The myth of redemptive violence is one that is told throughout history. It is one in which violence is the creator. Whether it be creation of the cosmos, peace, or some other result, in this myth violence results in redemption. This myth has been imbedded in our society to such a degree that it is naturalized and accepted as the way things are without much reflection. For example, many Christians probably don't contemplate the ways redemptive violence is at the heart of their religion. A classic example of the myth of redemptive violence is found in the elaborate poem The Odyssey. Many elements of violence and how we associate with violence are explored within the multitude of pages of this tale.…
Battered, bruised, and weary from his endeavor through the merciless desert storm, the ragged traveler found his way to a foreign village. He collapsed upon the ground as life - sure enough - was slowly sucked away from his frail, timid body. Upon cue, the native villagers appeared one-by-one and rescued the traveler from the precipice of death and magnanimously clothed and bathed him. Unsparingly, they fed and treated him as royalty. Unconditionally, they asked for nothing in return. Such kindness to guests was a key feature of the ancient Greeks. In order to advance their island-scattered civilization, the ancient Greeks relied heavily on trade and journeys, and in consequence, one of their key beliefs was the concept of hospitality or xenia. As the ancient Greeks tended to embed such beliefs within their literature, Homer, an ancient…
Hospitality as a theme in any literary work may not seem note-worthy. However, in Homer's epic poem, The Odyssey, it becomes fundamental to the telling of the story. In addition to hospitality in The Odyssey, the question of is it given out of fear of retribution from the gods or out of true generosity, is raised. What is also shown is the form of which it comes in, whether it be unwanted, given too much or taken advantage of. Homer illustrates the theme of hospitality through the actions of Menelaus, the Phaeacians, Nestor, Eumaious and the suitors.…
Imagine a time when a person could walk up to a stranger’s door and immediately be welcomed and situated comfortably within the home. The idea that this is ridiculous and nevertheless unsafe is rather unheard of during the time of the Ancient Greeks. Hospitality is perhaps the most important and most popular quality of their society. Homer, a Greek author, tells his readers in his epic, The Odyssey, the significance of xenia demonstrated by characters when they are tested for their loyalty or when they are in need of help, representing the philosophy of the Greek culture.…
home from war. Soldiers go through loss and take heroic acts in the same manner as…
It is very important for the people of the ancient world to practice hospitality. In the Odyssey, Athena, disguising herself as a seafaring man, appears at Odysseus’ palace. She is ignored at the front door by the suitors of Penelope. Later, Odysseus’ son, Telemachus, apologizes to her for the suitors’ lack of hospitality. He invites her to have a meal. In return, Athena offers the young prince a piece of good advice that he should go abroad in order to seek his father’s whereabouts. In this case, the host and the guest establish a mutually helpful and respectful relationship that ensures their safety and the society’s stability.…
Homer wrote one of the greatest and earliest literary works, the Odyssey around the eight-century BCE. The Odyssey provides us with a lens through which we examine Greek society around eight hundred BCE. Prevalent themes including, Greek hospitality, their attitudes towards the afterlife, and their relationship of gods and man are all present in the Odyssey, which are also contemporaneous in ancient Greek life around the eighth century. Ultimately, the Odyssey allows us to learn more about people’s customs and beliefs in archaic Greece.…
Hospitality is one of the most important themes in Homer’s The Odyssey, and the Phaeacians seem to be among the more hospitable people that Odysseus meets. Among the other people that Odysseus encounters are Aeolus, Polyphemus, Eumaeus, and the suitors. Most of the people he meets are generally pretty hospitable, due to the fear of Zeus punishing them.…
The reason Odysseus has taken so much time to reach back to Ithaca is associated with the greek term Xenia, but this element in literature called Xenia can also be helpful for one’s survival. The greek term Xenia refers to hospitality, meaning giving anyone respect with food, shelter or any need. To the Greeks at the time hospitality was a large way to show respect and to gain respect from neighbors and other civilians. Greeks believed the gods wanted them to show hospitality to anyone who showed up at their homes, they also believed that turning away someone and not providing them this hospitality would result in some form of punishment from the gods. Hospitality was important in the times of Homer. My idea is that…
Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey demonstrates the importance of hospitality to wanderers and strangers by showing numerous examples of how a host and a guest should properly interact with one another.…
The Greek idea of community starts from the beginning of the Story. When Penelope was giving birth of Telemachus, everybody in the town gathered around Eumaeus hut. The joy cherished among the people in Ithaca; however there was distressing news about king Odysseus leaving to war against the troy. This journey to troy could take 10 years or may be more. Odysseus Left for troy right after the birth of Telemachus. Odysseus was forced to leave his kingdom not knowing whether he will be able to see his wife or child again. He also makes a promise to Penelope that he will be alive like the tree of life in his house. If so he doesn’t return until his son (Telemachus) gets beard in his chin, she shall marry again.…
In our modern day, there are plenty of different ways that a person can show hospitality towards a guest whether it be a stranger or friend. Having only lived in the United States, I have found myself to be treated most graciously by my friends, but every so often, I do find myself to be lost in a friends house. Every person was taught certain morals as a child that they now use in their adult lives, but for some people, hospitality has been thought to be just letting them come into the house. In the Odyssey, so far, we as the readers have come to see how hospitality can be very well done. Whether it be Telemachus or Odysseus traveling and staying at places, they were served at the finest level even though they were complete strangers.…
Telemakhos gives a warm greeting to Athena when she walks into his house and says “Greetings stranger! Welcome to our feast[…] A maid/ brought them a silver finger bowl and filled it/ out of a beautiful spouting golden jug” (1.154-171). When Athena came into their house they immediately welcomed her and brought out their nicest jugs and bowls. Telemakhos does this to make her feel welcomed. In this quotes you can see that good hospitality shows loyalty towards others. When Athena walked in to Telemakhos’s house he automatically cared towards her and made her feel at home, this was one of the many examples of good hospitality in The Odyssey.…
The first example is the house of Menelaus. Telemachus and Peisistratus come to Lacedaemon. “And so they came to the rolling lands of Lacedaemon, deep in the hills, and drove up to the palace of the illustrious Menelaus” (The Odyssey). After Telemachus and Peisistratus reached Menelaus’s house, one of his servants, Eteoneus, told Menelaus who had arrived. Once Menelaus had heard this, he ordered his servants to unyoke the horses and bring them to the feast. “They led the sweating horses from under the yoke and tied them up at the mangers in the stable, throwing down beside them a feed of grain mixed with white barley…When they had feasted their eyes on the sight, they went and bathed in polished baths, and after the maids had washed them,…
Citizens living in Peloponnesia would have been ready to welcome a guest to house them for a long stay or even just a simple meal. The features of the ancient Greek times are that the hospitality had to be ready on the spot at almost all times. In modern day times an unscheduled visit from a stranger would be unheard of. For an ancient Greek this would not have been too extremely rare. Even though might be a slight inconvenience the people who lived in this culture were ready and welcoming to a stranger like this.…