Ann Mercado
Professor M. Surratt
English 2301-N1
November 15,2013

Roman and Greek Hospitality: In today’s society, we do not open our locked doors to strangers and we do not pick up hitchhikers. We warn our children not to talk to strangers or open the door to strangers. We teach our children that strangers can be dangerous. This was not the case in ancient Greek and Roman times. Hospitality was expected, as it would save lives. The Roman and ancient Greeks had certain rules, expectations and customs as part of their culture. Xenia, meaning the relationship between host and guest was a term that the ancient Greeks used to refer to hospitality. Hospitium, was what the ancient Romans used too describe hospitality it meant the divine right of the guest to receive hospitality and the devein responsibility for a host to provide hospitality. Hospitality towards a stranger or a traveler was an important element in the ancient Greek and Roman culture. The Odyssey and the Aeneid best demonstrate 1) why hospitality is so important, 2) what do the gods have to do with hospitality, and 3) what was expected from the host as well as the guest.

There are many reasons why hospitality was so important in those times. It was for shelter, food, protection and most importantly it was a matter of life or death. One example would be Odysseus’s long traveling in the Odyssey. Traveling back then was not as advanced as it is today. The method of traveling was done by boat or on foot. This meant that many nights would be spent away from home and the travelers would have to rely on the hospitality of strangers for food and shelter. There were no hotels or restaurants in the ancient times and if there were hotels and restaurants, the travelers would probably not be able to pay for the many nights that they would have to stay. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus and his men relied on the hospitality of the beautiful witch, Circe. When they arrived to the island of Aeaea, they were hungry and tired. At first, Circe was initially defensive and protective of her territory and turned Odysseus’s men into pigs but could not use the same magic on Odysseus; this made Circe drop her guard and offered her hospitality and shared her bed with Odysseus. Odysseus and his men stayed on her island for nearly a year. They had food, shelter and protection. Protection was an important element that came as part of hospitality. Without protection travelers could be captured and killed because many nations would not allow strangers to enter their territory safely. In Virgil’s the Aeneid, Aneneas and his men are caught in deadly winds and suffering the rage of Juno. He tries to encourage his men that they will be ok but has secretly given up hope for their survival. This is when Aneneas’s mother the goddess Venus steps in and guides him to Queen Dido. Aneneas and his people relied on Dido, Queen of Carthage for hospitality of their survival. They were separated and lost at sea when they arrived at Carthage. The land disliked intruders but the Queen received Aeneas and his people peacefully and offered them hospitality. She made them feel welcomed. “Cast fear to the winds, Trojans, free your mind.” (Virgil, Aeneid 1 675). She also sent gifts to his shipmates on the beaches, twenty bulls, hundred huge razorbacks and a hundred fatted lambs. Without Queen Dido’s hospitality, Aeneas and his people would have lost all hope and may not have survived much longer. In both the Odyssey and the Aeneid, the main characters traveled for many years and were far from home, living off the resources that were given to them from gracious host. Without the law of hospitality from the host the travelers would not be able to safely travel very far. Xenia and Hospitium was an important them in the Odyssey and the Aeneid. This type of hospitality was so unique and not common in other cultures that leads us to believe that here is more behind the generosity of the hospitality than just pure decency. This type of hospitality did not come solely from the generosity of their hearts but rather they did it to please the gods. In both stories the gods would watch over the Greek and the Roman society. It was the god Zeus whom would watch over the hospitality conducted by the Greeks. In the Roman Empire, it was the god Jupiter whom watched over ius hospitum (the law of hospitality). Violating the laws of hospitality was a great crime and punishable by the gods. It was important that they provide hospitality to anyone in need of it because they would not want to upset a god or they could never be sure if it was a god in disguise. In the Odyssey, Telemachus has an encounter with the god Athena. Athena looks like Mentes, a friend of Odysseus. Telemachus had spotted her standing on the porch and was the first to approach her. His spirits have been down since he had suitors whom were taking advantage of his hospitality and would not leave. Even with the inconvenience of his current guest, Telemachus still welcomed Mentes (Athena), into his home and offered hospitality. “ Greetings, stranger. You are welcome here. After you’ve had dinner, you can tell us what you need.” (Homer, The Odyssey, book1). Odysseus had broken the rule of hospitality by being a bad guest and entering his cave when the host was not there and then welcomed himself to Polyphemus’s food. After Polyphemus arrived and found the men in his home, he also did not follow the rule of hospitality and ate some of Odysseus’s men. This ended by Odysseus blinding Polyphemus and enraging his father the god Poseidon. “The Earthshaker has been after Odysseus ever since, not killing him, but keeping him away from his native land.” (Homer, The Odyssey,book1) In the Aeneid, Dido did her part as host and offered food, shelter and protection. Dido, at first saw them, as having a husband and wife relationship but Aeneas made it clear that the relationship they had was merely that of a guest and host relationship in which, Aeneas did not fulfill his part as guest. Dido cursed them “I hope, I pray, if the just gods still have any powers, wrecked on the rocks mid-sea you’ll drink a bowl of pain to dregs, crying out the name of Dido over and over, and the worlds away I’ll hound you then with pitch- black flames, and when icy death has severed my body from its breath, then my ghost will stalk you through the world!” (Virgil, The Aeneid book4) Dido prayed and wished him harm on his voyage back at sea. Aeneas was guilty of not returning the proper exchange of reciprocity. Normally the gods would punish someone for breaking this rule but because Aeneas had a reputation of doing his duty as a hospes the gods did not look down on him but rather let him continue on to fulfill his destiny.
Hospitality was the core theme in both the Odyssey and in The Aeneid. More importantly, was the way hospitality was received. In both stories, the host would provide food, shelter and protection. Only after the guest was given something to eat would the host be able to ask the guest who they were, where they came from and how did they arrive. The guest in return would respect the host’s home and accept what was offered, and not over stay there welcome. They would also both exchange generous gifts with each other. The host would expect the hospitality that was shown to the guest when he or a family member becomes a guest in their home. Violation of this law could have serious consequences. One example, in the Odyssey, is when the suitors arrived to Odysseus palace; Penelope and Telemachus did their part to provide hospitality to their guest. The suitors took advantage by over staying their welcome, eating more than what was offered and even seeking Penelope’s hand in marriage. The price to pay was death, not just with the approval of the gods but also with help from the gods. Odysseus had the assistance of the goddess Athena, she was not pleased at how the suitors were breaking the hospitality law and she wanted them dead. “Son of Laertes in line of Zeus, Tell your son now and do not keep him in the dark, so that you two can plan the suitors destruction and then go into town. As for myself, I will not be gone long. No, I am eager for battle” (Homer, The Odyssey book17) similarly, in the Aeneid, queen Dido provided Aeneas and his people food, shelter and protection. This hospitality aided in their survival. They stayed on her island for some time and Dido and Aeneas became close. Dido began to consider Aeneas as her husband and feel deeply in love. Aeneas on the other and did not share the same views as Dido. To Aeneas their relationship was that of host and guest. Aeneas gave Dido a sword as a gift for the hospitality his received from Dido. The sword was not the reciprocal of the hospitality received. She wanted to punish Aeneas, make him feel pain and agony. Aeneas failed to provide proper reciprocity to Dido. If he would have handled his departure differently, maybe the outcome would not have ended so tragically and the death of Dido with the sword of Aeneas.
Finally, to the ancient Greek and Romans, following the rules of xenia and hospitium was one of the most important themes in both stories. For one, it seems as if they viewed it as what goes around comes around. If they wanted proper hospitality than they have to give proper hospitality. They wanted to make sure that they would have food, shelter and protection on long travels far away from home. Finally, The Greeks and The Romans feared the gods. They wanted to please the gods because they knew that making a god angry could result in death.