A Departure From Guest-Host Relations

“You’re dumb, stranger, or from far away,
If you ask me to fear the gods. Cyclopes
Don’t care about Zeus or his aegis
Or the blessed gods, since we are much stronger.
I wouldn’t spare you or your men
Out of fear of Zeus. I would spare them only
If I myself wanted to. But tell me,
Where did you leave your ship? Far
Down the coast, or close? I’d like to know.”
(Book IX 265-273)

When Odysseus tells Alcinuous the story of his encounter with Polybus, we witness the breakdown of the guest-host relationship that had otherwise been observed several times throughout the story. It was customary in The Odyssey to invite a guest—even a stranger—into one’s home, bathe them and clothe them, then give the guest a large feast to entertain him. After that, the guest is given a place to rest. The next day, the guest discusses his reason for visiting with the host, and the host may even invite the guest to stay longer. When it is time for the guest to leave, the host offers the guest generous gifts to remember the host. A courteous guest will negotiate down the host’s offerings to a more modest gift, and a guest would never ask the host for anything more than what was offered.

Here, Polybus is a shockingly dreadful host, and Odysseus in turn is a disobedient guest. When Odysseus first entered the island with suspicion of the cave-dweller being a savage who does not know right from wrong or fear any gods, we are introduced to the binary of man and savage. Unlike men, savages are not bound to any laws and act however they want without fearing how the gods might react. However, it is debatable whether Odysseus’ suspicion that the Cyclops was a savage justifies him and his men being bad guests before even meeting the host. Unlike any previous instance of the guest-host relationship, Odysseus’ men enter the guest’s domain without his permission, eyeing his possessions and conspiring to steal them. Even though Odysseus disallows that, he and his men still help themselves to some of Polybus’ cheese.

Contrary to the tradition of hosts not inquiring about the reason for the guest’s visit until after making the guest at home, Polybus addresses his guests by inquiring who they are and accusing them of being pirates. Polybus then confirms Odysseus’ suspicion of him not fearing the gods, and he demonstrates that by refusing Odysseus’ appeal for Polybus to be generous to him and his men to appease Zeus. Both the guest and host were very distrustful of each other. When Polybus was fooled into believing that Odysseus did not have a ship for him to steal, he ate two of Odysseus’ best men.

Later, When Odysseus offered his wine as a gift to Polybus, Polybus broke the code of receiving a gift by asking for more. We have not seen a character ask for more of a gift so far. Lastly, Polybus left Odysseus with no other gift than promising to kill him last after all of his men. Ultimately, Odysseus disrespects his savage host by blinding him with a wooden spear. Through Odysseus’ recounting of meeting Polybus, we see the complete breakdown of the guest-host relationship.