Xenia In Homer's Epic Poem, The Odyssey

In Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, ancient Greeks depend on strangers to fulfill hospitality needs when traveling. In this epic and in Greek society, xenia is the ancient Greek form of hospitality, the generosity and courtesy shown to those who are far from home, and/or associates of the person bestowing guest-friendship. Without xenia, Odysseus would never have arrived home from the distant land of Troy where he fights in the Trojan War. Plus, people who didn’t show xenia eventually are punished by the gods like the suitors (sly, disloyal men who pursue women and have a different view of marriage) that are killed by Odysseus because of their wickedness. Although the rules of xenia are broken many times in The Odyssey, there are even more examples

When Odysseus arrives at the Aeolian island, he goes to the sophisticated palace and is hosted for one month by Aeolus. Once Odysseus requests to leave, he is struck at how Aeolus sent him off with supplies and kindness, as he expresses by saying, “‘when I begged him to send me on my way,/ he denied me nothing, he went about my passage./ He gave me a sack, the skin of a full-grown ox,/ binding inside the winds that howl from every quarter’”(10.20-24). At this point, Odysseus is speaking, expressing his shock about why Aeolus treats him so well, but at the same time is grateful for the favorable supplies he is granted for his journey as he is given “‘a sack, the skin of a full-grown ox,/ binding inside the winds that howl from every quarter.’” The entire quote is crucial to the manifestation of proper xenia in The Odyssey because it helps to establish xenia as an important value in Greek culture. When the line “‘he denied me nothing, he went about my passage’” is stated, it shows that Aeolus genuinely cares about being hospitable to guests because he listens and follows what they want to do. Thus, proving how Aeolus demonstrated proper xenia. Although Aeolus isn’t directly rewarded in this case, he is content because he helps someone in need. Overall, the quote itself is important to the story because it aids Odysseus’ journey home to Ithaca by the supplies that were given to him. Therefore, Aeolus demonstrates bona fide xenia to Odysseus as well as another Phaeacian kingdom