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Lauryn Lucatorto

Mr. Palcsey

Honors English 10

12/21/17

Greek Hospitality in The Odyssey

Throughout Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus is aided in his journey by strangers who

warmly welcome him into their homes and care for him to the best of their ability. While this

may seem odd by today’s standards, this type of sacrificial hospitality was a customary part of

Ancient Greek culture. Most times that Odysseus encountered a stranger during the epic, the

person treated him with humility and generosity. They offer to take Odysseus into their home,

feed him, and help him on his journey. This kindness is ultimately the reason the Odysseus

finally returns home. The hospitality that Odysseus received, or in some cases the lack of it,

impacted Odysseus’ fate, the fate of his crew, and whom Odysseus chose to spare.

Many times throughout The Odyssey, Odysseus is given help that makes it possible for

him to return home. For example, despite the nymph Calypso’s original refusal to let Odysseus

depart from her island, she eventually does act as a generous hostess once she is told she must let

Odysseus go. She provides him with food and clothing for the journey ahead as she sends him

off. She also puts a breeze behind him that will push him in the right direction. Possibly the most

hospitable stranger that Odysseus meets on his journey is King Alcinous. Odysseus first

encounters Alcinous’ daughter Nausicaa, who bathes and clothes Odysseus, and invites him to

the land of the Phaeacians. Her father then holds a large feast for Odysseus. After he reveals who

he is and tells the Phaeacian people his story, they shower him in a generous variety of gifts.
Alcinous then provides Odysseus with a ship and a crew that sail him home to Ithaca. One story

that Odysseus tells the Phaeacians details the hospitality of Circe. While she originally treats

Odysseus and his men with hostility, she does eventually give him information that saves his life.

She instructs Odysseus to seek out Theban Tiresias, who warns Odysseus what he must do to

reach home, as well as what sort of danger he will find when he does return. Circe also informs

Odysseus about the monsters he will pass on his route, and what he must do to avoid them.

Without this valuable information, Odysseus very well could have died.

Odysseus’ crew often did not receive any mercy from strangers when they were in need

of hospitality. The Cyclopes, for instance, showed not even a trace of generosity. When

Odysseus and his crew came to the land of the Cyclopes, they immediately entered Polyphemus’

house and began feasting. The assumed that they would be welcomed when the owner of the

cave returned. However, when the Cyclops returned, he revealed that he did not fear the gods. He

devoured several of Odysseus’ crew members before they managed to escape. Another

unhospitable person that the crew encountered was Aeolus. At first, he welcomed and

entertained the men as guests. However, after the crew ruins their chance of returning home out

of jealousy, Aeolus demanded that the men leave. He feared that they were hated by the gods,

since it appeared that the gods were doing everything to keep Odysseus from returning to Ithaca.

Aeolus feared that the gods would become angry with him if he were to help Odysseus and his

men. Circe, at first, also shows no mercy to Odysseus’ men. She appeared to offer kindness when

she feeds the crew, but she then utilized her magic and turned them into pigs. After Odysseus

tricks her and makes her swear to return his men to their normal state, she finally does treat the

men with traditional hospitality. She cares for the men for a whole year before they decide it is

time for them to continue on their journey home.


When Odysseus finally does return to his home on Ithaca, he judges the people he

encounters by their generosity towards strangers. When he first returns home, he goes the simple

hut of his swineherd, Eumaeus. Eumaeus has remained faithful to Odysseus all theses years, and

allow he does not recognize Odysseus in the form of the beggar, he still treats him with respect.

Odysseus knows then that the swineherd is loyal, so he later reveals himself to Eumaeus so that

he can fight on Odysseus’ side against the suitors. Odysseus also judges his own son when he

sees him at the swineherd’s hut. Odysseus’s rises when Telemachus enters, but Telemachus

instructs Odysseus to sit down, saying that he will find a different seat. When Odysseus claims to

be a wanderer from Crete, Telemachus feels badly for him. Telemachus wishes that he could

take the beggar into his house and care for him, but he does not want him to have to deal with the

horrible suitors that fill his home. However, Telemachus offers him gifts as well as safe passage

to wherever he wishes to travel. Odysseus learns through this that his son is a good and

honorable man. Antinous, the suitors’ leader, shows no hospitality whatsoever. When Odysseus

finally goes to his house and meets the suitors, Athena encourages him to go around and beg

from the suitors to see if they would offer him any of their food. This serves as a test to see if any

of the suitors were decent people. Still, it was not in Athena’s or Odysseus’ plan to spare any of

them. All of the suitors give him something to eat out of pity, except for Antinous. Antinous

refuses to give the beggar anything, despite the fact that the food does not even belong to him.

Antinous shows Odysseus nothing but harshness and cruelty, and therefore, Odysseus believes

him to be a unjust man who does not fear the gods. This could be the reason that Antinous is the

suitor whom Odysseus kills first.

Without the hospitality and generosity of many people who Odysseus meets along his

way, he would have never been able to make it safe home to Ithaca. The message of treating
strangers with dignity and respect in The Odyssey is one the should not be forgotten today. There

are many wanders out their today that need help, love, and guidance, just as Odysseus did.

Hospitality and generosity, such as shown in The Odyssey is also deeply rooted in the Christian

faith.

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