Dining Etiquette in "The Odyssey"

Paper Summary:

This paper explores Homer's "The Odyssey" through a discussion of how dining etiquette relates to morality within the epic. The author points out that a large part of Greek hospitality within the society of "The Odyssey" involves the preparation of feasts and giving each guest an ample amount of food served in a ritualistic manner. The paper relates that, in parallel narratives, Odysseus and his son encounter many different ideals of what non-Greeks consider hospitality, each encounter conveying their hosts' morality.

From the Paper:

"The knowledge of dining and making sacrifice for the gods does nothing for the survival of the crew of Odysseus. They know dining etiquette; how to eat in a polite and courteous manner, yet eating is the bane of their existence through their own actions, temptations, and through the actions of the mythological beings they encounter. Their respect as shown through courteous dining was ultimately a gesture of appreciation towards their various hosts. Menelaus attests to this etiquette of travelers when Telemakhos comes unannounced to his home. "Could we have made it home again-and Zeus gives us no more hard roving! -If other men had never fed us, given us lodging? ...Here a maid tipped out water for their hands from a golden pitcher into a silver bowl, and set a polished table near at hand; and larder mistress with her tray of loaves and savories came, dispensing all her best, and then a carver heaped their platters high with various meats, and put down cups of gold." (IV.35-37, 56-62)"

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