Examples Of Xenia In The Odyssey
Three Islands, Three Lessons
In the epic poem, The Odyssey, Homer tells the story of a war hero named Odysseus who is away from home for twenty years. During this time, Odysseus fights in the Trojan War and then travels for ten years trying to return home. Throughout this journey, Odysseus learns many lessons; however, the three most important lessons he learns are to follow the laws of xenia, the importance of family, and to show respect to the gods.
The first lesson that Odysseus learns is to follow the laws of xenia. When Polyphemus gets home and sees that Odysseus ate his sheep, he eats his men, “So I spoke, but he in pitiless spirit…sprang up and reached for my companions slapped them against the ground…brains ran all over the floor…he cut them up limb by limb and got supper ready” (144). Odysseus does not follow the laws of xenia because he eats Polyphemus’ sheep without …show more content…
During his time in Hades, Odysseus found his mother and discovered the reason for her death, “And so it was me…the reason I perished…it was my longing for you that took the sweet spirit of life from me” (173). In this quote, it shows that when one has family, there is someone that cares for another. Also, family always cares about the person they love, like his mother dies worrying about Odysseus' well being. Another way Odysseus learns the importance of family is when he finds his way home, Odysseus is reunited with his family. Laertes is there with his arms wide open to welcome him home like it says in this quote, “Opening his arms [Odysseus] ran straight to him” (355). This quote goes to show that family will always welcome one home. One can tell that this family really love Odysseus a lot, because his whole family is worried and just can't wait until Odysseus gets home to Ithaka. Odysseus learns that family is very important because they will always be there for one and other through thick and
In the epic poem, The Odyssey, Homer tells the story of a war hero named Odysseus who is away from home for twenty years. During this time, Odysseus fights in the Trojan War and then travels for ten years trying to return home. Throughout this journey, Odysseus learns many lessons; however, the three most important lessons he learns are to follow the laws of xenia, the importance of family, and to show respect to the gods.
The first lesson that Odysseus learns is to follow the laws of xenia. When Polyphemus gets home and sees that Odysseus ate his sheep, he eats his men, “So I spoke, but he in pitiless spirit…sprang up and reached for my companions slapped them against the ground…brains ran all over the floor…he cut them up limb by limb and got supper ready” (144). Odysseus does not follow the laws of xenia because he eats Polyphemus’ sheep without …show more content…
During his time in Hades, Odysseus found his mother and discovered the reason for her death, “And so it was me…the reason I perished…it was my longing for you that took the sweet spirit of life from me” (173). In this quote, it shows that when one has family, there is someone that cares for another. Also, family always cares about the person they love, like his mother dies worrying about Odysseus' well being. Another way Odysseus learns the importance of family is when he finds his way home, Odysseus is reunited with his family. Laertes is there with his arms wide open to welcome him home like it says in this quote, “Opening his arms [Odysseus] ran straight to him” (355). This quote goes to show that family will always welcome one home. One can tell that this family really love Odysseus a lot, because his whole family is worried and just can't wait until Odysseus gets home to Ithaka. Odysseus learns that family is very important because they will always be there for one and other through thick and