The Odyssey Group
Question:
kitkat123
Student
High School - 9th Grade
What does the encounter with Maron in "The Odyssey" tell you about ancient Greek attitudes toward hospitality?
[interpret]
Answers:
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gbeatty Teacher
College - FreshmanPosted by gbeatty on Friday May 2, 2008 at 6:15 PMThe encounter with Maron shows just how important hospitality (also called xenia, meaning roughly the duty of a host to a guest) is to the Greeks. They spare his life when they are destroying the entire rest of the city; he gives them wine in return. An exchange of gifts or services binds the two parties, and will bind their offspring as well. They are strangers no longer.
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Posted by miro905 on Wednesday June 18, 2008 at 4:29 PM
Greek hospitality also shows a certain interest in merit-making. They were inclined to even receive guests who were beggars and would not have anything to offer in return.
