Revision number 1 essay 1 In all societies and cultures, there are many different types of codes of behaviors. In the Odyssey the codes of behavior are very different than those in America. In the first half of the book the two major codes of behaviors, are the hospitality with the example of Telemachos in Sparta, and the loyalty code with the example of Penelope with Odysseus. The Hospitality code is when a guest arrives at someone’s home, the host is supposed to take care of the guest by feeding them and possibly provide a place for them to stay for the night. In return the guest would have to answer the host’s questions such as who are you, where do you come from, what is the meaning for your travels. They did this because, they believed that the traveler was under the protection of Zeus. One example of this code in the Odyssey was in book IV when Telemachos and Peisistratos went to Sparta and came to Menelaos’s palace. One of the servants asked what to do about the two men, either to take them in or have them sent away. Menelaos answered, “Surely we two have eaten much hospitality from other men before we came here. May Zeus only make an end of such misery hereafter. Unharnessed the strangers’ horses then, and bring the men here to be feasted” (IV, 33-36). Then Telemachos and Peisistratos went into the palace and joined the feast and all their needs were taken care of. Then later Menelaos, the host asked them questions. Menelaos told them, “Help yourselves to the food and welcome, and then afterward, when you have tasted dinner, we shall ask you who among men are you, for the stock of your parents can be no lost one… (IV, 60-62)” This section shows how the host would ask questions after the guest has been attended to. The loyalty code is when one person or people pledges their loyalty to a person or people. An example in the Odyssey of this is Penelope’s loyalty to Odysseus as his wife. As his wife she has to make sure to be sexually loyal to him which was a big deal in that culture. It has been twenty years since she has last seen her husband Odysseus since he went out to fight in the Trojan War. The Trojan War lasted 10 years, and Odysseus is trying to get home to Ithaca. Due to Odysseus’s absence, the suitors are in the palace waiting for Penelope to marry one of them. In Book II, she remains faithful and loyal to her husband, she tells the suitors after she is done weaving a burial shroud for her father-in-law, and she would then choose a suitor. During the day she worked on it, and at night she would unravel it so that she would never finish. She hoped for her husband’s return. She kept that up for three years until in the fourth year a disloyal servant told the suitors what she was doing and the suitors stayed in the palace. In conclusion the two most prominent codes in the first half of the Odyssey are hospitality and loyalty. Menelaos was a gracious host to Telemachos and Peisistratos when they arrived at their palace and the two travelers answered the questions Menelaos asked them. Penelope remains loyal to her husband by tricking the suitors with the making and unweaving of the burial shroud for three years. There are many more codes of behavior but I believe these two have the most impact in the first half of the book.
In all societies and cultures, there are many different types of codes of behaviors. In the Odyssey the codes of behavior are very different than those in America. In the first half of the book the two major codes of behaviors, are the hospitality with the example of Telemachos in Sparta, and the loyalty code with the example of Penelope with Odysseus.
The Hospitality code is when a guest arrives at someone’s home, the host is supposed to take care of the guest by feeding them and possibly provide a place for them to stay for the night. In return the guest would have to answer the host’s questions such as who are you, where do you come from, what is the meaning for your travels. They did this because, they believed that the traveler was under the protection of Zeus. One example of this code in the Odyssey was in book IV when Telemachos and Peisistratos went to Sparta and came to Menelaos’s palace. One of the servants asked what to do about the two men, either to take them in or have them sent away. Menelaos answered, “Surely we two have eaten much hospitality from other men before we came here. May Zeus only make an end of such misery hereafter. Unharnessed the strangers’ horses then, and bring the men here to be feasted” (IV, 33-36). Then Telemachos and Peisistratos went into the palace and joined the feast and all their needs were taken care of. Then later Menelaos, the host asked them questions. Menelaos told them, “Help yourselves to the food and welcome, and then afterward, when you have tasted dinner, we shall ask you who among men are you, for the stock of your parents can be no lost one… (IV, 60-62)” This section shows how the host would ask questions after the guest has been attended to.
The loyalty code is when one person or people pledges their loyalty to a person or people. An example in the Odyssey of this is Penelope’s loyalty to Odysseus as his wife. As his wife she has to make sure to be sexually loyal to him which was a big deal in that culture. It has been twenty years since she has last seen her husband Odysseus since he went out to fight in the Trojan War. The Trojan War lasted 10 years, and Odysseus is trying to get home to Ithaca. Due to Odysseus’s absence, the suitors are in the palace waiting for Penelope to marry one of them. In Book II, she remains faithful and loyal to her husband, she tells the suitors after she is done weaving a burial shroud for her father-in-law, and she would then choose a suitor. During the day she worked on it, and at night she would unravel it so that she would never finish. She hoped for her husband’s return. She kept that up for three years until in the fourth year a disloyal servant told the suitors what she was doing and the suitors stayed in the palace.
In conclusion the two most prominent codes in the first half of the Odyssey are hospitality and loyalty. Menelaos was a gracious host to Telemachos and Peisistratos when they arrived at their palace and the two travelers answered the questions Menelaos asked them. Penelope remains loyal to her husband by tricking the suitors with the making and unweaving of the burial shroud for three years. There are many more codes of behavior but I believe these two have the most impact in the first half of the book.