Pathological Liar In The Odyssey

Odyssey sings the journey of a pathological liar. It celebrates the man who killed dozens of his countrymen. Despite all this, the Ancient Greeks quoted snippets of Homer`s stories while arguing about the ideal ways to live one`s life. They considered Homer to be the greatest among all other poets and praised his works. As a result, we can predict that there is more to his story than that meets the eye.

This paper will attempt to explore the controversial text and try to decipher Homer`s teaching. Odyssey tells the story of the homecoming of Odysseus. It sings about the evils he faced while returning to Ithaca and describes his ruthless killing in his own palace. The text praises this outwardly selfish and deceitful person as being a wise,

Analyzing Odysseus is especially strenuous for he is a crafty liar. We can, however, study his conducts and speeches to make some progress in comprehending them. In this essay, I will go about achieving this in two main steps. First, by examining the explicit praises concerning Odysseus and thereby constructing a framework around which his identity can be personified. Second, by investigating whether we can prove, via his actions depicted in the Odyssey, these claims. Following these steps, we can begin to identify Odysseus and possibly answer why he is more virtuous than the other characters, for all the heroes, that the gods have favored, seem to be virtuous (at least to their own

Whenever he faces an unprecedented obstacle, Homer states the hero`s thoughts as if Odysseus is considering among two choices and deciding upon the one that maximizes his profits. For example, recall his first encounter with Nausikaa. Odysseus debates whether running to her knees and seeking assistance would be reasonable or would he gain more from standing at a distance and supplicating via words of blandishment (Book VI: 140 – 144). He settles on the latter. Subsequently, he gains much-needed clothes and secures a proper shelter to spend the nights, albeit with the help from Athena. Additionally, we see from contemplating on the choices that he did not even consider the option of harming the princess and ransoming her to ensure that his demands are met. Here we get a glimpse of the virtue hidden behind his apparent willingness of changing his nature to meet his selfish aims. The fact that Odysseus did not even consider this as a possibility shows the underlying goodness within him. Furthermore, his readiness to throw away his pride and beg an adolescent for support indicates that he values fulfillment of his basic needs over his