In book 22 of The Odyssey, Odysseus confronts the suitors who have been eating his food, slaughtering his animals, seducing his serving maids, and drinking his wine; in short, they have completely abused the rules of hospitality in attempting to force Odysseus's wife, Penelope, to choose another husband from among them. He insults the men (though it is well-deserved), calling them "'Dogs,'" and he accuses them of "'destroy[ing] [his] home, outrag[ing] [his] slave-maids, and...
In book 22 of The Odyssey, Odysseus confronts the suitors who have been eating his food, slaughtering his animals, seducing his serving maids, and drinking his wine; in short, they have completely abused the rules of hospitality in attempting to force Odysseus's wife, Penelope, to choose another husband from among them. He insults the men (though it is well-deserved), calling them "'Dogs,'" and he accuses them of "'destroy[ing] [his] home, outrag[ing] [his] slave-maids, and [...] woo[ing] [his] wife, fearing no gods that hold the open sky [...].'" In other words, not only did the suitors disrespect Odysseus, his son, his wife, and his home, but they've also disrespected the gods. Zeus was the god associated with hospitality and the host-guest relationship. It was supposed to be a reciprocal relationship where the host is as hospitable as possible, even offering a gift to his guest if he can, but the guest should never ever take advantage of this hospitality. Obviously, the suitors do take advantage and so, in this way, they disrespect the gods too.
No comments:
Post a Comment