Hospitality

Hello World,

            I have been reflecting on that fact that despite all of my suffering, I have met some people who were very hospitable when I entered there home as an unusual stranger from the sea. The hospitality I have received on my voyage shows that there are good people in the world besides those evil Trojans. This moral value hospitality should be acquired by all people. I have received so much hospitality recently on my journey back to Ithaca. The hospitality of Calypso deserves acknowledgment, even though at the time I didn’t want it. Oh how Calypso and her young nymphs would bathe me in fresh water and rub me down with oils. In my own homeland I didn’t receive such pleasures as fresh water to bathe in every evening. If anything gave me joy from staying on that island with Calypso was the amount of hospitality I got from her. She treated me like her cave was mine. I had no limit to my ability to make ones self at home. The hospitality in way pacified my amount of internal suffering from not being at home with my family. I have also witnessed Calypso being hospitable to others in her home. One day while I was out I noticed that the god Hermes had come to visit her home. (I am not really sure of the reason why he came.) But I saw Calypso pull up a chair beside hers and immediately begin to mix a sweet wine, the best of them all, for Hermes to drink delightedly. In a world with so much sorrow we need to see some form of kindness. I think this kindness can bestowed on others through hospitality.

            I am currently residing in the halls of King Alcinous of Phaeacia. From the moment I first met the wonderful and very beautiful princess Nausicaa, she was nothing but kind beyond comparison. She didn’t know who I was or where I had come from, and yet she allowed me to dress in her families clothes and follow her into the city. She allowed me to feel like I was back in my own splendid city of Ithaca. Nausicaa gave me a bathe, food, and drink to nourish my spirit from the troubles I have endured. I say making someone feel comfortable in your own home as if it was theirs is the fundamental idea for hospitality. It’s a dishonor for someone to turn a stranger away when they come to your home for help or just for a short stay. When I finally reached the palace the king, queen, and lords all treated me with consideration for my state of turmoil. I shall never in my life forget this wonderful family. I instantly was treated like a member of the court and not a stranger from some far off land. King Alcinous moved his won son from the table so I could have somewhere to sit. If that isn’t hospitality, I surely cannot tell you what must be. They gave me food and drink until I was rid of my hunger. I have been in this house a couple of days now. I am enjoying myself but I still yearn for my home. If anyone can tell Penelope I am ok, it would be greatly appreciated.