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How does Homer use xenia and the theme of homecoming to structure the Odyssey?

Homer's Odyssey: the wanderings and the theme of hospitality (xenia), from the Phaeacians and the Cyclops to the suitors, and the structuring theme of homecoming (nostos), culminating in the return to Ithaca and the restoration of order.

An OCR A-Level Classical Civilisation (H408/11) study of xenia and nostos in the Odyssey. Covers the wanderings (the Cyclops, Circe, the Underworld, the Sirens), the ideal hospitality of the Phaeacians, the abuse of xenia by the suitors and Polyphemus, and the homecoming to Ithaca, with the source and essay skills The World of the Hero rewards.

Generated by Claude Opus 4.818 min answer

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What this dot point is asking

The Odyssey is built around two great themes: xenia (the sacred bond of hospitality) and nostos (homecoming). For The World of the Hero you must know the wanderings (the Cyclops, Circe, the Underworld, the Sirens), the ideal hospitality of the Phaeacians, the abuse of xenia by the suitors and Polyphemus, and how the whole poem drives towards the return to Ithaca and the restoration of order. The paper tests precise knowledge (AO1), close analysis of the text (AO2 and AO3) and your own argument.

The answer

Xenia: the sacred law of hospitality

Good hosts: the Phaeacians and Eumaeus

The poem's positive models of xenia frame the action:

  • The Phaeacians (Books 6 to 8 and 13) give the storm-wrecked Odysseus the ideal welcome: Nausicaa helps him, King Alcinous and Queen Arete feast him, the bard Demodocus sings, and they finally ferry him home laden with gifts.
  • On Ithaca, the swineherd Eumaeus offers the disguised, beggarly Odysseus shelter and food though he is poor and the guest seems worthless, a model of xenia practised without hope of reward.

Bad hosts and their punishment

The wanderings and the drive to nostos

Odysseus narrates the wanderings to the Phaeacians (Books 9 to 12): the Lotus-Eaters, the Cyclops, the witch Circe who turns his men to pigs, the Underworld where he meets Tiresias and the shades of Achilles and his mother, the Sirens, and Scylla and Charybdis. These adventures test his cunning and endurance and strip away his companions. Throughout, the structuring theme is nostos, the longing for home: Odysseus rejects Calypso's offer of immortality (Book 5) to return to mortal Ithaca and Penelope. The poem climaxes not in conquest but in homecoming, the reunion with Telemachus and Penelope and the restoration of order in the household.

Examples in context

A strong 10-mark stimulus answer on the Cyclops would quote the printed lines and analyse how each detail (his contempt for the gods, eating the guests, the mock gift) inverts xenia.

Try this

Q1. Read a passage from Odyssey Book 7 in which Odysseus is received by the Phaeacians. How does Homer present good xenia in this passage? Refer to the passage. [10 marks]

  • What the marker wants. AO1 plus AO3: define xenia, then analyse details of the Phaeacian welcome (the supplication of Arete, the feast, the offer of help) and explain how they model ideal hospitality.

Q2. 'The slaying of the suitors is justice, not revenge.' To what extent do you agree? [marked out of 20; real H408/11 tariff is 30]

  • Cue. Argue both sides: the suitors' abuse of xenia and Odysseus' household arguably makes their killing a just punishment, but the scale and the hanging of the maids raise questions of revenge. Reach a judgement supported by named episodes.

Exam-style practice questions

Practice questions written in the style of OCR exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.

OCR H408/11 2018 (stimulus style)10 marksRead the passage from Odyssey Book 9 in which Odysseus arrives at the cave of the Cyclops. How does Homer present the Cyclops as a breaker of xenia in this passage? Refer to the passage. [10]
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A 10-mark stimulus question (AO1 5, AO3 5). The marker rewards close reading of the printed lines.

AO1 (knowledge). Explain xenia: the sacred guest-host relationship protected by Zeus, involving welcome, food, gifts and safe passage.

AO3 (analysis). Pick out details from the passage: Polyphemus' question about whether they are pirates, his contempt for the gods, his eating of the men instead of feeding them, and his "gift" of eating Odysseus last. Explain how each inverts the rules of xenia.

Conclude that Homer uses the Cyclops as the definitive bad host, against whom the good hosts (the Phaeacians, Eumaeus) are measured.

OCR H408/11 2021 (essay, true tariff 30)20 marks'In the Odyssey, hospitality (xenia) matters more than heroism.' To what extent do you agree? [marked here out of 20; the real H408/11 essay tariff is 30]
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The extended-essay type (30 marks live, capped at 20 here). Tests AO1, AO2 and AO3.

For (xenia central). The poem is structured around good and bad hosts: the Phaeacians and Eumaeus embody xenia, while the Cyclops and the suitors abuse it, and their punishment is the moral engine of the plot.

Against (heroism still matters). Odysseus' kleos, cunning and endurance drive the action; the slaying of the suitors is a heroic feat as well as a punishment for bad xenia.

Judgement. The top band argues the two are intertwined: xenia provides the moral framework that defines who deserves punishment, and Odysseus' heroism executes it, so the Odyssey makes hospitality the test by which heroism is judged. Support with named episodes.

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