Deceit And Lying In Homer's Odyssey

Lies are, whether detrimental or advantageous, are a staple of most civilizations throughout history. Deceit and Lying allow the furtherment of goals and the ability to cast ourselves as someone who may not be. Lying in Homeric Society was as prevalent as it is today, and many characters take full advantage of the ability of deceit. In The Odyssey, Odysseus and others take advantage of homeric social norms of lying and deceit in order to get what they want; furthering their quest and goal through their trickery.
Many characters in The Odyssey use lying in order to protect something they care for. For example, Penelope delays the suitors by lying to them about her progress for her loom, promising to wed a suitor once she finishes her work: “She spoke, and the proud heart in us was persuaded/Thereafter in the daytime, she would weave at her great loom/but in the night she would have torches set by, and undo it.”(II.93-96). Penelope is forced to wait until Odysseus and Telemachus can finally rid Ithaca from the suitors, so she uses her only power, lies. Telemachus decides that in order to protect his mother from worry, he needs to leave out information:1` “Swear to tell my beloved mother nothing about this until the eleventh day has come or the twelfth

Odysseus portrays his wandering one-sidedly, placing himself as the victor. “When she had given them this and they drank it down, next thing she struck them with her wand and them into her pig pens.”(X. 229-241). Odysseus paints Circe as the lone fault for part of his travel but leaves out several details of what actually happened. In addition, Odysseus portrays his wanderings as everyone else but his fault. “But I was planning so that things would come out the best way/trying to find some release from death”(IX.420-432) Odysseus blames everyone but him, placing himself as an innocent hero whose misfortune was caused by