Literary history is full of travellers' stories. These travelers travel to lands far and wide, gaining new experiences and knowledge of cultures around the world. As much as these literary travelers can tell readers about the new cultures they encounter, their stories also contain much information about the travelers' origins. Some of the most famous tales of literary travelers are The Odyssey, The Arabian Nights: Tales of 1001 Nights and the two Anglo-Saxon elegies “The Wanderer” and “The Sailor”. ” In each of these famous tales, the main characters or speakers reveal key information about their societies through their travels. 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 Odyssey, Odysseus is the most central traveler in the story. Odysseus encounters many different societies in his travels, from the lonely island of the goddess Calypso to the land of King Alcinous of Phaeacia. As a warrior, husband, father, and king, the story of Odysseus' travels reflects the culture of his homeland, even when he is miles away. Among the ancient Greek values ​​represented by Odysseus are xenia and kleos. Xenia was the ancient Greek idea of ​​hospitality, introduced by the Greek gods. Under xenia, people provided food and shelter to travelers with the understanding that travelers would one day return the favor. Readers of the Odyssey can make inferences about the Greek concept of xenia by reading Odysseus's encounter with Polyphemus. When Odysseus and his men land on the island of the Cyclopes, Odysseus announces that he will explore the island to see if its inhabitants "are savages, / lawless aggressors, or the kind who welcome / strangers and fear the gods." This quote reflects how important Xenia was in Odysseus' culture. Odysseus is willing to risk encountering "lawless attackers" because there is a chance that he will instead find people who follow xenia and will provide food and shelter for his men, as Odysseus himself would do to travelers in his homeland. Another value reflected in the Odyssey is the idea of ​​kleos, or glory. The importance of glory to Greek society is clear throughout the story, but especially when Odysseus speaks to Achilles in the land of the dead. Odysseus, seeing Achilles' bitterness over his own death, tries to comfort him by reminding him of the glory he gained during his life as a Greek warrior. Despite the fact that Achilles' life was cut short, leaving his son to grow up without a father, Odysseus' reassurance shows that Odysseus believes that the glory Achilles has gained is worth everything he has lost. This statement demonstrates how important the kleos was to ancient Greek warriors such as Achilles and Odysseus. They evidently believed that losing their lives and even their families was worth gaining personal glory. The Arabian Nights is similar to the Odyssey in many ways. Sindbad, like Odysseus, is a literary traveler who encounters new lands and cultures in his travels. There is at least one major difference between Sindbad and Odysseus, however: while Odysseus was born into a wealthy royal family of Ithaca, Sindbad was a middle-class merchant by birth. Sindbad's wealth was self-produced. As a result, Sindbad has a different perspective than Odysseus, and this perspective offers readers a unique insight into the culture of Muslim merchants. The tales of Sindbad's travels in The Arabian Nights focus primarily on trade. In each of Sindbad's voyages, his intent is to "see the world, as well as profit from trade." This sentiment reflects the Muslim merchants who traveled and traded throughout the world, fromEast Indies to India and the west coast of Africa. Their travels greatly aided cultural diffusion between the areas they traded with. These merchants transmitted ideologies, customs, and products back and forth from distant lands. These merchants educated themselves through this cultural diffusion, allowing them to achieve social mobility, an uncommon phenomenon at the time. As an itinerant trader who grew rich through trade, Sindbad personifies this new social mobility. Sindbad's goal of "making a profit by trading", therefore, reflects the real life of Muslim traders of the time. In addition to representing Muslim mercantile culture, Sindbad serves as an example of two important themes: hard work and hope. Sindbad represents the value of hard work in how he obtained his wealth. Later in One Thousand and One Nights, Sindbad talks to a doorman who is poorer than him. Sindbad essentially tells this merchant that he is not undeserving of his excessive wealth because of how hard he worked for it. The fact that he built his fortune through his work as a merchant shows how Sindbad society valued hard work. Sindbad's conversation with the goalkeeper also reflects the belief that if one works hard, one will be rewarded. Therefore, Sindbad's wealth is a reward for his hard work, as well as a product of it. Sindbad's story also reflects the importance of hope and faith in Middle Eastern society. There are many examples in The Arabian Nights where Sindbad could have lost hope or faith. When the apes ransacked Sindbad's ship, for example, leaving Sindbad and the rest of the passengers stranded on an island, it would have been perfectly understandable for Sindbad to lose hope of making it out of the situation alive. When the cannibals took over Sindbad's men, Sindbad surely had reason to lose faith that God would protect him. After both encounters, however, Sindbad remains confident and thanks God for His guidance. Sindbad's optimism tells readers that he does not believe that hope is lost or that God has abandoned him, even in his darkest moments. This arrangement reflects the values ​​of faith and hope in Middle Eastern society. The Old English elegies of "The Wanderer" and "The Seafarer" are also literary travellers' tales and reflect the change in religion that occurred during the time of the Anglo-Saxons. Saxons. The Anglo-Saxons were originally pagans, but began to convert to Christianity when monks arrived from northern Umbria. “The Wanderer” reflects these new Christian ideas, saying that “wealth is fleeting” and referring to “the Father in heaven, where for us is all stability.” The idea that material things like wealth are transitory, while God and heaven are eternal is an idea rooted in Christianity. “The navigator” also states: “A fool is he who does not fear the Lord; death will find him unprepared. / Blessed is he who lives humbly; that mercy comes to him from heaven." These lines express the Christian faith in preparing one's soul for salvation. The presence of Christian themes in both of these elegies reflects the move away from paganism that occurred in Anglo-Saxon society. Another aspect of Anglo-Saxon society reflected in “The Wanderer” and “The Seafarer” is the relationship between a lord and his servants. Historically, servants swore fealty to their lord in exchange for food, land, and protection; however, this agreement was only the basis of the relationship. In “The Wanderer,” the exiled speaker “remembers the hall holders and the taking of the treasure,” dreams of “his lord of men,” and longs for “someone in a mead who knew my people.” The speaker of “The.