The Odyssey Homework PDF

Preview

Summary

Download The Odyssey Homework PDF

Description

1

Homework: The Importance of Xenia One of the most important cultural values during Homer’s time was that of xenia. Xenia is essentially the act of showing generosity and or courtesy to those, especially strangers, who are far from home. During Homer’s time, it was believed that the Gods could disguise themselves amongst the common folk. A mortal would never be able to tell the difference between a regular person and a God in disguise, and that is why hospitality to strangers was so much more significant during that time period. It was of the utmost importance that everyone in that day and age display good xenia, especially to that of a stranger. If someone were to be rude to a stranger and display bad xenia, then they would be punished by the Gods accordingly. A good example of good xenia in the Odyssey comes from Book 1 when Telemachus shows great hospitality towards Mentes, who was Athena in disguise. In the modern day, it is not at important to display good xenia to people. It is fair to say that people do not really believe in the Greek Gods and Goddesses anymore, so the whole idea of the gods potentially being disguised as humans does not really hold much weight anymore. In my opinion, there is a good chunk of people in today’s world that are just poorly mannered and rude. The Odyssey does in fact display some scenes of bad xenia. A prime example of poor hospitality would be how Penelope’s suitors behave in general. The suitors are rude, slobs, and just unpleasant in general towards any company. Hospitality is established as a key value in this epic from the get-go. Telemachus shows warm hospitality towards a disguised Athena, and Nestor shows great hospitality towards Telemachus as well. So all in all, hospitality is established as a key value in the story solely through how the characters behave and interact, and it is made apparent in both good and bad light throughout the story.

2...