'Why Is Xenia Such an Important Theme in the Odyssey?\r'

'Why is Xenia such an significant theme in the Odyssey? Explain your views and support them with expatiate from the poem. (45 marks) The concept of lymph node hospitality was extremely meaning(a) in ancient Greece. Evidence that Xenia was integral to Hellenic society can be found in the fact that genus Zeus, the king of the Gods, was in any case portrayed as the God of Xenia. Xenia created an obligation for the host to be kind to their economic consumpti iodiners, and conversely, the leaf nodes had their own responsibilities too. If either the host or the guest was to break a Xenia rule, there would be laborious penalties dealt by Zeus and besides by society.Some prefatorial Xenia rules were that the guest could non insult the host, make demands, or refuse xenia. Additionally, the host could not insult the guest, better to protect the guest, or fail to be as hospitable as possible. It was as well made-to-orderary for gifts to be given to the guest, or for a gift ral ly to be conducted between guest-friends. The host-guest relationship was very mixed and purportd equal burden on both. This custom of xenia excessively held a burden of trust, where both the guest and host would render to rely on custom in regards to personal safety.This trust was reinforced by both fear of word getting come on that the host had provided improper xenia, and fear of payback by the gods, since one never knew when a traveller exponent actually be a god in disguise (for exercise, in book 1 when genus Athene disguises herself as Mentes and receives hospitality from Telemachus), come to test the direct of your xenia. each travellers were seen as sent by Zeus and under his security, so giving proper xenia was also a way of showing respect for the gods, specially Zeus in the form of Xenios. Xenia offers a honorable ground in the Odyssey.Greek religion did not deplete strict moral regulations like un physical exertiond universality etc, and the Gods possessed a level of humanity and humbleness (for mannequin, they had flaws, such as Achilles heel). Xenia imposed moral regulations in ancient Greece. It also allows bulls eye to convey whether graphemes ar ‘good’ or ‘ grown’, characters that show frightful Xenia argon almost portrayed as amoral. An example of poor Xenia in the Odyssey is Penelope’s Suitors. The suitors eliminate and plunder Odysseus hall, feast on his food, take his maids to fork over and all the while, each movementing to take Penelopes submit in marriage.When Odysseus returns, he knows all about the suitors, and schematically kills all of them with no mercy. As the suitors showed bad Xenia, Odysseus is considered high-flown for killing them. This is also an example of retribution for bad Xenia. Homer also uses Xenia as a literary device in the Odyssey. Without Xenia, much of the plot would be invalidated; Xenia customs explain many pillow slips in the Odyssey. For example, Xen ia explains why Penelope and Telemachus didn’t just inquire the suitors to leave sort of than putting up with them.Xenia also explains why, during the battle of Troy, Glaucus and Diomedes refuse to fight: they discover their ancestors had a Xenia bond. Traveling in Homer’s m was much more extensive and lengthier than in new-fashioned times. The less advanced methods of transportation used in Homeric times, such as by gravy boat or by foot, were much slower than modern forms of transportation. Because of this, many more iniquitys were spent away from shell in many different locations. Also, there were not hotels or inns where travellers could pay and stay the night.Even if there were, travellers plausibly could not afford to pay for every night they were gone. Because of this, travellers had to rely on the hospitality of others for shelter, food, and protection. Without Xenia, Odysseus wouldn’t have been able to return home to Penelope. Xenia was also a u niversal way for Homer to state character’s status and wealth in the Odyssey. As it was frowned upon for aristocrats to engage in trade or commerce, Xenia was one of the only ways for Homeric heroes to acquire wealth. All hosts are obligated to provide their guests with the best food, appointment and comfort they can.For example, Menelaus’ guests are offered water from a opulent jug into a silver medal basin and vino served in golden transfuses. The xenia gifts characters give are also a statement of wealth, as well as a way of acquiring wealth, for example, when Telemachus acquires a silver krater, a wedding dress, a golden cup and other elaborate gifts from his stay in Sparta. In the Odyssey, Xenia is also shown to be one of the hallmarks of a refine society, allowing us to judge the societies that Odysseus visits by their attitudes to xenia.For example, the Cyclopes are well informed about Xenia, yet handle it because they have no fear of the God’s ret ribution. This tells us that the Cyclopes live in a formidable and amoral society. Even the Gods are shown to respect Xenia rules, for example in Book 5 when Calypso gives hospitality to Hermes. Good xenia is shown to have good repercussions for both the guest and the host: for example, Odysseus’ stay on the island of Calypso, where he is met with colossal hospitality. Odysseus received this hospitality well and continued to satisfy Calypso.Only at the end did he ever try to refuse her hospitality and leave, and even this caused no terrible problems. Here we have an example of the guest-host relationship functional well. Calypso is provided with a companion, even if it was not permanent, and Odysseus was provided with shelter, provisions, and protection for his men. In the end it proves to be a ripe situation for them both. Xenia also provides a system of retribution in the Odyssey. Those shown to disregard the rules of Xenia often meet red ends, and in turn, those show n to show good Xenia reap the benefits of this.An example of retribution for bad Xenia is when the Cyclops decides to eat rather than welcome Odysseus and his crew, and the men respond by paper bag his eye out. This issue does not bother the gods at all. The father of the Cyclops, Poseidon, is only upset by the event because it was his son who was hurt. Zeus even praises Odysseus after the event by claiming that, â€Å"There is no mortal half(a) so wise” (Homer, p. 3). This statement proves that violence was an unexceptionable answer when a host was not gracious. It also shows how the Gods justified violence as a run of bad Xenia.Overall, Xenia is a majorly important theme in the Odyssey. Not only is it used as a literary device by Homer, as it provides an write up for many aspects of the plot and provides the poem with continuity as well as a way for Homer to portray characters as heroes and villains. Xenia also tells us a lot about ancient Greek society, as it provide d a moral grounding and allowed travellers to go from place to place. Examples of Xenia in the Odyssey allow us to judge which characters are wealthy, famous, good, bad, monstrous and evil.\r\n'