Today, people are encouraged to take up the phrase “stranger danger.” Even as children adults stress that strangers are not to be trusted to keep us out of harm’s way. Recently, in Akron on April 12, 2011, a man named Jeffrey L. Richardson had been arrested for impersonating “a cable guy and would talk his way into homes and then steal pocket items”(City of Akron Police Department). People of today also have the media keeping us from being as hospitable as the Greeks. With help from TV, newspaper, etc. people are trained not to trust.
On the other hand, Greek culture as opposed to modern day hospitality is very open toward taking strangers and wanderers into their homes. In The Odyssey Greek culture is expected to help the people in need and to ask questions later. During Athena’s first appearance in the book Telemachus welcomes her by saying, “’Greetings, stranger! Here in our house you’ll find a royal welcome. Have supper first, then tell us what you need” (1:144-146). The idea of asking questions later is very prominent, probably because of the role religion plays. Religion is the culture of the Greeks where they believed that they needed to be hospitable because of the chance the stranger might be a god in disguise. We see how Greek culture shows hospitality when Athena disguised as a Mentor eating with Nestor is granted the best seat so to speak on the sandbanks and was first served by Pisistratus who “poured some wine in a golden cup and, lifting it warmly to Athena” (3:42-45). Nestor explains that it is “according to ancient customs” polite to give wine to the elder showing how respectful Greek culture is to their old. This hospitality also unifies all of Greek culture treating each other with equality as Micah said in his post on April 14th.
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