The greek word "Xenia" does not translate perfectly. Host to guest hospitality is part of the concept, but the ancient greeks placed an equal emphasis on how the guest treated the host. Xenia is the concept of the proper host-guest relationship, characterized by respect, courtesy, and gift giving on both sides. Obviously, the host will usually have more to offer the guest, such as food, drink, a bath, and a place to sleep. In return, it is considered very important that the guest do their best not to be a burden and to reciprocate in any way they can. One reason the greeks placed such a high importance on Xenia is that they believed gods walked among them in disguise, and to mistreat such a guest could incur divine wrath and potentially vengeance. This idea was deeply set in ancient greek culture, and thus we must read the Odyssey with the knowledge that Homer's audience would have been familiar with the concept of Xenia.
I think that with this background information in mind, Telemachus deserves more respect for his own actions that are not prompted by Athena. He is beset by suitors who throw the idea of Xenia out the window, however when he sees a newly arrived stranger, who happens to be Athena, Telemachus immediately attends to the stranger's every need. I think that the ancient greek audience would have responded very positively to his actions, especially in contrast to the actions of the suitors. The suitors are a perfect example of bad Xenia. They are a huge burden on the household of Odysseus, in fact it seems that they try to be a burden. This direct clash with the concept of Xenia would be horrifying to ancient greek audiences, and certainly would make Telemachus seem better in contrast.
He also demonstrates this in the role of a guest when he visits King Nestor and King Menelaus in their homes. He is very courteous to them, and fits into the role of a visiting prince surprisingly well, considering that he has never been prepared for this role. He certainly demonstrates that he is deserving of respect for his Xenia, regardless of whether or not he should be respected for what he does carrying out Athena's plan. Although Telemachus's journey is micromanaged by Athena, his exemplary Xenia is his own.
Good point about Telemachus' proper behavior both at home and abroad. The contrast between him and the suitors is already there before Athena shows up, which makes him pretty sympathetic. I'm just wondering that if Greek audiences immediately recognized how badly the suitors were behaving, why don't the townspeople in the story itself do the same? Telemachus brings it up in the assembly but there's no real widespread show of outrage. I dunno. Maybe listeners were just supposed to not pay too much attention to that and instead get swept away by their sympathy for Telemachus.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think that this concept of Xenia is crucial to understanding relationships and respectability in this story. I like how you pointed out that the original (Greek) audiences would have easily caught on this idea since Xenia was part of their culture. I also agree that Telemachus deserves more respect for his own actions. Although he is still a weak character in need of Athena for inspiration and guidance, the fact remains that he does have respectable character traits (as we see from the way he behaves as a host and as a guest).
ReplyDeleteAHHH ISAAC THANK YOU I NEEDED THIS POST!!!
ReplyDeleteBefore I read this I was like "umm so this is Greek culture? Then why doesn't everyone just go to other people's houses for free foods and gifts - can't you get rich just like that?" Now that I know it is a two-way street, everything makes A LOT more sense, and it even fits into our culture today (though to a lesser degree - I don't think people generally let in strangers to their homes, feed them, then ask about their day, but it's kind of like that with friends *cough cough Sam Guo where you at* except Sam didn't do the interrogation it was more of his parents lmao).
P.S. How did you find the concept of Xenia? Did you like get a hold of the Greek version or something? O.o
But really though thanks for bringing up Xenia - everything makes sooooo much more sense now (not gonna lie before I read this I thought that Greek culture was a little... you know... lol).
Who ever owned my copy of the book before me left a lot of writing, and one thing that stood out to me was the word "Xenia." It obviously was related to the Odyssey, so I did some research with google and found that it was very related to the ideas we had discussed in class. I wrote this post to share my findings with y'all. Sounds like it did help a bit.
DeleteThis does help a lot with understanding Telemachus as a character. My opinion of him has slowly deteriorated as we've read more of the Odyssey, but seeing understanding the dynamics of Greek culture is eye opening. It does make me wonder though, that if Xenia was so important, how come Telemachus didn't do anything when the suitors started behaving so badly. Tt sort of takes even more away from Telemachus's authority if he couldn't stand up against the suitors.
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