Hospitality in the Iliad gives us an insight into ancient Greece and was a major feature of their culture. In the Iliad there are many examples of applications of hospitality in the lives of people at the time. We use the Iliad as a tool to examine their culture because it would have been passed down orally for generations as part of the only literature they had. So their worldviews and values would be evident in these precious tales. Hospitality in Greek is Xenia who was the host to host the friendship and obligations of the host and the guest. The exchange of gifts was usually carried out between guests and hosts. They really looked for a symbiotic give and take relationship where the host does most of the legwork, but an honorable and good host would give a gift or reward in return. The only time the host could truly repel or chase away a guest was when a guest terribly violated xenia to the point that Zeus would give the order to seek justice for an act of such magnitude. For example when Paris is a guest in the house of the king of Sparta Menelaus and then steals his beautiful daughter and runs away. Stealing a princess is a serious crime and would definitely deserve some repercussions, as it is said many times in the Iliad how the gods disapprove of this act. Although, most of the time, the guest suffers a grave injustice because disrespect is rampant among visitors. and unless they do something that merits a ten-year war, Xenia implies that you should hold out until they leave. The intensity of these rules is called into question when Hector's brother Paris, who has just instigated the war, is found "polishing and caressing his splendid battle gear" (Iliad 6.378) while the Trojans are destroyed... in the middle of the paper. ..... long standing relationship first of all you would know and be told the importance of these relationships. In the passage it is also said that Zeus stole his mind. Trading the terrible normal armor of the time for a hero's golden armor was not a trade most sane people would make and the gods don't like Diomedes very much, so forcing him to give away his armor in the name of xenia it was an operation to win everywhere. So Xenia through the Iliad gives us a glimpse into their culture and tradition. The Iliad is full of examples where strangers are welcomed into strangers' homes and are sent away full of food and shelter for more than a week. Even in the midst of the war the Greeks remained faithful to the belief system they had during their upbringing. The Greeks give us a great example to follow to give grace to everyone even in bad circumstances.
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