xenia

• Smith - “For Odysseus himself, however, his strength and god-like nature are beyond such base temptations and he is instead prone to the double-temptation of exotic and richly described foods coupled with a woman”
• Goldhill - Xenia is a way of judging the different societies in the Odyssey, including how civilised they are, and also helps to develop the characters
• Goldhill - “An essential functioning of ancient society”
• Johnston - “A traveller to an unknown locale would best request xenia from a peer”
• Urban - Argues the Odyssey reads as a “parable” as to how Zeus rewards good xenia and punishes bad ones
• Urban - “The role of the guest in the epics is no less important than that of the host”
• Urban - the ones who disobey xenia like Polyphemus, Circe, or Calypso are “often descendants of gods or gods themselves” who “think themselves above Zeus’ commands”