Examples Of Guile In The Odyssey

In Homer’s The Odyssey, particular characters have some sort of disguise that allows them to deceive others. In the epic, there is also a demonstration of inequality between men and women; there is also an inequality between the two also in the acceptance of cunningness and guile. The idea of guile in The Odyssey was raised multiple times throughout the epic and it was often considered to be wisdom. From the beginning of the epic, we see characters praising men for their “wisdom” and women are oppressed for the majority of their actions, including guile. This patriarchal system reveals the double standard in society, but also reveals the social statuses in this time period that oppressed women and bounded them from being able to change the

A mere mortal getting praised by a god or a goddess is not something that occurs often in ancient Greek mythology. When Odysseus returns to Ithaca and meets Athena she tells him that “Any man -any god who met you- would have to be some champion lying cheat to get past you… we’re both old hands at the arts of intrigue. Here among mortal men you’re far the best at tactics, spinning yarns, and I am famous for wisdom, cunning wiles, too” (296.329-339). This quote at first sight seems like a simple compliment for Odysseus, but it is not. Athena is telling him how great he is at being deceitful. We, today, wouldn’t ever congratulate and commend a liar; we would actually scold them. In this text evidence, Athena says that even a god would have to be a “champion lying cheat” to get past Odysseus. The fact that she puts Odysseus on top of the gods demonstrates that men do get praised all the time for things like lying and

Penelope, the loyal wife of Odysseus, had deceived the suitors while they were still alive and at night when she would undo her weave. Alcenous, when he went to the underworld, was asked how he had died and he had responded that it was because of Penelope. He tells the man who asked him that “She neither spurned not embraced a marriage she despised, no, she simply planned our death, our black doom! This was her latest piece of guile” (472.137-139). Although this was not true, we can see the reaction of characters when they believe a woman is being deceitful. The reference to a “black doom” must refer to their slaughter and all the blame is placed on her yet for Odysseus, the moment he did murder the men, people thought it was great and that he was a hero for