A Modest Proposal for a Grand Ecumenical Gesture
By Randall Smith
In Homer's Odyssey, when Odysseus returns to Ithaca, disguised as a poor wanderer, he is given food and shelter by the swineherd, Eumaeus. The ancient Greek code for providing hospitality to strangers, xenia, was considered a sacred obligation overseen by Zeus. Eumaeus's obligation would be to take the stranger to the house of his lord to be cared for. But he knows that the suitors who have invaded Odysseus's house will treat him badly — a violation of xenia that could bring upon them the wrath of the gods. So he cares for this man himself, pronouncing those magnificent…
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