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What Is The Guest-Host Relationship In The Odyssey

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What Is The Guest-Host Relationship In The Odyssey
Treating guests with respect and generosity has always been a source of pride for hosts, as society has encouraged this way of thinking throughout history. In Homer’s, The Odyssey, the importance of this guest-host relationship becomes reinforced time and time again during Odysseus’ journey. When he finally makes it back home to Ithaca, Homer clearly illustrates for the reader how the guest host relationship holds paramount over everything else: “So you, old misery, seeing a god has led you here to me, don’t try to charm me now, don’t spellbind me with lies! Never for that will I respect you, treat you kindly; no, it’s my fear of Zeus, the god of guests, and because I pity you…” (Homer 313, 314). Immediately, Odysseus’ host, Eumaeus, detects
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