According to the American Heritage Dictionary, the meaning of hospitality is "cordial and generous reception of or disposition toward guests". In The Odyssey, hospitality greatly affects the whole book. In fact, because it is used so often, it is one of the six major themes in the epic tale. Every time a stranger would enter a person's home, then that person would take in the guest and treat that guest with courtesy. The person must …showed first 75 words of 846 total…

…showed last 75 words of 846 total…en many gifts as remembrance of that host. The Odyssey can alone prove the meaning of hospitality true with the use of it throughout the whole epic tale. Hospitality is one of the basic units that make up the Odyssey just as a cell is a basic unit of life. So if there is no hospitality, then there would be a very different epic tale or there would not be an Odyssey at all.