Why do the Phaeacians help Odysseus return to Ithaca?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Sixteenth-century engraving by Hieronymus Wierix depicting Homer, shown as an older man with a beard and laurel wreath, wearing a draped garment. — Odyssey: A Reader’s Guide to Homer’s Epic Engraving of Homer by Hieronymus Wierix, 16th century; in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

The Phaeacians help Odysseus return to Ithaca primarily because their king, Alcinous, is committed to upholding xenia, the ancient Greek code of hospitality.12

In Homer’s Odyssey, xenia was considered a sacred duty and an inviolable moral code, believed to be enforced by Zeus in his role as the protector of strangers. When the shipwrecked Odysseus arrives in the land of the Phaeacians, Alcinous provides him with food, clothing, and shelter, fulfilling his social and moral obligations as a host. By furnishing Odysseus with a ship to complete his journey home, Alcinous demonstrates the exemplary hospitality that defines his reign, standing in stark contrast to figures who violate the code, such as the Cyclops Polyphemus or the suitors of Penelope.132