"But come, women, wash the stranger and make his bed,
with bedding, blankets and lustrous spreads to keep him warm
till Dawn comes up and takes her golden throne.
Then, tomorrow at daybreak, bathe him well
and rub him down with oil, so he can sit beside
Telemachus in the hall, enjoy his breakfast there.
And anyone who offends our guest beyond endurance –
he defeats himself; he’s doomed to failure here,
no matter how raucously he raves and blusters on."
– Homer
The Odyssey, Book 19, lines 364-372. Penelope fulfils the cultural role expected of a generous host in ancient Greece. She asks her maidens to prepare a comfortable bed for a nameless beggar, who arrives with news of her husband Odysseus.