Analysis of The Views on Hospitality in Ancient Society Through Literature: The Odyssey, The Book of Joshua, and The Arabian Nights

Throughout history and literature, people have been crossing borders. Not only have groups crossed physical borders such the walls of Jericho in Joshua and the seas that Odysseus crossed in The Odyssey, but they have crossed social barriers as well. Some examples include crossing the barriers between mortals and immortal gods such as how Athena disguised herself so that she could interact with humans, the crossing of gender barriers like Rahab did in the book of Joshua, and even the crossing of different social classes, much like Sindbad was able to do as a merchant in The Arabian Nights. One thing that has been proven true in all of these stories though is that when people cross borders, the hospitality – or xenia – of the natives determine how they are viewed. No matter what era or culture, those with an abundance of xenia are perceived to be civilized and those with no sense of hospitality are considered savage or monstrous.

In Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, there are several examples of xenia shown to travelers by civilized societies. The first example of xenia is when Telemachus crosses the sea in an attempt to find more information about his father. He encounters Nestor and his sons, who greet him with open arms and feed him before even asking him to reveal his identity. By welcoming Telemachus without knowing who his is and what he wants, Nestor and his people are seen as good and honorable because of their display of xenia. As Telemachus travels on, he encounters Menelaus and Helen of Troy, who greet him with the same courtesy as Nestor.

Instead of dismissing him, Menelaus feeds him before asking who he is. This standard of welcoming and providing a meal for travelers before questioning them was considered respectful in Ancient Greece, and this tradition of xenia was widespread across the Ancient Greek world too. Odysseus encounters xenia in his travels as well, even when he is far from home. The biggest example of xenia Odysseus encounters is when he is washed on the shore of the Phaeacians. Naked and shipwrecked, he approaches Nausikaa for help. She shows xenia by helping him (and was especially inclined to do so because Athena makes him appear more handsome than before). Nausikaa and her parents welcome Odysseus and feed and entertain him. This xenia, like the xenia Menelaus and Nestor show Telemachus, is intended to prove that the Phaeacians are civil, respectable people.

In contrast, Homer also presents characters who show no xenia towards travelers and accorded them with savagery and being grotesque. Odysseus, during his journey, encounters many different people and creatures. As he is crossing borders into different lands though, he meets creatures with different morals and ideals than his own. He meets a six-headed creature named Scylla, and she greets them by grabbing one of Odysseus's shipmates and eats him, rather than displaying even the slightest bit of xenia. As she continues to feed on Odysseus’ men, they try to escape. This representation of Scylla shows her as a human-eating monster, acting without emotions or remorse. Her actions go against the ideals of Odysseus and his culture because instead of feeding the men, she feeds on them. The same thing happens when Odysseus encounters Polyphemus, the giant cyclops. Polyphemus does not greet them with open arms, food, and presents. Instead, he feeds on the men much like Scylla did. He is presented as a grotesque monster because of this opposition to the idea of xenia. Both Scyllaand Polyphemus are not human, so it can’t be expected that they would act in the same fashion as humans did at the time. It is not nearly as surprising to see a lack of xenia in creatures that are literal monsters as it is to see humans act without xenia. Back in Ithaca, the suitors were an example of people without a sense of xenia. These suitors were eating away at Odysseus’ wealth both literally and figuratively. They didn’t care about the damage they were causing.

Characterizing their behavior by a lack of xenia causes the reader to perceive the suitors not as literal monsters like Scylla and Polyphemus, but as uncivilized heathens. This is why when Odysseus murders them all, we still side with him because the suitors’ lack of hospitality caused them to be unlikeable characters who deserved the outcome that came to them. The idea of xenia crossed cultural borders of its own; welcoming guests and travelers with hospitality continued even after Ancient Greek times. In the story of The Arabian Nights, Sindbad, much like Odysseus, crosses the sea and finds new land and societies. Sindbad is greeted with both hospitality and hostility, and the way he is greeted represents how he views the culture and peoples he has just met. He is first greeted by ugly apes who sacked his ship and left them stranded. He then encounters an enormous black creature who, much like Polyphemus, eats Sindbad’s men (one per day they stay on the land). Both the apes and the black giant are described in a grotesque way. They do not greet Sindbad and his fellow men with the xenia they expect. These creatures do not act in the same way Sindbad would, so he views them as monstrous and savage. Sindbad also encounters a crowd of naked men who lead him and his crew to their king. Sindbad later finds out that these people are cannibals, and the food that his men were fed caused them to resist fleeing and fattened them up. Although not as grotesque as the apes and the black giant, these cannibals are also seen by Sindbad as savage-like. Although they greet the men with open arms and food, it is a different kind of xenia than Sindbad would receive if he returned home. In fact, it was not xenia at all, but a trick with a self-serving intent. This is why Sindbad viewed them as bad. Although Sindbad was greeted with hostility on his journeys, he was always treated with xenia when he returned home. He was fed and entertained and later, he told the stories of his journeys to his people. He viewed his own people as civilized and respectable because they greeted him with the hospitality he expected.

Xenia is still relevant today when crossing borders, though it poses more of a challenge. Back in Ancient Greece, people were afraid of the gods and what they could do to them. They greeted everyone with xenia because they were afraid of potentially turning down a god in disguise. So, they welcomed travelers and greeted them with food and entertainment so that the gods would not spread havoc to their society. They would only ask their traveler to tell their name and story after they were treated well. The same thing happened for Sindbad. He was greeted by civilized and respectable people with xenia, and was only asked to tell his stories after he had been fed and entertained.

Today, people are much more hesitant. If someone were to knock on another’s door, chances are they would not be invited inside for some food and entertainment. This could be because back then, travel was not as common and it was more difficult to get from place to place. As a result, many people stayed within the place that they grew up in, or at least within a community they’ve always known. So, when a traveler from a different place came along, they were recognized as foreign and were shown hospitality. Today, travel is much more common and people don’t always stay in one place all of their lives. But, theidea of hospitality is still very important. Treating people with respect and being a good host arestill marks of a civilized society, even if we are more hesitant about greeting strange travelers off of the street. Hospitality is still strong today, just in a more subtle way than back in the time of The Odyssey and The Arabian Nights.