it may not be as extensive and serious as it is portrayed in the Odyssey‚ today’s hospitality is still relatable to those times. Hospitality was expected of all guest and host relationships. Xenia held both social and religious importance‚ as it was believed in ancient Greece that any person could actually be a god in disguise. In turn‚ xenia is a very important and prevalent major theme throughout Homer’s Odyssey. The custom of xenia to the Greeks meant a lot during a time when most of the world was
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Kaitlyn Lambert MR. Bovaird Honors English 9 23 May 2010 The Significance of Xenia in Homer’s Odyssey The society of Ancient Greece was very much centered around the gods‚ and a healthy fear of the consequences of not obeying their laws. The next most important staples of the society were the concepts of braver‚ pride‚ and hospitality‚ or Xenia. The significance of these values is shown quite clearly in The Odyssey of Homer. In the first five books of the epic‚ Telemachos is shown great hospitality
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Throughout the Odyssey there is an ongoing theme of hospitality or xenia that shows cultural values. The ancient cultural value of Xenia is a religious and social accept that has to do with the relationship between guest and hosts. Both the guess and the host have specific roles. The role of the host was to take in the stranger‚ provide him with shelter‚ food‚ drink and aiding them on their journey with whatever means they have to spear. This is seen in book one when Telemachus unknowingly takes
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The Value of Xenia on a Hero’s Journey A centralized idea in Ancient Greek society was the value of Xenia. Xenia was the Greek word for what we know as hospitality. Hospitality played a vital role in the way a person went about life and lived. In Homer’s epic poem the Odyssey‚ both Odysseus and his son Telemachus’ journey’s include frequent encounters of hospitality. Hospitality signifies the host and guest relationship. Honoring a guest was important to a host because it meant pleasing the Gods
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Why is Xenia such an important theme in the Odyssey? Explain your views and support them with details from the poem. (45 marks) The concept of guest hospitality was extremely important in ancient Greece. Evidence that Xenia was integral to Greek society can be found in the fact that Zeus‚ the king of the Gods‚ was also portrayed as the God of Xenia. Xenia created an obligation for the host to be hospitable to their guests‚ and conversely‚ the guests had their own responsibilities too. If either
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ridiculous and nevertheless unsafe is rather unheard of during the time of the Ancient Greeks. Hospitality is perhaps the most important and most popular quality of their society. Homer‚ a Greek author‚ tells his readers in his epic‚ The Odyssey‚ the significance of xenia demonstrated by characters when they are tested for their loyalty or when they are in need of help‚ representing the philosophy of the Greek culture. Homer‚ not willing to start the story off with a slow beginning‚ immediately brings
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extremely important in Homer’s "Odyssey." The higher a society’s level of hospitality‚ the more civilized that society is. Some specific examples of hospitality in "The Odyssey" are: Telemakhos’s treatment upon his arrival in Nestor‚ Odysseus’s treatment of Polyphemus‚ Penelope’s treatment of her suitors‚ and the slaying of those suitors by Odysseus. The Greek belief concerning the origin of the concept of hospitality‚ often called Xenia‚ is reflected at the end of "The Odyssey." The more hospitably
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Persson 1 Mrs. Matone English 9-H 4 March 2013 In The Odyssey‚ Homer suggests that xenia is a very important feature of ancient Greece. Xenia is a kind of code of moral conduct for hospitality. For example‚ In The Odyssey there are times when reciprocation is given when traveling. Furthermore‚ the Greek people show xenia because Zeus demands hospitality from humans. Lastly there are many times when hospitality is shown to strangers even
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Rasie Turner Ms. Neff English 1030 22 September 2010 The Odyssey Greek gods and goddesses are very important in the Greek culture. There are a few Greek gods and goddesses that play very important roles in The Odyssey. They are Athena‚ Zeus‚ Poseidon‚ and Circe‚ and Calypso. The relationship between the mortals and the gods are very interesting. Everything that happens in this poem‚ dealing with the mortals‚ is related to one of the gods. Without the gods‚ Greek culture and literature would
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For years and years I’ve been roaming around the seas in hope to get back to my homeland Ithaca. I’ve faced many obstacles along my journey but all with great morals. I started off my journey when Menelaus and Agamemnon asked me to go with them to Troy to retrieve Helen. The other islands I visited came along unexpectedly. The decision to leave my homeland Ithaca was the hardest decision a man could make. Leaving behind my wife Penelope and my new born son Telemachus was unbearable but when duty
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