Throughout history and literature, people have crossed borders. Not only did groups cross physical boundaries such as the walls of Jericho in Joshua and the seas crossed by Odysseus in the Odyssey, but they also crossed social barriers. Some examples include crossing barriers between mortals and immortal deities, such as how Athena disguised herself so she could interact with humans, crossing gender barriers as Rahab did in the book of Joshua, and even crossing of different social classes, just as Sindbad was able to play the merchant in The Arabian Nights. One thing that has proven true in all of these stories is that when people cross borders, the hospitality – or xenia – of the natives determines how they are seen. No matter what era or culture, those with an abundance of xenia are perceived as civilized and those without a sense of hospitality are considered savage or monstrous. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In Homer's epic poem The Odyssey, there are several examples of xenia shown to travelers by civilized societies. The first example of xenia is when Telemachus crosses the sea in an attempt to find more information about his father. He meets Nestor and his children, who welcome him with open arms and feed him before even asking him to reveal his identity. By welcoming Telemachus without knowing who he is and what he wants, Nestor and his people are seen as good and honorable because of their display of xenia. As Telemachus continues his journey, he meets Menelaus and Helen of Troy, who welcome him with the same courtesy as Nestor. Instead of dismissing him, Menelaus feeds him before asking who he is. This standard of welcoming and providing a meal to travelers before questioning them was considered respectful in ancient Greece, and this tradition of xenia was also widespread throughout the ancient Greek world. Ulysses also meets Xenia on his travels, even when he is far from home. The greatest example of xenia that Odysseus encounters is when he is washed up on the shore of the Phaeacians. Naked and shipwrecked, he approaches Nausikaa for help. It shows Xenia helping him (and she was especially inclined to do so because Athena makes him look more handsome than before). Nausikaa and her parents welcome Odysseus and feed and entertain him. This xenia, as the xenia of Menelaus and Nestor shows Telemachus, is intended to demonstrate that the Phaeacians are civilized and respectable people. On the contrary, Homer also presents characters who do not show xenia towards travelers and accords them ferocity and grotesqueness. Odysseus, during his journey, meets many different people and creatures. As he crosses borders to different lands, he encounters creatures with different morals and ideals than his own. He encounters a six-headed creature called Scylla, and she greets them by grabbing one of Odysseus' shipmates and eating him, instead showing even the slightest bit of xenia. As he continues to feed on Odysseus' men, they try to escape. This depiction of Scylla shows her as a human-devouring monster, acting without emotion or remorse. His actions go against the ideals of Ulysses and his culture because instead of feeding men, he feeds on them. The same thing happens when Ulysses meets Polyphemus, the gigantic Cyclops. Polyphemus does not welcome them with open arms, with food and gifts. Instead, it feeds on men just like Scylla did. He is presented as a grotesque monster because of this opposition to the idea of ​​xenia. Both Scylla and Polyphemus are not human, so they cannot be expected to act the sameway of humans at that time. It is not as surprising to see a lack of xenia in creatures that are literal monsters as to see humans acting without xenia. In Ithaca the pretenders were an example of people without the sense of xenia. These suitors were devouring Odysseus' wealth both literally and figuratively. They didn't care about the damage they were causing. Characterizing their behavior with a lack of xenia causes the reader to perceive the suitors not as literal monsters like Scylla and Polyphemus, but as uncivilized pagans. This is why when Odysseus kills them all, we continue to side with him because the suitors' lack of hospitality made them unsympathetic characters who deserved the outcome that came to them. The idea of ​​xenia has transcended its cultural boundaries; welcoming guests and travelers with hospitality continued even after the ancient Greek era. In the story of The Arabian Nights, Sindbad, just like Odysseus, crosses the sea and finds new lands and societies. Sindbad is greeted with both hospitality and hostility, and the way he is greeted represents how he views the culture and people he has just encountered. He is first greeted by nasty apes who have plundered his ship and left it stranded. Then he meets a huge black creature who, just like Polyphemus, eats the men of Sindbad (one per day they remain on earth). Both the apes and the black giant are described in a grotesque manner. They do not greet Sindbad and his ilk with the xenia they expect. These creatures do not act the same way Sindbad would, so he sees them as monstrous and savage. Sindbad also encounters a crowd of naked men who lead him and his crew to their king. Sindbad later discovers that these people are cannibals and the food his men were fed forced them to resist fleeing and fattened them. While not as grotesque as the apes and the black giant, these cannibals are also seen by Sindbad as savage. Although they greet the men with open arms and food, it is a different kind of xenia than Sindbad would receive if he returned home. In reality it wasn't xenia at all, but a trick with selfish intentions. This is why Sindbad considered them evil. Although Sindbad was greeted with hostility during his travels, when he returned home he was always treated with xenia. He was fed and entertained and later told stories of his travels to his people. He considered his people civilized and respectable because they welcomed him with the hospitality he expected. Xenia is still relevant today when crossing borders, although it poses a greater challenge. In ancient Greece, people were afraid of the gods and what they could do to them. They greeted everyone with xenia because they were afraid of potentially rejecting a god in disguise. Then, they welcomed travelers and greeted them with food and entertainment so that the gods would not spread chaos in their society. They asked the traveler to tell their name and story only after they had been treated well. The same thing happened for Sindbad. He was welcomed by civilized and respectable people with xenia and was asked to tell his stories only after being fed and entertained. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a custom essay today , people are much more hesitant. If someone were to knock on someone else's door, chances are they would not be invited in to eat and be entertained. This may be because traveling wasn't as common back then and it was more difficult to get from one place to another. As a result, many people remained in the.