Hospitality of Guest in The Greek Culture Represented in Iliad

Hospitality shows the reception and entertainment of guest, visitors, or strangers through unselfishness and goodwill. In the Greek culture hospitality is shown as a great level of respect with a massive feast and days of celebration. The Greek started using hospitality as a sign of welcoming to travelers come into their land. Hospitality is still a crucial part in life every business still takes making a guest experience the most exciting thing. Greeks believed that if they showed good respect to others the gods would make their lives better. In the Iliad there is a showing of being very hospitable, taking advantage of someone being hospitable, and not carrying for other people at all. Good hospitality is where the host throws an event for a guest without expecting anything in return.

In the Iliad, Book VI there is a conversation between Diomedes and the Lycian prince two people that have never meet before, but since their ancestors where friends and exchanged gifts that meant during warEven in the thick of battle. There are enoughTrojans and allies for me to kill, whomeverA god gives me and I can run down myself. And enough Greeks for you to kill as you can. And let’s exchange armor, so everyone will knowThat we are friends from our fathers’ days. (Iliad, Book VI: 122-132)Since their grandfathers exchanged gifts that means these two men and their families will not shed each other's blood even though they are on two different sides of the war. Once the men decided to not fight at all Zeus felt the need to take away the princess's valuables. Even though in this culture this is morally right to do what the ancestors thought is right, but Zeus decided to take his precious valuables but he now has a sense of loyalty and self-respect from the altercation. Good hospitality can be easily taken advantage of by “evil” men when they use it as a way to bargain with. In the Iliad, Book IX Agamemnon did everything Zeus asked him to do, build an army and train them. Even with all he had done there was no chance for his army to win the war. Agamemnon sent his men to find Achilles in his tent and once they found him.

The first thing Achilles did is welcome them, and even though he knew their intentions for the visit he still offered them A large bowl, son of MenoetiusAnd stronger wine, and cups all around. Then he cast a carving block down in the firelightAnd set on it a sheep’s back and a goat’s, And a hog chine too, marbled with fat. (Iliad, Book IX: 132-148)The men came to get his aid but took advantage of the situation and his hospitality of him being nice to try and get him to go against himself to help them in a war that he has already faught in. In some cases, there is where Troy stole Helen from her land after a challenge has been put up for her hand in marriage. Even though the Greeks and the Trojan for centuries of animosity the Trojans decided to kidnap the prize procession of the Greeks. The Trojans started the first iteration of the two African tribes of the Sunnis and Tutsis type of scenario, and then bringing war as the only resolution of the feud. The Trojan people, even though after countless years of tension, decided to go against the gods rules of being respectful and keeping their hospitality take the one thing the Greeks had. In the culture of the time this is the most disrespectful thing a “man” could do to another “man”. Since that moment the majority of wars are because of the dispute of man taking over another man land. Hospitality shows the reception and entertainment of guest, visitors, or strangers through unselfishness and goodwill. Hospitality is the focal point of the Greek culture helping the people feel in touch with the gods.

They would achieve this by having grands parties and treating every guest, even and enemy, with great respect. Hospitality is a part of the modern world casting from homes, schools, and businesses. Once a show of bad hospitality this could show that a certain guest may not come back, but in the instant of the Iliad this went the extra mile, and the Greeks felt like the only way to resolve the conflict with war. If the world did not have hospitality everybody would feel a sense of anxiousness of when the next major tragedy is going to unfold.