The Law of Hospitality is an unwritten law in which a host cannot refuse a guest, whether it is a weary traveler, a nobleman, or a beggar. This law is not widely used today, if at all, but in the time of Homer's The Odyssey, this was considered a moral and ethical code. However, there were certain standards that were to be upheld in this agreement. The host could not refuse a guest or make him leave; at the same time, a guest could not mistreat or behave in an otherwise unacceptable way toward the others in the host's house. In the same respect, a guest could not overstay his welcome in the host's home. In The Odyssey, this guest-host relationship was shown in all of its forms throughout the book.

There are three basic forms that the Law of Hospitality can be expressed in. Both the guest and host can benefit, or be unaffected by the visit. Another common situation that can result from a guest-host relationship is that the houseguest can affect the host in a bad way. Also, contrarily, the host can affect the guest in a bad way. All of these situations were present in The Odyssey in many forms.

The Law of Hospitality is shown in what some may see

as an unusual pair; a person of low status accepts a person of equal if not higher status. Eumaeus is the swineherd who used to work for Odysseus; who has remained loyal to him in his absence. When Odysseus, (disguised as a beggar) comes to his humble home, Eumaeus accepts him, regardless of the fact that he is of lesser status. Eumaeus treats him with the same respect as he would any person. When Eumaeus sees Odysseys disguised as the beggar, just barley surviving his dogs, he doesn't even give him a chance to speak before saying, "Come to the cabin. You're a wanderer to. You must eat something, drink some wine, and tell me where you are from and the hard times you've seen" (248). When Odysseys thanks him for taking him in, he replies, "...rudeness to a stranger is not decency, poor though he may by, poorer than you" (249). Without a second thought, he slaughtered two swine, and cooked them over the fire for Odysseus, although he is still under the impression that he is a beggar. All of the actions he performs are indications of a hospitable host. In return for his kindness, Odysseus amuses the swineherd with tales of the war and all that he has been through. This relationship is a prime example of a situation where both the host and the guest are benefited. In this case, the host is given someone with whom to share stories and his views on the things going on in Ithaca, and for Odysseus, the guest, the meal, and news on his house presently.

Another example of where a guest and a host both benefit is with Telemachus and King Menelaos. Unlike the previous relationship, this involved a person of very high status accepting a lesser person. This shows that Kings and important people still have the ability to be good guests and not let anything unimportant, such as hierarchy or rank stand in the way of them being a good host. When Telemachus and Nestor's son arrive at King Menelaos's castle, one of the king's people saw them and asked Menelaos if he should let them in, or send them on to another lodging. In anger, Menelaos answers, "You were no idiot before, Eteoneus, but here you are talking like a child of ten. Could we have made it home again...if other men had never fed us, given us lodging? Bring these men to be our guests: unhitch their team!" (54). This shows that although Menelaos may not have been able to return the favor to the people that too

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Approximate Word count = 1609
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)