’s house where they are met with an unconventional welcome of a small boy pointing a gun towards the men, and shooting at their feet. Still, the boy lowers his gun upon learning that he is related to Pete, and …show more content…
Subsequently, all of the men gather in a small room with the radio on for entertainment. Walsh continues to practice good xenia when Ulysses asks to borrow a hairnet overnight. In a plot twist while Ulysses, Pete, and Delmar are sleeping the police appear, outside of the barn they are sleeping in, to arrest the men. At this point it is clear Walsh has practiced bad xenia by contacting authorities on the whereabouts of the convicts for financial gain. Likewise, Ulysses later confesses to the men of stealing a pocket watch from Walsh; yet, Ulysses justifies his actions due to Walsh turning them in to the authorities. The occurrence of bad xenia on behalf of both host and guest materializes as well in The Odyssey, between Odysseus and Polyphemus. Polyphemus has bad xenia when he asks obtrusive questions (The Odyssey, 314-6), eats his guests (The Odyssey, 324-384), and moreover curses his remaining guests (The Odyssey, 585-95). Comparably to Ulysses, Odysseus also practices bad xenia when he blinds Polyphemus with a spear made from an olive tree (The Odyssey, 427-41) yet, claims he is overall justified in his
Roxy tells Tom not to worry that as long as he promises to sell her up river, to do so to cover the gambling debt as long as he promised to buy her back once he came into his inheritance. Instead, Tome decides to sell Roxy down river, and tries to dismiss any promise he made to her at all. Roxy escapes comes back confronts Tom as to what he has done, and then proceeds to tell him that he sold his own mother down river. This point being desperate because he has gotten himself into even more further debt, he makes the decision to kill his Uncle and frame the Capello twins with their dagger. At the trial David Wilson shows the courtroom how he is able to identify a person by their fingerprints and at first confusion set in while they thought that Chambers had killed the Judge, when in it was actually Tom who had done so.
In the article, "Odysseus the Foreigner,", it briefly says in Section "Odysseus and Polyphemus", "When Polyphemus found out, through the false words of Odysseus, that the Greek ship had been destroyed, he grabbed two of the new arrivals and easily bashed their bodies against the ground. " By the definition of Xenia, this was horrible treatment yet expected for the Cyclopes, because after he ate them, he revealed that he doesn't believe in Xenia; after all, he is the son of the powerful Poseidon, a powerful god. In my opinion, this shows the power of how Poseidon handled the situation for his now blinded son against the mortal Odysseus, which was creating the most inconvenient journey back home that took 10 years to even come close to his
Haley Lindsey is twenty one years old and the youngest in a family of seven. Due to the age difference between herself and her siblings, she was never extremely good friends with her brothers and sisters, but she still loved spending time with her family growing up. They played a major role in helping her become the person she is today. Haley has the most contagious laugh and can always be seen smiling. People are drawn to her fun-loving, crazy, and positive personality.
Reading Response for Week 3: Chapters 5, 7, 9, 14, and 15 The view of afterlife according to the ancient Greeks could be mainly found in three readings. The first one is Homer’s Odyssey, which was the first book to talk about the afterlife. In the book, Odysseus tells people about his journey to the underworld.
The Ancient Greek practice of “xenia” is highly valued, and in Homer’s The Odyssey the practice of “xenia” is vital to receive good one’s fate. For example, the cyclops, Polyphemus, does not value “xenia”, so instead of welcoming Odysseus and his crew, the monster decides to eat the men. As a consequence, he lost his sight, which was primarily from Polyphemus 's blatant disregard for the Ancient Greek practice. His fate could have easily been avoided if he had not eaten his visitors.
Xenia, The Law of Hospitality The theme of Xenia was one of the most spotted out in The Odyssey, which is the Law of Hospitality. The Law of Hospitality is being polite to strangers who need assistance but it is more than it’s a host and guest relationship. Xenia is seen throughout The Odyssey. Xenia provides an effort of making the community a safer and better community.
Throughout books 21-22 of the Odyssey, Odysseus changes by becoming more determined. In the beginning of book 21, Odysseus comes up with plan on how to get Penelope back. The plan seemed quite difficult, almost impossible, but Odysseus was determined to make it happen. “...when the time comes, those gentlemen, to a man, will be dead against giving me bow or quiver.” (21.95-96).
From Odysseus’ time with Calypso in Ogygia up until the moment he takes back his home and wife from the suitors in Ithaca, the struggles he faces help answer what makes for a good life. Homer uses Odysseus’ journey throughout “The Odyssey” to identify four aspects of a good life: mortality, honor, hospitality, and experiences. Homer reveals that mortality is necessary for a good life when Odysseus denies the opportunity for immortality that Calypso offers, he shows the significance of honor in his description of Odysseus’ bravery in the Trojan war and the consequent respect that Odysseus’ crew has for him, Homer reinforces the importance of hospitality in each city Odysseus travels to, and he conveys that experiences, good or bad, define a good life. The Greeks held their gods in high esteem and therefore when Homer or other characters in the epic refer to Odysseus as being “godlike,” this is one of the highest compliments he could receive.
In an epic poem, The Odyssey, by Homer, Odysseus struggles to come back home while his wife, Penelope, faces barbarous suitors who plague her house to court her for the marriage in order to claim the kingship of Ithaca. With an absence of the man of the household and a son who is not old enough to rule over the country and handle the domestic complications, Penelope endeavors to keep the household orderly and civilized. In order to prevent further chaos in the household, Penelope maintains her role as the Queen of Ithaca and Odysseus’s wife through her loyalty and cunning. For a woman who does not know when her man will return home, Penelope is extremely strong to keep hope and wait for her husband; thus, her unwavering loyalty to her husband
Although Odysseus has been on a terrible journey, he has not always reacted with honor and dignity like Penelope does. Penelope shows honor and dignity when she practices xenia, does not marry a suitor, and forgives Odysseus. In Greek society, xenia is a concept which dictates the relationship between the guest and the household. The household will clothe, feed, and room the guest, while the guest in return shows respect and gratefulness.
Odyssey exhibits a wide variety of xenia which exhibits hospitality towards others. Most hospitality that we use is xenia. Without xenia we would not show the utter most respect for
Xenia is the greek term for “hospitality towards visitors”. This Greek term is shown when Telemachus and Peisistratus both began on their journey on a yoke. “And they drove to Menelaus’ palace,/Which they found filled with guests” (Lombardo 44). Menelaus has many guests in his palace because of Xenia which is valued in their society. They believe in Xenia because when people are away from home, they are uncomfortable so showing hospitality towards visitors makes them miss home less.
Xenia is an Ancient Greek religious custom which captures the essence of the guest-host relationship. It is a sacred, religious law that may lead to severe punishment by the Greek God, Zeus, if not abided by. However, xenia may do more harm than good in some cases, plenty of which presents itself in the Odyssey. Xenia is a process and has to do with hospitality and mutual respect between a guest and a host. This is an extremely civilised practice placed in such a chaotic and barbaric age.
Modern Hospitality - Ancient Hospitality How has modern hospitality changed from ancient hospitality, and what has been taken from it. What is xenia? Xenia is essentially hospitality. It is where someone takes care of a guest and welcome them to stay.
The Odyssey is an epic poem about a Greek warrior named Odysseus, trying to get home to his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus after fighting in the Trojan War. It takes him 20 years to get home because he made the god of the sea, Poseidon, mad at him by stabbing his son in the eye, who is a cyclops. While he and his men are trying to get home they go through many problems on their journey like getting trapped on an island, fighting monsters and also, almost losing their minds. Some people think Odysseus is a hero but he’s not, people forget that he got all his men killed and he also cheated on his wife with a goddess named Calypso for seven years and with a witch named Circe for one yea. He also massacred one-hundred men granted they were