The Art of Hospitality - The Greeks and the Odyssey Essay -- essays re

Each culture treats outsiders and visitors with particular contrasts from each other culture. One of the most friendly societies was that of the old Greeks, exemplified in Homer’s The Odyssey by both thoughtful hosts and visitors. In Greece and The Odyssey, not exclusively was acceptable accommodation decorum expected, however the additional weight from the conviction that the divine beings would rebuff the host if visitors were treated without regard (regardless of whether they were poor or rich) further constrained superb habits. The Odyssey represents the best possible manners when managing visitors.      Whether companion or outsider, when a visitor of any kind showed up the host would welcome them and offer them food and drink before any further discussion or commitment of any sort would happen. In the event that the host had significant riches, a house keeper would draw out a bowl of water in a â€Å"graceful brilliant pitcher† to flush their hands, found in Book I (line 160) when Athena visits Telemachus, again in Book 4 (60) when Menelaus takes Telemachus and Athena as visitors, and furthermore in Book 7 when the King of the Phaeacians welcomes Odysseus. Tidbits, meats, and wines are completely brought out and laid before the visitor, as their coming is viewed as a festival, as observed when Telemachus is facilitating Athena, â€Å"A sullen maid welcomed on bread to serve them,/hors d'oeuvres in abundance as well, lavishwith her abundance./A carver lifted platters of meat toward them,/meats of each sort†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Book 1, 163-166) On a few events, an es pecially h...