Deception: Praiseworthy or Detestable?

            In our society, liars and deceivers are often seen in a bad light. Most of us are taught from a young age that lying is bad, and we even have stories teaching us that it is wrong to lie (e.g. The Boy Who Cried Wolf). But for some reason, The Odyssey seems to be encouraging these deceitful practices. We often consider lying as a character trait of “bad guys”, but it’s the exact opposite in The Odyssey, since all of the heroes and good guys seem to carry this trait.

Odysseus, the main hero of this epic poem, is known for being cunning and quick to deceive others. He tricks Polyphemus by saying that his name is Nobody. He tricks the suitors by posing as a beggar and testing them. He even makes up intricate stories in order to trick (or attempt to trick) Eumaeus, Penelope, and the goddess Athena. When Odysseus lied to Athena about his backstory, I thought that Athena would take offense to this and become unfavorable towards Odysseus. I assumed that Odysseus had made a mistake by trying to trick a goddess. But instead, Athena praises Odysseus and talks about how he is better than everyone else because he is quick to deceive, just like she is. Not only is Odysseus praised when he lies, but he is actually punished when he doesn’t! For example, after Odysseus escapes from Polyphemus, he taunts the Cyclops and reveals his real name. For once Odysseus was honest about his identity, but we all know what hardships he faced later as a consequence of revealing his name to Polyphemus.

Odysseus isn’t the only one who is known for being cunning. This trait seems to run in the family line, as both Penelope and Telemachus share these traits as well. Penelope tricks the suitors for three years by undoing the burial shroud every night. Telemachus tricks Penelope when he sneaks away from home to find out news about his father Odysseus. Even the gods and goddesses often deceive people by disguising themselves when visiting humans. All of this seems to point to the fact that craftiness and deceptiveness were considered as positive traits in ancient Greek culture. I looked this up to see if this was true, since my only evidence for this idea comes from The Odyssey. Apparently in The Iliad, an epic poem about the Trojan War, Achilles says the following about Odysseus: “For hateful as Hades’ gate is the man for me who conceals one thing in his heart but speaks another”. This statement seems to completely contradict the ideas presented in The Odyssey. Achilles obviously detests men like Odysseus who purposefully lie and deceive others. Perhaps researching the relationship between Achilles and Odysseus will reveal some background context that would clarify this statement. Or maybe Achilles’ views on this is different from the ancient Greek norm.

At this point, I really don’t know how ancient Greeks viewed deception. The Odyssey seems to strongly point to the idea that craftiness should be praised, and yet I am hesitant to come to this conclusion with such limited knowledge. Maybe lying was accepted as long as it was for a good purpose? Odysseus, Penelope, and Telemachus all lied out of a “good” motive, right? Odysseus lied to save his crew and to reunite with his family. Penelope lied to keep the suitors at bay and stay faithful to Odysseus. Telemachus lied in order to search for his lost father.  Still, there are a few counterexamples where these characters didn’t lie out of a clearly good motive. I obviously don't know the answer, what do you guys think? 

Greek Hospitality

Even though we have only read the first four books of the Odyssey so far, it has already become evident that hospitality will be a recurring theme throughout this epic poem. Hospitality is obviously very important in the ancient Greek culture, and it is vastly different than what most of us consider as hospitality today. According to Homer’s Odyssey, proper hospitality in ancient Greek culture involves treating a stranger to the best food and drink one can offer, and perhaps even providing a nice bath before asking the stranger who he or she is. This type of hospitality was so foreign to me that I had trouble believing that this was the norm. However, this is in fact one of the most basic rules of this society, and all of the respectable characters in The Odyssey treat their guests this way without hesitation.

            But why did the Greeks have these rules for hospitality? What is the reason behind automatically treating total strangers as guests of honor? I believe one reason for this culture is due to the common Greek belief that gods and goddesses often disguise themselves as strangers. Knowing that any random stranger could be a god in disguise naturally motivates hosts to treat every guest as a god, no matter what the situation may be. Homer’s story reinforces this idea, as Telemachus treats Athena disguised as Mentes hospitably in the opening book. Despite the fact that Telemachus is already suffering from a plague of parasitic suitors, he genuinely welcomes Athena into his house. The text reads: “[…] and straight to the porch he went, mortified that a guest might still be standing at the doors. […] ‘Greetings, stranger! Here in our house you’ll find a royal welcome. Have supper first, then tell us what you need.’(1.140-141, 144-146)” Considering his situation, the fact that Telemachus is “mortified” that he might have forgotten about a guest really emphasizes how important hospitality is to him. This scene in itself teaches Homer’s audience that hosts should always be aware that strangers may be gods in disguise.

            Another reason why the ancient Greeks had this custom of generosity towards strangers is because they either expected to be treated this way in the future as strangers themselves, or they had already been treated this way in the past by other hosts. In The Odyssey, both Nestor and Menelaus had been received hospitably by other hosts during their journey back from Troy, and this in turn played a role in influencing them to be hospitable towards Telemachus. In the case of Menelaus, he specifically mentions how he enjoyed hospitality from other men during his voyage home: “Just think of all the hospitality we enjoyed at the hands of other men before we made it home […]. (4.38-39)” To Menelaus, it is absurd to receive hospitality and not do the same in return. This reveals the general mindset and belief of Greeks to treat others the way you wish to be treated, and to give as you have received.

            I believe that in The Odyssey, hospitality can be used as a dividing line to separate the morally upright from the evil. All of the characters that have shown hospitality so far (Telemachus, Nestor, and Menelaus) are considered “good guys”. However, we view the characters that have broken the rules of hospitality in a bad light. For example, the suitors are clearly villains at this point, and they have abused the hospitality of Penelope and Telemachus as guests. Another example of a villain is Calypso, and she is being a terrible host by holding Odysseus captive on her island. Although this may not be a cause-and-effect relationship, there seems to be a correlation between showing hospitality and having good character. Overall, hospitality seems to be a bigger theme in this poem than one might expect.

Works Cited

Homer. The Odyssey. Translated by Robert Fagles, Penguin, 1996.