5th Classics notes on HOMER’S ODYSSEY
HOSPITALITY IN THE ODYSSEY
Hospitality is so important in the Odyssey that Homer introduces us to the code of
behaviour almost immediately in Book 1 when Pallas Athene disguises herself as Mentes
and visits Telemachus in Ithaca. Telemachus and Pallas Athene provide us with the
model for a good host and guest respectively to which all subsequent hosts and guests can
be compared.
In Greek, xenos means stranger (hence xenophobia: fear of strangers) or host depending
on the context. Xenia means hospitality.
Xenia is a code of etiquette (manners) over which as Odysseus tells us in Book 9 Zeus
himself presides.
Under Zeus Xenios guest and host have obligations to each other and obligations to Zeus.
The code as presented to us in Book 1
 A good guest like Pallas Athene must wait on the threshold of the dwelling for the
host to notice him.
 A good host like Telemachus welcomes his guest and relieves him of his luggage
 A good host then sees to his guest’s every need: comfort, water to wash, food, drink
and entertainment
 Only after the above have been met sufficiently may a good host then ask his guest
who he is, where he comes from and why he has come.
Although Athena departs earlier than normal in Book 1 the rest of the code is implied
through their parting conversation and there are many more examples of this code being
born out in the rest of the epic.
 A good host must be able to intuit or anticipate his guest’s feelings. No host should
ever detain his guest longer than he wishes to stay.
 A good guest however must ask permission of his host to leave.
 Before leaving a good host gives a parting gift to his guest. The gift must befit the
guest’s social status: a kingly gift for a king, a princely gift for a prince or a modest
gift for a poor man.
 In addition to this the good host should also ensure his guest has ample provisions for
the journey ahead and is well equipped for that journey. A mortal will give his guest
provisions and directions. A goddess will give her guest provisions, a favourable
wind and perhaps a prophecy of what lies ahead.
5th Classics notes on HOMER’S ODYSSEY
HOSPITALITY IN THE ODYSSEY
The finest hosts in the Odyssey are Menelaus for Telemachus (Book 4), Alcinous for
Odysseus (Books 7 & 8) and also Eumaeus as an example of a poor host for Odysseus
and Telemachus (Book 16)
The finest guests in the Odyssey are Pallas Athena, Telemachus and Odysseus
The worst host in the Odyssey is Polyphemus the Cyclops.
The worst guests in the Odyssey are the suitors.
Other examples
Divine Hospitality
Even the gods practice Xenia. When Hermes arrives in Ogygia in Book 5 Calypso
welcomes him in and follows the code as practiced by humans only instead of offering
food and wine she gives ambrosia and nectar: the food and drink of the gods.
Modest Hospitality
If Menelaus and Alcinous are the best kingly hosts, Eumaeus is perhaps the finest host in
the Odyssey. Homer clearly loved Euameus because in the Odyssey he addresses him in
the second person: “And you Eumeaus …” as if he is talking to him directly. Eumaeus’
hospitality is appreciated all the more because he is poor and because he has little to give
but gives all that he has willingly and openly.
Problems
Hospitality is a social convention and as such it is prone to interpretation. In Book 2
Telemachus effectively tries to sue the suitors publicly in the Achaean Assembly but the
suitors present a good argument in their defense. Penelope has been less than honest in
her dealings with the suitors and she even deceived them for 4 years as she fobbed them
off with her clever shroud ploy. The suitors feel justified. They doom themselves
however beyond question when they maltreat “the beggar” in the palace.
You could argue that Odysseus and his men stretch the code of Xenia in Book 9 by
entering the Cyclops’ cave and helping themselves to his cheese before he arrives back
from the fields. Remember though that whilst under Zeus Xenios guest and host are
equally obliged to each other they are privately obliged to Zeus too. Therefore of the two
parties involved Polyphemus is by far the more guilty because he disobeys the code
outright, whereas Odysseus and his men merely stretch the rules slightly because their
host was is not home when they arrived.
TIP
If asked to explain why for example Polyphemus is a bad host always use the model of
Telemachus and Mentes from Book 1 as a guide detailing the Cyclops’ step by step
failure to obey the code of Xenia.