William Howard 2
Well-known member
“Just think of all the hospitality we enjoyed at the hands of other men before we made it home, and god save us from such hard treks in years to come. Quick, unhitch their team. And bring them in, strangers, guests, to share our flowing feast.” (The Odyssey. Book 4, ll. 38-42)
From the Greek Homer to the Hebrew Old Testament to even as far back as ancient Egyptian mythology, hospitality, or kindness to strangers, was an essential shared obligation in ancient culture. So what happened?
It's been suggested that ancient people valued kindness to strangers out of a mutual need to survive in an age without fast transportation before the advent of widespread urban development. Vast wild areas surrounded tiny pockets of civilization would have been dangerous for any traveller. Or would it have? It would make as much sense, considering the large expanses of wilderness, to hunt and forage as one needed, without the need for involvement from others. No doubt such skills would have been second nature to most people at that time.
I think the quote from the Odyssey is the the best lead into ancient Man's thought process. In a manner very reminiscent to "the wheel of fortune" (rota fortunae) by later philosophers, and possibly even Hinduism's "Bhavacakra", Homer seemed to suggest that ones fortune, or there standing in life, is always on fragile terms. The journey of Odysseus, from a great King after the sac of Troy, to a lowly old beggar when reunited with his kingdom, could illustrate this over arching plot. Throughout the Odyssey, the two themes of kindness to strangers and the hand of fortunae work hand in hand, definitely expressed during the climax of the story - the old beggar king made anew to slay his terrible hosts, perhaps also dealing out a karmic justice.
We also find hints of this "karmic", or cyclical nature of fortunae expressed in the Phaedrus and Republic of Plato at a much latter time.
Putting this all together, we find a ethic of treating strangers based on a understanding of the fragility of success, and a understanding that not only can another's position in life be diminished, so can ours at anytime. A second reason may be a hidden or unknown value "concealed" in a lowly outward appearance, illustrated by Odysseus being disguised as a beggar. Old Testament scripture reflects this ideal -
"Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it."
Considering how entrenched the ethic was tied to how ancients understood fate, it could also help explain why such beliefs are no longer practiced in modern Western cultures. With a belief that one has total control over ones life, such ideas must have created a corresponding negative attitude towards those who, in the past, would have been seen as just visited by chance. Without the belief that strangers have something worthwhile to contribute, so must have a ethic of kindness been replaced with one of hostility. Strangers are to be feared, for the potential to do harm outweighs any benefits they could give.
From the Greek Homer to the Hebrew Old Testament to even as far back as ancient Egyptian mythology, hospitality, or kindness to strangers, was an essential shared obligation in ancient culture. So what happened?
It's been suggested that ancient people valued kindness to strangers out of a mutual need to survive in an age without fast transportation before the advent of widespread urban development. Vast wild areas surrounded tiny pockets of civilization would have been dangerous for any traveller. Or would it have? It would make as much sense, considering the large expanses of wilderness, to hunt and forage as one needed, without the need for involvement from others. No doubt such skills would have been second nature to most people at that time.
I think the quote from the Odyssey is the the best lead into ancient Man's thought process. In a manner very reminiscent to "the wheel of fortune" (rota fortunae) by later philosophers, and possibly even Hinduism's "Bhavacakra", Homer seemed to suggest that ones fortune, or there standing in life, is always on fragile terms. The journey of Odysseus, from a great King after the sac of Troy, to a lowly old beggar when reunited with his kingdom, could illustrate this over arching plot. Throughout the Odyssey, the two themes of kindness to strangers and the hand of fortunae work hand in hand, definitely expressed during the climax of the story - the old beggar king made anew to slay his terrible hosts, perhaps also dealing out a karmic justice.
We also find hints of this "karmic", or cyclical nature of fortunae expressed in the Phaedrus and Republic of Plato at a much latter time.
Putting this all together, we find a ethic of treating strangers based on a understanding of the fragility of success, and a understanding that not only can another's position in life be diminished, so can ours at anytime. A second reason may be a hidden or unknown value "concealed" in a lowly outward appearance, illustrated by Odysseus being disguised as a beggar. Old Testament scripture reflects this ideal -
"Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it."
Considering how entrenched the ethic was tied to how ancients understood fate, it could also help explain why such beliefs are no longer practiced in modern Western cultures. With a belief that one has total control over ones life, such ideas must have created a corresponding negative attitude towards those who, in the past, would have been seen as just visited by chance. Without the belief that strangers have something worthwhile to contribute, so must have a ethic of kindness been replaced with one of hostility. Strangers are to be feared, for the potential to do harm outweighs any benefits they could give.