In Ancient Greek culture, there were many traits that were respected and admired.

Hospitality was one trait that was very respected by Ancient Greeks. Some characters showed

better hospitality than others. Odysseus was treated in a few different ways when he arrived

back in Ithaka. Some great examples of hospitality came from characters like Eumaios and

Telemachos. Some characters, like Antinoos, however, showed horrible hospitality.

When Odysseus first returns to Ithaka, Athene instructs him to find his loyal servant

Eumaios. Eumaios is one of the few people who stayed true to Odysseus even after he left.

Odysseus went to Eumaios’ house disguised as a beggar and asked for food and a place to

stay. Eumaios said yes right away. Odysseus asks Eumaios for assistance and the response he

gets is, “Stranger, i have no right to deny the stranger, not even if one came to me who was

meaner than you.” Eumaios says that he will help beggar Odysseus and even would if he was

meaner. After Eumaios has been taking care of odysseus for a while, Telemachos returns.

When Telemachos returns, the dogs run to him and fawn around him. He greets

Eumaios like a father and goes inside. When he came in, Odysseus stood up to give

Telemachos the seat. When Telemachos saw him, he told him to sit down and he could find

himself a seat. “‘No, sit, my friend, and we shall find us another seat.’” He is letting Odysseus sit

down even though he just got back from a long journey. He doesn’t know it’s Odysseus so he

was showing remarkable hospitality. Unlike these two, Antinoos did not show good hospitality

when he met Odysseus.

Eumaios brings Odysseus to the hall with the suitors. He goes in and eats. After some

eating, he gets into an argument with Antinoos and the suitors. Some of the suitors show good

hospitality. However, Antinoos is a bit of a jerk. When Odysseus is eating, he says to Eumaios,

“‘O most distinguished swineherd, why did you bring this fellow to the city? Do we not already

have enough other vagabonds, and bothersome beggars to ruin our feasting?’” He shows no
hospitality at all to Odysseus. In Greek culture, the characters who showed traits like hospitality

often ended up being the heroes or other loved character. Antinoos, however, is mean and also

happens to be the first suitor to die.

Many characters show many traits in the Odyssey. But a recurring one, is hospitality. It is

shown countless times in the book. Countless people show hospitality to Odysseus. Some, do it

well while others don’t. Eumaios was incredibly kind and knew how to have guests. Antinoos, on

the other hand, didn’t.