Homer's epic The Odyssey is superimposed on the backdrop of a typical ancient Greek society. As the main character, Odysseus, and his companions travel from place to place on their way to their hometown of Ithaca, various people welcome them in a show of hospitality much appreciated in ancient Greece. To a large extent, such hospitality involves preparing feasts and offering copious amounts of food to each guest. Some guests, however, naturally take advantage of this hospitality, thus demonstrating their lack of discipline and good manners. Although food is positively associated with the Greek tradition of hospitality, Homer uses it negatively in the Odyssey to represent the gluttony, lack of self-control, and lack of civility found in various characters. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Food as Symbolism of Gluttony in "The Odyssey"After docking their ship on the island of the lotus eaters, Odysseus' men embark on a gluttonous feast of lotus fruits, which leads them to neglect their duties towards Ulysses. They are so mesmerized by the delicious taste that “whoever of them ate the honey-sweet fruit… was not willing to bring back any message, or go away, but wanted to stay there with the lotus-eating people, feeding on lotus . , and forget the way home” (IX:94-97). Odysseus, the leader of the group – and at this point the only man in full possession of his faculties – finally brings them “crying, forcibly, back to the ships… hastily, for fear that someone else might taste the lotus and forget the way of home” (IX:98-102). Without Odysseus, the men would never have been able to find their way back to the ships, and their greed would surely have led to their ruin. Odysseus' men once again show their lack of self-control by slaughtering Helios' cattle for dinner against Circe's orders. This time, their actions result in disaster. Odysseus attempts to dissuade his companion Eurylochus from hunting the herds by reminding him of Circe's warning: “if you harm them, then I witness the destruction of your ship and your companions” (XII:137-141). Eurylochus, however, ignores Odysseus' warning and tells the others: All deaths are detestable to miserable mortals, but starvation is the saddest way to die... Come then, let us cut off the best of Helios' cattle and let us sacrifice him to the immortals. …we will build a rich temple to the sun god Helios Hyperion…but if, in anger at his high-horned cattle, he wishes to wreck our ship…I would much rather swallow the waves and lose my life in them once and for all , than to be pinched to death on this desolate island (XII:340-351). The men feast on Helios' finest livestock and leave the island seven days later to embark on the next leg of their journey. Their grave error of judgment, however, is not forgotten by Zeus; a great storm hits the ship and Odysseus' men are "thrown into the water, bobbing like sea ravens, carried away by the running waves" (XII:403-419). Ulysses mourns the fate of his companions, although he is forced to accept it; “even so he could not save his companions, however much he tried to do so; they were destroyed by their own wild recklessness, fools, who devoured the oxen of Helios, the sun god, and took away the day of their return” (I: 6-9). As Odysseus and his men continue their journey, they encounter many strange creatures, including the monstrous Cyclops, whose total lack of civilization is demonstrated by their propensity to eatpeople without hesitation. When Odysseus meets one of these Cyclopes, Polyphemus, and tries to ask him questions, Polyphemus: [jumps] up and [reaches] towards his companions, [takes] two of them together and [slaps them], as they kill puppies, against the ground... then [cuts them] piece by piece and [prepares] the dinner, and like a lion, leaving nothing, [eats them], the entrails, the flesh and the marrow bones. in the same way (IX :287-294). In an attempt to inebriate the monster, Odysseus then brings him wine, which he “drinks recklessly” three times (IX: 362). When Polyphemus finally gets drunk, he falls asleep “and the wine [bubbles] from his throat with lumps of human flesh. This is his drunken vomit” (IX:371-374). These graphic images convey the brutality and gluttony of the Cyclopes as fearsome man-eating creatures. Odysseus and his men also encounter a race of giants known as the Laistrygones; they appear to be good people, until they devour some men. After being directed in the direction of the home of the Laestrygonian king, Odysseus and his crew find the wife of Antiphates, a fearsome queen the size of a mountaintop. He immediately summons King Antiphates, who promptly grabs and eats one of Odysseus' companions for dinner (X: 114-116). He then calls upon the rest of the Leistrygonian giants, who come “swarming from every direction, tens of thousands of them, and not like men, like giants… striking [the] men with boulders the size of men… and [carrying them] away on their sad way feast” (X:118-124). The fearsome creatures destroy all ships except that of Odysseus himself, and he barely escapes the terrible island. Once again, watching their friends being eaten, Ulysses' crew experiences firsthand the gluttony so widespread among wild, uncivilized monsters. Perhaps the most insolent, disrespectful and gluttonous characters of the epic, the future suitors of Odysseus' wife, Penelope, are often described in various stages of eating. Indeed, in one of the very first references to them in the play, the goddess Athena complains about how they “continually slaughter [Odysseus's] crowds of sheep and heavy, crooked-horned cattle” (I:88-92). They also eat greedily at Penelope's table, drawing resentment from the swineherd Eumaios, who mutters, "the fattened pigs are devoured by the suitors, who have no regard for anyone in their minds, no pity... they forcibly eat her property and they save nothing…and violently tap the wine and waste it” (XIV:80-95) is equally angry when he returns home and discovers the suitors sitting at another banquet, and decides to kill them before they can indulge once again. . He shoots an arrow at Antinous, who is “about to lift a beautiful two-handled golden cup…moving it so as to drink wine” (XXII:8-11) and pierces the suitor in the throat struck, Antinous drops the cup and «with a blow of his foot [kicks] away the table, so that all the good food [is] scattered on the ground, bread and cooked meats together» (XXII:19). This scene is the culmination of the suitors' outrageous gluttony and the symbol used to represent it throughout the epic: when the suitors are finally punished for their behavior, the food spills onto the ground, just as their blood pours out of them. Keep in mind: This is just one example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Conclusion The powerful symbol of food as an instrument of gluttony in the Odyssey suggests that gluttony is a thing to be avoided; indeed, those who indulge excessively in the epic invariably encounter death and destruction. Even Ulysses' men themselves fall into this trap, as demonstrated by the incidents that occurred in the land of the gods.