The Odyssey, Hospitality, and the Right of Strangers – Christ and Pop Culture

In The Odyssey, welcoming strangers is a duty; it should be one for American Christians too. 

The Odyssey, the epic poem of Homer, now the subject of a blockbuster film by Christopher Nolan, tells the story of Odysseus, a hero finding his way home after war. On his journey, he relies on the assistance and kindness of strangers to make it back to his family in Ithaca. Amidst Nolan’s thrilling portrayal of war and revenge, as Odysseus survives encounters with Cyclopes, witches, and man-eating giants, there lies a moral lesson about hospitality that even Christians should learn from. 

When Odysseus (Matt Damon) and his crew seek refuge on the island of the “lawless outrageous Cyclopes,”¹ the captain is confident that they will be welcomed since “everyone’s heard of the Law of Zeus.” However, they soon find themselves at the mercy of the monster Polyphemus (Bill Irwin), who wastes no time devouring the men. Though in the film the crew walk into the cave uninvited and help themselves to the food, in Homer’s version, Odysseus tries to plead with Polyphemus and says, “We come to you and are supplicants at your knees, if you might give us a guest present or otherwise some gift of grace, for such is the right of strangers.”² 

The duties of hospitality are central to the understanding of life that lies at the core of Homer’s Odyssey. They dictate how guests should act and how hosts should respond. These norms apply across civilized life, but particularly to strangers. The Odyssey embodies an ethic found in many cultures that teaches that strangers ought to be received graciously and with a helping hand—a principle which Nolan terms “Zeus’s Law”—because, as Odysseus’s loyal swineherd Eumaeus (John Leguizamo) observes, “all wanderers and strangers come from Zeus.” There’s a clear echo of this theme in the New Testament where Jesus says, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took me in” (Matthew 25:35). 

Today while some Americans are quick to support policies that hurt refugees and immigrants, Christians should remember what the Bible (and The Odyssey) teaches about hospitality and how we should welcome the strangers who come as immigrants and refugees. 

Odysseus as a Refugee

We are first introduced to our hero in the opening line of Homer’s poem, as “the man of many ways, who was driven far journeys, after he had sacked Troy’s sacred citadel.”³ Odysseus, though he might not fit our typical mental image of a refugee, bears many similarities to one. Having won a war abroad, he now desires to return home to his kingdom and his wife, Penelope (Anne Hathaway). But he is prevented from doing so at every turn, making what should have been a short trip into a ten-year escapade wherein he is forced to make temporary residence in foreign lands. Homer writes, “Many were they whose cities he saw, whose minds he learned of, many the pains he suffered in his spirit on the wide sea, struggling for his own life and the homecoming of his companions.”⁴

Many refugees across the world face a similar experience. The average length of time a refugee spends in exile is between ten and fifteen years, not far off from Odysseus who spends twenty years away from home, the first ten fighting a war he never wanted to fight. Homer shows in his telling of this tale, that even heroes and kings like Odysseus can suffer displacement. 

When he’s trapped in the cave of Calypso (Charlize Theron) and begins to tell his story, Odysseus first breaks down in tears over the pain and grief he has suffered. Damon’s portrayal of this scene invokes pity and empathy for the experience of being unable to return to one’s home and family. This grief and suffering is shared by many others who are displaced from their homes.

Xenophobia and Mistreatment

Odysseus suffered more than just displacement; he also endured mistreatment at the hands of many from whom he sought protection. While Odysseus is not the perfect guest (and in Nolan’s version learns to feel remorse for his own violations of hospitality), he still suffers abuse at the hands of his hosts. Like many modern refugees, when Odysseus arrives in foreign lands, he is not always met with kindness and generosity. Whether out of malice or selfishness, many of the hosts on whose doorstep Odysseus and his crew wind up, scorn, mistreat and even attempt to murder the men. 

For example, when the crew find themselves transformed into wild pigs by the evil witch Circe (Samantha Morton), Odysseus must use his powers of persuasion to free them. Calypso keeps Odysseus on her island for seven years, further delaying his trip home. And Polyphemus entraps and murders Odysseus’s crewmates. This series of misadventures illustrates the exploitative nature of inhospitality. In describing his Cyclopes Homer says, “These people have no institutions, no meetings for counsels…each one is the law for his own wives and children, and cares nothing about the others.”⁵ The Cyclopes’ selfishness holds them back from true hospitality which is about more than caring for our families and friends, it’s about caring for strangers and not mistreating those who come to us for help. 

This selfish behavior is mirrored by the suitors who have taken over Odysseus’s house in his absence. While hosts ought to be hospitable, guests have a duty to respect their hospitality and not abuse it. Welcomed into the palace in accordance with Zeus’s Law, the suitors, especially Antinous (Robert Pattinson) squander the king’s food and mistreat his wife and son. Yet when other beggars come to the court seeking aid, Antinous is the first to brush them aside, forgetting that he too was once a guest seeking hospitality. Penelope grieves their selfishness, telling Telemachus (Tom Holland) they have forgotten the very principles the kingdom was built on: Zeus’s Law—“treat others as you would be treated.”

When Odysseus returns as a beggar, he tests their character, knowing that the “clearest view of a man is from below.” Antinous and his comrades mock Odysseus and fail his test by showing they have no regard for hospitality. In the end they pay the price not just for wrecking the palace but for mistreating strangers and violating that most sacred law. 

Sadly, many refugees who come to the U.S. seeking kind hosts are also met with scorn and mistreatment. In many cases, those seeking asylum in the United States endure further trauma in the asylum process. Furthermore, due to shifting attitudes and policies, anti-immigrant sentiment in general in the U.S. is rising. This means that when strangers arrive on our shores, they are increasingly being met with hostility not only from government officials but from regular Americans. Although most have no intention of murdering strangers like the Cyclopes, of course, we may be tempted to mimic their sentiment and care only about those in our circle and not about others. 

It’s here that Homer’s story reminds us of the true meaning of hospitality. The word xenophobia, often used to criticize those fearful of immigration, comes from the Ancient Greek words for stranger and fear. At its root is the word xenia which appears throughout Homer’s epic. Xenia signifies hospitality or care towards guests and is the antithesis of xenophobia. When the Cyclopes and others selfishly refuse to aid Odysseus and his crew they are choosing xenophobia over the duty of xenia. Rather than show hostility or fear towards strangers, Homer calls us to show kindness and generosity to more than just our immediate circle. 

Family Separation in The Odyssey and Today

Like Odysseus, many refugees endure being separated from their families for months and years. When the victorious king of Ithaca finally returns home, he reunites with his wife Penelope and son Telemachus in a heartfelt scene. After his wife verifies Odysseus’s true identity, they embrace in their marriage bed and Homer says, “She spoke, and still more roused in him the passion for weeping. He wept as he held his lovely wife, whose thoughts were virtuous.”⁶

Unfortunately, family reunion is not always possible for many refugees and immigrants who have been separated from their loved ones. Since the beginning of the current administration in the U.S., 205,000 children have been separated from their parents. If current policies continue through 2029, an estimated 910,000 U.S. citizen children would be separated from one or both of their parents and 272,000 U.S. citizen spouses would be separated from their partner according to a report by the National Association of Evangelicals and World Relief. Family separation is a tragedy, and current policies make it a common part of the immigrant experience. While Odysseus gets to reunite, many others do not. 

Xenia and the Duty of Hospitality

At the end of the day, Odysseus overcomes his trials and returns to his kingdom. However, his homecoming was only possible because of the aid and generosity of others. Not just divine aid in the form of the goddess Athena (Zendaya) but the kindness of people like the Phaiakians. Although omitted from Nolan’s version of the epic, in Homer’s original, Odysseus returns home only thanks to the aid of a kind king and his ships. In the halls of Phaiakia, King Alcinous received Odysseus warmly before even knowing his name, demonstrating the true nature of xenia or Zeus’s Law. 

Alcinous welcomes Odysseus into his home, provides him with food, and most importantly, listens to his story. Homer’s culture took very seriously the duty not just to provide services to traveling foreigners but to show them the care you would wish to be shown. Alcinous says in Homer’s version, “For any man whose wits have hold on to the slightest achievement, his suppliant and guest is as good as a brother to him.”⁷ While treating strangers like brothers is a far cry from modern social norms, we may still have something to learn from Alcinous. 

The New Testament uses the same Greek word as Homer (xenia) as well as a related word philoxenia (love of strangers) when telling Christians how to treat others. Paul commands xenia in (Philemon 1:22) and Hebrews 13:2 says to “not forget to show hospitality (philoxenia) to strangers.” (See also Romans 12:13.) While Homeric xenia is not the same as the love of Scripture, Christians have in common with the ancient Greeks a rich tradition of showing love to one’s neighbor by welcoming strangers.

As mentioned, xenia also implies the reciprocal duties of guests not to take advantage of hospitality. By sneaking in through a wooden horse and sacking Troy, Odysseus himself violates these rules. In the end it is revealed that the Greeks themselves are the feared “people from the sea,” as Nolan depicts it. When guests are invited in it is incumbent upon them to respect their hosts. Scripture agrees, calling the people of Israel to contribute to the flourishing of foreign lands they found themselves in.

Those duties apply to immigrants today. Data shows that the majority of immigrants, including refugees, contribute to society and the economy. But right now, many people don’t even get the chance to come at all. Currently the U.S. refugee resettlement program is closed for all but a select few and asylum seekers at the border are being turned away without being heard. Guests should uphold their duties, but first we must uphold the promise of hospitality instead of closing our doors to anyone in need.

The story of The Odyssey, vividly told through Christopher Nolan’s filmmaking, is the story of a hero fighting to make his way home. But underneath his armor is a man displaced from his home, a husband and a father who yearns to be reunited with his family. He comes to the doorstep of strangers and is welcomed by some and spurned by others. He makes it home only through the hospitality of gracious hosts who open their doors to him. 

Today, many refugees and immigrants come to our country as suppliants seeking our aid. We have the choice between turning strangers away like Polyphemus and the selfish Cyclopes, on the one hand, and showing true hospitality like the gracious Alcinous, on the other. As Christians, Scripture calls us to welcome the strangers in our midst out of love. In a time when immigrants are increasingly under threat in this country, American Christians should follow the example of Odysseus’s hosts and love our immigrant neighbors as Christ commands us to do. 

1.  Homer, The Odyssey of Homer, translated and with an introduction by Richmond Lattimore (New York: Harper Collins, 1991), Book IX, verses 106-7: p. 140. ↩︎
2.  Homer, The Odyssey of Homer, Book IX, verses 266-8: p. 144.  ↩︎
3.  Homer, The Odyssey of Homer, Book I, 1-2: p. 1.  ↩︎
4.  Homer, The Odyssey of Homer, Book I, 3-5: p. 1. ↩︎
5.  Homer, The Odyssey of Homer, Book IX, 113–15: p. 140.  ↩︎
6.  Homer, The Odyssey of Homer, Book XXIII, 231-2: p. 341.  ↩︎
7.  Homer, The Odyssey of Homer, Book VIII, 546: p. 135. ↩︎