Gracious Hosts And Guests example essay topic

Each culture treats strangers and guests with distinct differences from every other culture. One of the most hospitable cultures was that of the ancient Greeks, exemplified in Homer's The Odyssey by both gracious hosts and guests. In Greece and The Odyssey, not only was good hospitality etiquette expected, but the added pressure from the conviction that the gods would punish the host if guests were treated without respect (whether they were poor or rich) further compelled excellent manners. The Odyssey illustrates the proper etiquette when dealing with guests.

Whether friend or stranger, when a guest of any sort arrived the host would greet them and offer them food and drink before any further conversation or engagement of any kind would occur. If the host had considerable wealth, a maid would bring out a basin of water in a "graceful golden pitcher" to rinse their hands, seen in Book I (line 160) when Athena visits Telemachus, again in Book 4 (60) when Menelaus takes Telemachus and Athena as guests, and also in Book 7 when the King of the Phaeacians greets Odysseus. Appetizers, meats, and wines are all brought out and laid before the guest, as their coming is seen as a celebration, as seen when Telemachus is hosting Athena, "A staid housekeeper brought on bread to serve them, /appetizers aplenty too, lavish with her bounty. /A carver lifted platters of meat toward them, /meats of every sort...

". (Book 1,163-166) On several occasions, a particularly hospitable host offer the guest the choicest meet, even when they are entitled to it themselves: .".. he passed them a fat rich loin with his own hands, /the choicest part, that he'd been served himself". (Book 4, 74-75) This occurs regardless of wealth; while Menelaus is rich, Odysseus's wine herd is not, yet gives Odysseus the best of the roast, .".. to Odysseus he presented the boar's long loin / and the cut of honor cheered his master's heart". (Book 14,496-497) It is not until after the guest has had their fill that the host may inquire about anything, and sometimes they do not partake in their entitlement to question their guest.

In the case of the Phaeacians, no one asks Odysseus' name until it has become increasingly imperative that they have that knowledge; they don't ask after days of hosting him, even preparing to take him to his home on Ithaca without inquiring his name, "Farewell, stranger, sir... May the gods grant you safe passage home to see your wife". (Book 8,454-457) This gentle hospitality continues, and may have lasted through if not for Odysseus weeping when Demodocus sings, which will bring Alcinous' asking for his name, .".. Ever since our meal began and the stirring bard / launched his song, our guest has never paused in his tears... Come, tell us the name they call you there at home".

(Book 8,606-618) Ironically, the Phaeacians are ideal to Greek standards of hospitality, yet do not host many guests due to their isolation. A good host will not keep a guest longer than they wish to be kept, and a guest should not linger beyond the time they are welcome. Menelaus says this outright to Telemachus, stating, "I'd never detain you here too long... I'd find fault with another host... to warm to his guests, too pressing or too cold...

It's bad either way, /spurring the stranger home who wants to linger, /holding the one who longs to leave". (Book 15, 74-80) Calypso keeps Odysseus trapped, holding onto him without letting him have the choice of leaving, making her an incomprehensibly abhorrent host. Polyphemus retains Odysseus and his men by closing the entrance of the cave off with a boulder. On the other hand, as a guest, one has the obligations to be polite and unimposing - the suitors refuse to leave, demonstrating poor taste of the guest, "Suitors plague my mother-against her will-... they infest our palace day and night, /they butcher our cattle, our sheep, our fat goats, feasting themselves sick... ". In essence, the suitors demonstrate the exact opposite of an ideal guest - a greedy, gluttonous guest who will never leave.

The motivation to be a gracious host comes not only from being a cultural norm; it stems from the Greek polytheism as well. Zeus, known as "the god of beggars" and "the god of guests", will punish any man who treats a guest poorly, as seen several times in the scene where Eumaeus hosts his master, and he explains his actions towards Odysseus, "So you, old misery, seeing a god has led you here to me... no, it's my fear of Zeus, the god of guests, and because I pity you... ". (Book 14,437-441) It was believed that Zeus would sometimes take the form of beggars and guests to test people on whether they were good hosts, so a host would always have to treat a guest well to be sure they were not punished for their irreconcilable deeds.

The Greeks, once one of the largest empires, still practice some of these traditions today. Good hospitality remains one of the most noble and honorable practices a culture may have - treating a stranger as one of your own is not a normally found human trait. It takes an advanced civilization to embrace ideals such as the ancient Greeks did; one that cannot be matched by today's modern culture.