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Thaddeus Andracki
Dr. N. Blake; Chase Dimock
CWL 241 (11 AM Discussion)
19 November 2008
Kyklopês and Carthaginians:
Hospitality and Civilization in Classical Epics
Hospitality was one of the most important customs in the ancient world. Its cultural significance is evidenced in two great epic poems, Homer’s Odyssey and Virgil’s Aeneid . Both stories tell of wayward voyagers seeking shelter in foreign lands, but the outcomes in each are different. The poems use this social construct to provide glimpses into the Greek and Roman concepts of civilization. In both epics, hospitality supplies the foundation of trust and solidarity necessary to build a civilized society.
From the point Odysseus and his men first arrive on the island of the Kyklopês, they are subjected to inhospitality. Odysseus expects Polyphêmos, a Kyklops, to honor the laws of hospitality, asking for “any gifts/ [he] give[s]—as custom is to honor strangers” (536). Odysseus clearly demands the foreigner to follow the hospitable standards of his society. When the
Kyklops refuses in a horrific fashion, Odysseus questions whether this society can be called a civilization. When relating the story of his exploits on that island, Odysseus maintains that the
Kyklopês are uncivilized. They are “without a law to bless them,” and they “have no muster and no meeting” (532). He also calls attention to the Kyklops’s biological inferiorities by comparing him to a “shaggy mountain” (534) and pointing out his “[one] crater eye” (539). Odysseus claims that the savage nature of the Kyklopês, which is evident in both their social habits and their physical features, prevents them from being included in the classical view of civilization, in which people convene to share ideas and discuss policy and problems. Instead of following the

Andracki 2 democratic, Greek ideal—in which everyone has a voice—the Kyklopês mete out justice individually.
Polyphêmos holds no fear for Zeus, and thus does not honor the laws of hospitality that the king of the gods has established. Instead of giving gifts to the visitors, he is “ignorant of civility” (534) and an “eater of guests” (542). His acts place him outside the realm of civilization and firmly within the realm of savagery. Because he and his society do not respect Zeus, the lawgiver, they are denied the civilizing and ordering benefits of Zeus’s presence. These constructs show that Odysseus—and therefore Homer—believe that civilization is built upon the foundation of hospitality. Without adherence to the laws of hospitality, a society is left without the guidance of Zeus. Then, without this guidance, it is left in chaos because it lacks the organization to establish civilization as the Greeks viewed it.
In contrast to Odysseus’s experience with the Kyklopês, Virgil’s story of Aeneas and his crew washing up on the shores of Dido’s fledgling city, Carthage, demonstrates how Dido lives up to expectations of hospitality that were in place. After Aeneas describes his plight, Dido states,
“I’ll help you, keep you safe, and send you on. . . . The city I build is yours” (1190). Dido opens her home and her city to the men, in keeping with the ancient concept of hospitality. When Dido takes Aeneas and his crew to her palace and lavishes upon them an incomparable feast, she proves that she is willing to accept the divine command to accept strangers into her home.
Because of her hospitality, Dido is able to build a civilization with a strong foundation. Virgil vividly describes the way the Carthaginians are building their new city: “Working like mad, those Tyrians; some at walls/ some toiled at forts, surveying, or hauling stone . . . They had their laws, their courts, their councilmen” (1186). In contrast to the lawlessness that ruled the
Kyklopês, Dido’s people have the drive and the order necessary to establish a progressive, functional civilization. In particular, the Carthaginians have systems in place to establish justice

Andracki 3 and the ability to convene in order to solve problems, both of which were vital to the classical concept of civilization.
The fundamental difference between the Kyklopêan and the Carthaginian societies is the presence of—or lack of—trust between the members of each group. Both Homer and Virgil, though from different time periods, suggest that loyalty to the demands of hospitality allows people to trust each other and become willing to cooperate for the good of the society. Trust provides the foundation on which citizens can work together to usher in civilization. From the classical standpoint, civilization requires people to depend upon each other, and mutual trust is the source of beneficial dependence.
The Kyklopês’ society is built upon indifference and solitude. The other Kyklopês come into the plot only when Polyphêmos screams in pain, and when they do come, they do nothing to help. The lack of hospitality shown to strangers extends to members of their own society. From this, one can see that there is also an absence of trust in the society, and without trust, a society cannot develop civilization, which, according to the Greeks, includes shared political and economic discourse. The Kyklopês have no such discourse, and they distrust each other to the point that they cannot assemble to establish law and order.
On the other hand, Carthage has a solid foundation of mutual benevolence. The people in
Dido’s city are welcoming to foreigners, and they are willing to help each other. Their willingness to trust foreigners is evidence that they are able to trust each other. Virgil describes them as they build “like bees in June out in the blooming fields . . . the work hums on” (1186).
He uses the metaphor of a beehive to illustrate the collective and considerate civilization.
Because the Carthaginians accept the rules of hospitality, a sense of trust and harmony permeates their society. These aspects allow them to take part in the public services of lawmaking bodies and councils that the Romans viewed as essential to true civilization.

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In conclusion, both The Odyssey and The Aeneid present a context in which hospitality can become the foundation of a civilized world. Even though they go in different directions, they relate the tales of wanderers who ask for help in a foreign land. The response of the citizens of each foreign land determines the level of civilization it is considered to have. Each epic poem illustrates that the laws of hospitality provide the basis for a trustworthy society, which is in turn necessary to develop civilization as the Greek and Roman authors perceived it.