Hospitality

"Listen to me you suitors, who persist in abusing the hospitality of this house because its owner has been long absent, and without other pretext than that you want to marry me;

These mares were the death of him in the end, for when he went to the house of Zeus’ son, mighty Herakles, who performed such prodigies of valor, Herakles to his shame killed him, though he was his guest, for he feared not heaven's vengeance, nor yet respected his own table which he had set before Iphitos, but killed him in spite of everything, and kept the mares himself.

This is only some poor man who has lost his way, and we must be kind to him, for strangers and foreigners in distress are under Zeus’ protection, and will take what they can get and be thankful;

Then, having entered the fire-hall, sipped water, and dried himself, for the purpose of performing the rites of hospitality, he invoked Viśvakarman.

"I invoke Viśvakarman and also Tvaṣṭṛ — I wish to perform the hospitality;

Free from fatigue and distress, provided with excellent food and excellent lodgings, all of us — including even the servants — have slept in great comfort.

as though it were the custom to treat poor strangers thus exactly and ungenerously, but to receive only the wealthy kindly with hospitality and gifts, from whom plainly they too expected to obtain the like — much such as are the dispositions of men now as regards humanity and intent.

And indeed, considering the saying of Euripides — whether in truth their relations toward strangers are so straitened that they can neither receive anyone nor help one in need — I nowhere find hospitality to be such;

for see how wild and harsh are the parts of the island toward the open sea.

And this would have been another woe to add to mine, that my house should be called no friend to guests.

but my halls have never learnt to drive away or treat with scorn my guests.

Now too hath he opened wide his house and welcomed a guest although his eye is wet with tears in mourning for his wife so dear but lately dead within his halls;

and although thou turn from arguments, still it is a custom amongst mortal men to receive shipwrecked sailors as their suppliants and show them hospitality and help them with raiment;

to sacrifice his guests at his own hearth, the suppliants of his halls, cleaving and tearing and serving up to his loathsome teeth a feast of human flesh, hot from the coals.

Are they hospitable and reverent towards strangers?

That of the seer Megistias was inscribed by Simonides son of Leoprepes because of his tie of guest-friendship with the man.

It is for this reason that I bid you all to refrain from maligning Demaratus, seeing that he is a stranger and a friend.

I believe this of him because of all that he has already said and by what is the truth, namely, that if one citizen prospers, another citizen is jealous of him and shows his enmity by silence, and no one, (except if he has attained the height of excellence;

Then he came to Creon and long-robed Eniocha, who received him kindly and gave him all fitting things, as is due to suppliants, and honored him in their hearts even more.

so he left his own country and came to Thebes and was suppliant to the shield-carrying men of Cadmus.

Great Oeneus once entertained Bellerophon for twenty days, and the two exchanged presents.

With these words they sprang from their chariots, grasped one another's hands, and plighted friendship.

Henceforth, however, I must be your host in middle Argos, and you mine in Lycia, if I should ever go to that district [ dêmos];

And Philip, who was my father’s guest-friend, was summoned and appeared, but took to flight in alarm at the magnitude of the danger;

Perhaps, men of the jury, he will present witnesses to you who will testify that I also denied, in the presence of the agents of Satyrus, that I possessed any money except that which I surrendered to them, and that he himself was laying claim to my money on my own confession that I owed him three hundred drachmas, and also that I had allowed Hippoladas, my guest and friend, to borrow from him.

It is right also that you keep in mind both Satyrus and my father, who have always esteemed you above all the other Greeks and frequently in past times, when there was a scarcity of grain and they were sending away empty the ships of other merchants, granted to you the right of export;

And he shall take the utmost care in the worship of a guest (*atithi*).

He shall carefully worship an *atithi* who has arrived in the evening.

> The *atithi* from whose house he turns away with his hopes broken, / > From him he takes away his merit and gives him his own sin.

And afterwards, when his brother had deprived the son of Parapita of his domain during the absence of Pharnabazus, and had made him an exile, Agesilaus not only cared for him in every way, but in particular, since he had become enamoured of the son of Eualces an Athenian, made every effort for his sake to have Eualces’ son, inasmuch as he was taller than any of the other boys, admitted to the stadium race at Olympia.

O that you, noble sir, a man of such a spirit, may come to be our friend.

And immediately he gave his javelin—it was a beautiful one—to Agesilaus.