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Polyphemus Idea Of Xenia In Homer's The Odyssey

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Polyphemus Idea Of Xenia In Homer's The Odyssey
In book 9 of The Odyssey, Polyphemus does not partake in the concept of xenia. After Polyphemus had finished milking his animals, he caught a glimpse of Odysseus and his men who in turn asked for “a guest gift, the sort that hosts give strangers” (9.301-302). Odysseus demanded for such a thing to portray a brave leader in the eyes of his men since “the hearts inside [them] shook” when Polyphemus entered his home (9.288). The terse response that Polyphemus received led him to eat two men because he was not expecting such an insolent answer. Odysseus continues to advise Polyphemus to “ respect the gods…[or] Zeus will avenge their rights!” (9.303-305). This does not influence Polyphemus’s idea of xenia because he and his fellow cyclopes do not
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