Even though his men want him to take some food and leave as soon as possible, Odysseus wants to stay in Polyphemus's cave because he hopes "[he] might see [the cave's owner] and [this owner] might offer [Odysseus] gifts." Odysseus might expect such gifts from an obviously wealthy host because of the ancient Greek ideas concerning hospitality. Greeks believed Zeus protected travelers and that a host had a religious obligation to offer hospitality to any traveler; this hospitality would often include the presentation of a guest-gift, if such a gift were financially viable for the host. Odysseus isn't just randomly expecting presents; rather, he's expecting (perhaps a tad arrogantly) that he will be offered gifts as an extension of this hospitality. The guest, however, also had an obligation not to take advantage of a host's hospitality, and so we might read Odysseus's expectation as a bit presumptuous.
Does anybody know the etymology of the phrase "sweet dreams"? I tried googling but did not find anything satisfying. Is this a relatively new phrase of the modern world or has this been in use for some time? I think it's the latter one. Answer The OED has the interjection as "a farewell to someone going to bed" from the 20th century: 1908 Sears Roebuck Catal. 198/1 Tenor Solos..Good Bye, Sweet Dreams, Good Bye. But it goes back until at least the 19th and possibly 18th centuries. John Wolcot, writing under the pseudonym of Peter Pindar, used it in his poem "Orson and Ellen; A Legendary Tale" published in 1801: Also from 1801 in The infernal Quixote (Page 287) by Charles Lucas: In the March 1776 of The Universal Magazine was published "The Serenade. A Pastoral Tale. From the German of Gesner" , where the shepherd Daphnis watches over his beloved as she sleeps and sings: The same tale appears in 1776's as Idyl XI, " Daphnis ...
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