How To Lie To The Suitors In The Odyssey

In the epic poem The Odyssey written by Homer tells about a hero named Odysseus who deceives people about who he really is. After a ten-year war with Troy, Odysseus tries to return home to his wife Penelope and son Telemachus, but instead he and his men encounter on an island a man- eating Cyclops. He then escapes the Cyclopes by blinding him so he could not distinguish the sheep and himself. Later while disguised as a beggar by Athena he gets brought home by his son and then proves himself to his wife Penelope. Odysseus told lies to the suitors, his wife Penelope, and the Cyclops, all because he did not want people to know who he really is and for his own safety. Odysseus told lies to the suitors by not revealing himself to the them because he wanted to surprise them and then make them pay after proving himself. Before Odysseus can come back to his

When asked by the Cyclops where his ship was, Odysseus responded with “My ship? Poseidon Lord, who sets the earth tremble, broke it up on the rocks at your land’s end.” (Homer L 272) Odysseus told the Cyclopes that Poseidon had wrecked his ship. Odysseus was smart by saying this because that meant that the Cyclopes was not going to go look for it and destroy it so that he and his men did not have a way out of the island. Odysseus lied cleverly so that he and his men would have a way to safely escape. In conclusion Odysseus lied to the suitors, his wife Penelope, and the Cyclopes. He lied to the suitors because he wanted to make them pay after revealing himself. Also he lied to Penelope because he wanted to first prove himself to her. Lastly he lied to Cyclopes because he did not want him to find and destroy his ship. Although Odysseus lied many times throughout the book he was very clever about them, which not only help him be disguise himself from people but also get himself out of