Deception In The Odyssey

Categories: Deception

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In the book The Odyssey, there are many different themes demonstrated in all different aspects of life. One of the main themes in the book was the theme of deception. The definition of deception is a crafty procedure or practice meant to deceive or defraud. Normally people view deception as a negative or sinister thing but in certain situations, it can also be utilized to gain information and knowledge. In this book, Odysseus and Athena have mastered deception and he can utilize deception for their own or other benefits.

The first example of deception in the Odyssey is in the second book when Athena disguises herself as Mentor to encourage Telemachus before he departs on his journey to Pylos and Sparta.

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In this book, Athena is giving Telemachus encouraging words and she says, “Telemachus, you are to be no thoughtless man, no coward, if truly the strong force of your father is instilled in you; such a man he was for accomplishing word and action.”.

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This quote shows that Athena is using deception, but for the purpose of helping and encouraging Telemachus while also speaking the truth. These words by Athena give Telemachus a confidence boost and she predicts that his journey will be successful.

Another example of deception in the Odyssey is in book thirteen when Athena disguises herself as a shepherd boy. This disguise shows her cleverness because this disguise is very non-threatening and unsuspecting. In this book, Athena uses this disguise to assist Odysseus when he finally returns to Ithaca and to help him finish his journey.

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Athena also uses other forms of deception in this part because when Odysseus returns to Ithaca Athena made it all misty and Odysseus cannot recognize it. Athena uses this time that she has gained for planning Odysseus’s next move and this use of deception helps him complete his journey. When Odysseus realizes he is in Ithaca he decides to use deception again and lie about his identity to the boy. This use of deception is very smart because he does not trust this boy and he is very deceptive and he knows that if he releases his identity bad things could happen. After Odysseus does this Athena reveals her true identity and Odysseus had no idea because of the multitude of disguises that Athena took along the journey. This shows just how good Athena is at the art of deception because not many people can fool the wise Odysseus but she does.

The final and probably biggest use of deception is when Athena disguises Odysseus as a beggar to take back his home from the suitors. This disguise allows Odysseus to distinguish the most loyal people and see how different suitors treat him while still keeping him out of harms way. He uses this disguise to get into his home and finally confront the suitors. This disguise was very clever because beggars are usually looked down upon and not respected so nobody would ever expect him to be disguised as a beggar. When Odysseus confronts the suitors after losing his disguise he says, “You dogs, you never thought I would any more come back from the land of Troy, and because of that you despoiled my household, and forcibly took my serving women to sleep beside you, and sought to win my wife while I was still alive”. After this is said the suitors are all killed and justice is served. This quote shows that Odysseus used the disguise to come back and take revenge on the suitors for doing all of these egregious acts and he finally gets the chance to take revenge because of his deception. In this part, he uses deception to get revenge which can be viewed as negative but he used it to help himself get his house and his wife back.

All of the disguises and deception in the Odyssey allows the character to get things done and accomplish things without risking themselves and maybe putting themselves in danger. These characters only use deception if they have to and if they need to get something done without revealing their identity.