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Negative Presentations Of Hospitality In Homer's Odyssey

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Negative presentations of hospitality almost always hurts a character in some way. One of the first instances of this is when Odysseus meets Polyphemus of the Cyclops’ Island. Polyphemus does not immediately show hospitality upon meeting Odysseus and his crew, so Odysseus asks for it. “... beholden for your help, or any gifts you give as a custom to honor strangers… Zeus will avenge the unoffending guests… We cyclops care not a whistle for your thundering Zeus… where was it, now, you left your ship…” (Homer 902). Since Polyphemus refuses to give Odysseus hospitality, there is no chance of civility and this will not help Odysseus, only hurt him. To prove Polyphemus’ incivility even more, he asks where Odysseus boat is so he can destroy it. Another example of negative hospitality is the suitors blatant disrespect for Penelope’s good hospitality. …show more content…

They drinking Odysseus’ wine, and feasting on his herds. This does not make Penelope happy, which makes her even less likely to pick a suitor. This is harmful to the suitors wants and wishes because one of them will not be chosen now. Finally, a beggar that runs errands and does things for the suitors named Irus takes after their disrespectful habits and presents Odysseus with very negative displays of hospitality. When Odysseus asks to share Irus’ begging turf, he refuses and threatens Odysseus. Odysseus then breaks his jaw, not wanting to kill him with one blow. This negative presentation of hospitality does not works and Irus’ favor because it ends up causing him harm. If Irus had shared his turf with Odysseus, he would not have a broken jaw. These examples show that the abuse to someone’s hospitality or refusing to give it will almost always end up in a harmful

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The Law of Hospitality or Xenia is a law/belief in Homer’s Odyssey. Xenia, says that all guests that show to your home or lands must be treated kindly, with respect and cared for before one may ask questions about them. This is because they may or may not be a god in disguise, and all gods should be treated kindly. In the Odyssey, King Alcinous of the Phaeacians treats Odysseus kindly when he is found on his island. King Alcinous’s daughter, found Odysseus sleeping by the shore after his raft had broken.

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Penelope, his wife, is greatly affected; as many greedy suitors disrespect her and move into their home to try and win her hand in marriage. Throughout ‘The Odyssey’, the greed and folly of men play a huge part in increasing the difficulty and severity of Odysseus’s situations and ultimately change his fate and the directions of his journey. The greed and folly of men are largely represented by Penelope’s suitors. In the very first book of The Odyssey, the disgusting actions of the suitors were introduced to the readers.

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Their jealousy got in the way of what was truly right. When finally landing in Ithaca, he learns that loyalty is something that shouldn't be broken, especially when some of the suitors are from Ithaca, Odysseus' own homeland. This means that the suitors are disloyal to their King because they are courting his wife, stealing all his food, and slaughtering his animals for their feasts. Most importantly, they are plotting to kill Telemachus and Odysseus if he is ever to return to the island. He learns that the only way he can show that he is a firm leader is to reveal to all of Ithaca who he truly is.

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