The use of the house to display dual personalities in The Odyssey and MedeaThe house was a common concept in ancient Greece. Not only was there a hearth goddess, Hestia, but hospitality to others was strongly emphasized. Home was seen as a place to escape the chaos of the outside world. Homer and Euripides in The Odyssey and Medea, respectively, use the motif of the house to show the difference between an individual's public manner and their more natural, personal manner. This difference is due to the different levels of comfort that individuals experience in different contexts. Specifically, both works depict difference through the characters' experience, developed distrust of others, and maintenance of dual identities. There are occasions in both works where characters make the mistake of using their personal mannerisms in inappropriate contexts. In The Odyssey, Odysseus wrongly assumes that the Cyclops, Polyphemus, would welcome him. There we built a fire and made sacrifices, and helped ourselves to the cheeses we ate, and sat waiting for him inside, until he returned from his flock. » His attempt to feel at home in Polyphemus' cave proves disastrous. Homer highlights through this situation Odysseus' lack of caution and judgment since Odysseus' crew had already advised him to leave the cave. By consuming Polyphemus' cattle and cheese, Odysseus demonstrates a high level of comfort with Polyphemus that is not actually evident to the two individuals meeting for the first time. As a result, Odysseus and his crew present themselves as intruders rather than visitors. Similarly, in Medea, Medea grants Jason an unusual level of trust...... middle of paper...... Euripides, although the authors of In Antiquity, comment on a characteristic still present in the world modern. They assert that individuals maintain dual identities due to different levels of trust and comfort with others in different contexts. Our experiences gave us an initial distrust or apprehension of others, which is why we developed a public identity distinct from our private identity. These distinct identities are beneficial to us, however, because they are used to promote our interests. Specifically, in The Odyssey and Medea, both authors state that our comfort level outside the home is very low. Home represents a natural state of existence where all thoughts, actions and words are intuitive. On the other hand, the outside world maintains a state of chaos and uncertainty. There must be some difference in how we approach these two states.