Moral Dichotomy of Lies and Deception in the Odyssey

Introduction: The Lie as Moral Motif

In The Odyssey, Homer utilizes the lie as a motif, and in doing so, he establishes a moral dichotomy. The epic is populated with lies and liars, but those liars operate in fundamentally different ways. When vocalized by some characters, lies become virtuous necessities or demonstrations of superior intelligence. Other liars prove themselves base and without morals, lying to manipulate, to increase their own wealth, or to take advantage of hospitality.

The lies themselves act as methods of characterization. In particular, Odysseus' lies contribute to Homer's portrayal of the hero as wily and cunning. Ironically, when Odysseus uses lies strategically, they become weapons, and he is often able to establish important truths about the individuals he deceives. In total, Odysseus' use of lies in the second half of The Odyssey, while seemingly cruel to his wife and to his faithful servant, both allows him to reclaim his rightful place in his home and illustrates the inherent, ironic morality possible in certain lies — namely, that if a lie is told for the correct motives, it may be more moral than the truth.

The Suitors: Immoral Lies and False Hospitality

Before addressing Odysseus' "virtuous" lying, the immoral perfidiousness of the suitors should be presented as a contrast. As Odysseus struggles to return home after the Trojan War, opportunistic suitors attempt to seduce Penelope and take possession of Odysseus' home. A key Greek value is hospitality to the guest, and to violate this cultural virtue is to incur the wrath of the gods. Penelope is in an untenable position: technically, the suitors are guests to whom hospitality is owed, but she must also courageously preserve herself and Odysseus' home until he returns. The suitors foist themselves upon Odysseus' household and upon Penelope, demanding that she select one of them as a husband. Penelope, who exhibits another Greek virtue — wifely loyalty — initially refuses, but the suitors refuse to leave and "persist in eating up any number of his [Odysseus'] sheep and oxen" (1.49). Penelope clings to the hope that Odysseus is alive, and to protect their chances for future happiness, she concocts a lie. As characters, the suitors are not good guests, and therefore they are not good Greeks.

As a method of characterization, the suitors' lies indirectly reveal their bad natures more fully than their unmitigated gluttony does. Telemachus, Odysseus' son, is enraged by the suitors' behavior toward his mother and by the plunder of his father's house. When Telemachus appeals to King Menelaus for assistance and departs, the suitors plot to murder him. The suitors present a veneer of concern and familial care toward Penelope and Telemachus, but this facade of civility is a poorly concealed lie and a violation of one of the chief Greek virtues of hospitality. In The Odyssey, the suitors are presented as bumbling, immoral liars — little better than common thieves. Their lies are motivated by avarice, and these men are punished severely by Odysseus for their perfidy. The suitors' immoral lies are juxtaposed against Odysseus' and Penelope's morally motivated lies to present an interesting conception of truth: in The Odyssey, what matters most is motivation, not action. Homer's tale seems to suggest that the ends do indeed justify the means.

The blatantly immoral and self-serving lies of the suitors contrast sharply against the comparatively moral lies of Penelope and Odysseus. Nevertheless, the lies that Penelope tells and the lies that Odysseus tells differ in both execution and intent. Odysseus' lies possess a more complex motivation, expressive of a seemingly paternalistic belief on his part that only he can discern truth in the tangled situation, and only he can put things back in order. Penelope's lies, by contrast, appear to be motivated by love and by the preservation of her family and home.

Penelope's Virtuous Deceptions

Penelope lies only to her enemies — in this case, her numerous, persistent suitors. Her lies also form a metaphor. To protect herself, her home, her marriage, and her family, Penelope literally "weaves" a series of deceptions, one of which takes the form of a woven cloth that is continually altered to give the appearance of truth while preserving the lie. The suitors claim that Odysseus must be dead because he has not yet returned from the Trojan War. Penelope, feeling otherwise, has faith that Odysseus will one day return and remains faithful to her marriage — a faithfulness that, notably, Odysseus himself does not reciprocate, as he engages in several dalliances with supernatural females as well as what might be described as a flirtation with a young mortal woman.

Penelope promises the suitors that she will eventually satisfy them by selecting one of them as a husband to replace Odysseus. This is a lie. Penelope will never succumb to the alleged charms of the suitors. She is tired and frustrated, but her strength of character and of purpose remains unshaken by the constant pressure of the hungry suitors. She fabricates an elaborate ruse to purchase time for negotiation and for Odysseus to finally make his way home. She promises the suitors that she will marry one of them when she finishes weaving an elaborate burial shroud for her much-loved father-in-law, Laertes. Unbeknownst to the suitors, Penelope weaves each day and unweaves her day's work each night. The funeral shroud will never be completed. This temporal device is effective for quite some time — itself another testament to Homer's characterization of the suitors as gluttonous, immoral dolts. To any attentive observer, the shroud's failure to grow any larger after much time and effort would have sounded alarm bells. The suitors do eventually catch on to Penelope's lie, but not until they have become comic in their foolishness, seemingly lacking the ability to use their powers of observation to protect themselves.

As portrayed by Homer, Penelope's lies do not seem immoral. They are gutsy acts of love, motivated by her devotion to her husband and family. She also exhibits extreme filial piety toward her father-in-law, which ironically assists her in fulfilling her ruse. The suitors believe Penelope entirely when she claims such love and devotion for Laertes that she must finish his funeral shroud before remarrying — and Penelope does, in fact, possess genuine love and devotion for Laertes. With great skill, she uses her sincere affection for him to deceive the deceitful suitors.

If Penelope had been completely truthful and presented the bare, honest facts to the suitors, she surely would have lost Odysseus' home. Her manipulation of the suitors, while dishonest, was more moral than the alternative. Her lies required courage, great skill, intelligence, and finesse in their execution. Their outcome, as the ending of The Odyssey makes clear, included the favor of the gods. Penelope and Odysseus are reunited, the suitors are punished, and the home is preserved for its rightful owners. Odysseus is proud of Penelope's perseverance — as well he should be: she lied to protect him.

Conclusion: Motivation as the Measure of Morality

In The Odyssey, Odysseus and Penelope both tell lies, and both do so to preserve their home, but their motivations differ slightly. Penelope tells her lies with a heavy yet faithful heart. Odysseus lies with relish, seeming to enjoy his skill at dissembling. Both are rewarded, and their intentions are primarily virtuous. However, as is true at many points in the epic, when wily, brilliant Odysseus is lying he seems less than empathetic — more often than not, he seems arrogant, displaying the hubris that caused many of his original problems. Nevertheless, if a liar's motivations are mostly pure, the lies themselves seem less a sin and more a virtue. Homer's moral framework in The Odyssey ultimately suggests that what matters is not whether one lies, but why.

Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. Samuel Butler. 2000. The Internet Classics Archive. 13 April 2004. http://classics.mit.edu/Homer/odyssey.html.