The Odyssey is an epic poem attributed to the now-famous Greek poet, Homer, written approximately in the early sixth century B.C.E. The poem shares the tale of the wily adventuring solider, Odysseus', return from the Trojan war to his wife and home in Ithaca. The poem details his misadventures, the efforts of his son, Telemachus, to find him, and revenge on his wife's suitors. While many themes run through this poem, the most prevalent is that of hospitality. The Host-Guest relationship is significant in the Odyssey as it acts as one of the main thematic devices used by Homer and examples of good hospitality versus bad hospitality and their results serve as the main plot elements throughout the tale.

The Host/Guest relationship, also known as the Guest-Friendship relationship was a complex relationship based on a series of ambiguous hospitality laws. "Guest-friend."..is the English rendition...