Odysseus, Lord of Lies
Odysseus lies a lot. He's a crafty man, deceptive, tactful, calculating. Since he is the only one living to tell his story, we are sometimes left wondering how much of his story is really the truth.
In the court of the Phaeacians, Odysseus spends whole books just telling stuff that happened to him. The only others to witness those events were Odysseus' crew, who died. In a number of places, Odysseus portrays himself as being heroic, stronger, able to stay up for days and nights on end, just plain better than his crew. (It's always the crew that wants to stop and rest on the island, that wants to open the bag of winds, that eats the Sun God's cattle.)
Yet at the same time, he also portrays himself in sometimes unflattering ways. When Eurylachus leads the rest of the crew to eating the Sun God's cattle, Odysseus gives him spoken lines and reasonable arguments. Or when Odysseus reveals his name to Polyphemus, over the protests of the crew, cursing them and dooming them all.
For me, though the most interesting moment that casts doubt on Odysseus' words is when he reaches the shores of Ithaca once again, and meets a disguised Athena. Very notably, the first words out of his mouth are blatant lies -- painting himself as someone completely different than who he really is. (If he lies so easily, can we trust what he said earlier in the court of the Phaeacians?) Furthermore, his choice of false identity is rather interesting. Instead of being some random guy who got left on the beach, Odysseus claims to be a murderer, who gained and lost great fortunes while traveling the world. His aggrandizing tendencies once again seem to suggest that Odysseus may have exaggerated earlier parts of his story.
Finally, we do have some semi-reliable observers in the form of the Olympian gods. They definitely corroborate important details like Poseidon being angry because Polyphemus was blinded, or that the crew ate the Sun God's cattle, but there is still a great deal of nuance left unchecked -- how much of Odysseus' misfortune was ultimately his own fault, for example.
Being so difficult to pin down, as a hero or a braggart, as a storyteller or a liar, Odysseus certainly is a "complicated man."
In the court of the Phaeacians, Odysseus spends whole books just telling stuff that happened to him. The only others to witness those events were Odysseus' crew, who died. In a number of places, Odysseus portrays himself as being heroic, stronger, able to stay up for days and nights on end, just plain better than his crew. (It's always the crew that wants to stop and rest on the island, that wants to open the bag of winds, that eats the Sun God's cattle.)
Yet at the same time, he also portrays himself in sometimes unflattering ways. When Eurylachus leads the rest of the crew to eating the Sun God's cattle, Odysseus gives him spoken lines and reasonable arguments. Or when Odysseus reveals his name to Polyphemus, over the protests of the crew, cursing them and dooming them all.
For me, though the most interesting moment that casts doubt on Odysseus' words is when he reaches the shores of Ithaca once again, and meets a disguised Athena. Very notably, the first words out of his mouth are blatant lies -- painting himself as someone completely different than who he really is. (If he lies so easily, can we trust what he said earlier in the court of the Phaeacians?) Furthermore, his choice of false identity is rather interesting. Instead of being some random guy who got left on the beach, Odysseus claims to be a murderer, who gained and lost great fortunes while traveling the world. His aggrandizing tendencies once again seem to suggest that Odysseus may have exaggerated earlier parts of his story.
Finally, we do have some semi-reliable observers in the form of the Olympian gods. They definitely corroborate important details like Poseidon being angry because Polyphemus was blinded, or that the crew ate the Sun God's cattle, but there is still a great deal of nuance left unchecked -- how much of Odysseus' misfortune was ultimately his own fault, for example.
Being so difficult to pin down, as a hero or a braggart, as a storyteller or a liar, Odysseus certainly is a "complicated man."
I certainly agree that Odysseus is a complicated man. But while reading the books and listening to presentations I realized that Odysseus seemed like a pathological liar. That felt like it explained a lot. It definitely seemed like he couldn't help but lie in certain situation, although then it was put down to his craftiness. I wonder if there is something more to it. As for the gods corroborating parts of his story, most lies contain some form of truth.
ReplyDeleteAs far as I can see, Odysseus has only lied (provably) when it is beneficial to him to do so. For example, when he lies to Athena about his identity, he is likely better off telling a stranger that the treasure he sees is all he has with him, so that stranger is less likely to steal any of it. With the Phoneticians, I don't think he had much of a reason to lie, so his narration was likely truthful.
ReplyDeleteHowever, he did lie to his father when it would be completely unreasonable to do, aiming to "test" his father and see if he was truly mourning him. That time was not particularly important to lie, and he notes that it was unimportant later.
DeleteIn many situations, lying is easier than telling the truth and beneficial to everyone involved, ex. telling the Polyphemus that his name is "No man" and avoiding the onslaught of the rest of the cyclopes on the island and not telling crew members who's going to get eaten while sailing past Scylla so the crew doesn't panic and break down, but I do have to say that Odysseus lies a LOT. But then again, everyone lies at times. According to Psychology Today, the average person lies 1.65 times a day, though that number may be a lie......
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I don’t know how much this complicates this thought, but I think lying and craftiness is a very prized skill in a lot of hero stories. Often the hero has to outwit the enemy, sometimes by withholding his name or origins. The example that comes to mind for me is the lord of the rings series – one of the cardinal rules throughout the story is not telling people your real name or using a clever pseudonym with strangers.
ReplyDeleteI find it very interesting how you bring in the stories that Odysseus has told into question. While I had some suspicions in the details of the stories that Odysseus tells to be inflated, I hadn't thought much deeper into it than that, but knowing how deception is Odysseus' second nature as you say definitely does call into question the accuracy of the stories he's told. Great post!
ReplyDeleteNice post. I agree with your evaluation of Odysseus' character. It is definitely hard to tell when he is exaggerating points, telling the truth, or straight up lying. The situations when he shows how good of a liar he is, which are numerous, make me not want to believe some of the rest of the story. However, I find myself believing it because of the also numerous times when Odysseus paints himself in a bad light. So, I think he is a trustworthy storyteller, but I'm still slightly hesitant.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with what you say about Odysseus and his character. Throughout books 5-12 he is constantly described as speaking with careful tact and consideration, which makes me feel that he has to be careful about what exactly he reveals. That could point to the fact that he's lying about something, or it could be that he just doesn't want to say too much. I guess we may never know. Nice post.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree! It's so hard to tell as a reader when to take Odysseus' word and when not to, especially because, as you pointed out, he sometimes portrays himself so negatively and sometimes he portrays himself so positively! Though, sometimes I wonder if the ways he portrays himself negatively he thinks of as positive lmao. I also think it's so interesting how he's always praising himself for lying and while sometimes his lying is tactful and advantageous to him sometimes it just seems like he's lying for the fun of it. Overall, I think it's so interesting to try to see how we're supposed to view Odysseus' lies. What a complicated man.
ReplyDeleteI think the fact that Odysseus often portrays himself in unflattering ways makes him more reliable as a narrator. While lying to make himself seem more heroic does seem like something he might do, I would expect him to edit all of his mistakes out, making him seem like he acted perfectly.
ReplyDeleteUnreliable narrators are so hard to pin down. This makes it especially aggravating when said narrator does some very questionable things (e.g. murdering the entire noble population, several innocent slave girls, and then wanting to go to war with his own country). If you choose to believe the stories that he tells the Phaeacians, it's much easier to look for a flattering view of those events, but if you don't believe them, Odysseus starts looking a lot more like a mass murderer. It's a weird uncertainty built into the book.
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