Essay on Deception and Disguise in "The Odyssey"

When Athena leads Odysseus back to an Ithaka that he no longer recognizes, she again "poured a grey mist all around him" because she wanted him to be incognito while she informed him of the situation of the suitors and until "the suitors paid up for their crimes." She wanted to protect him from the people who would suffer for his return until a plan had been formulated to seek revenge. Athena also disguises herself as a sheperd boy and talks with Odysseus. However, she

Chapter 13- Alcinous helped Odysseus board his ship to sail back to Ithaca. When Poseidon sees Odysseus at Ithaca, he asks Zeus to punish the crew for helping Odysseus arrive to Ithaca, so Zeus demolishes their ship. Meanwhile, Odysseus disguises himself as an old man to destroy the suitors.

These temptresses who hinder Odysseus are contrasted with the women who help Odysseus in his journey homeward. One example is Nausicaa, the Phaeacian princess. The shipwrecked Odysseus washes up on the Phaeacian shore. He comes across Nausicaa and her maids washing clothes. He beseeches her for help. Nausicaa kindly helps Odysseus by providing him with a bath, clothing, and food. She then advises Odysseus to enter the palace and ask for help from her mother, Queen Arete. Arete also wields much influence. Nausicaa tells Odysseus that if the queen “take[s] [him] to her heart”, then there is “hope” that he will return home (278). Nausicaa and Arete are instrumental in bringing about Odysseus’ homecoming.

Odysseus tells Athena, whom he believes is a shepherd, a false account, of how he came to Ithaca, primarily since he needs to keep his identity a secret, familiarize himself with the situation on Ithaca and formulate a plan to execute the suitors. He perceives that he has arrived in a mist-shrouded and unknown land. And thus secondarily, he needs to present a feasible reason for being alone and stranded with copious amounts of treasure for safety reasons as well as to allay suspicion in relation to his identity. Athena affects how he tells his lie because he can see and listen to her. To manipulate her more effectively, Odysseus exploits these factors to produce a story specifically tailored to the information Athena provides.

For Odysseus, the ability to disguise his identity presents an opportunity through which he can conquer his enemies at Troy and thereby establish great fame and external identity through public recognition. Through the voice of Helen, Homer demonstrates how Odysseus became so unrecognizable that he was able to enter into Troy, defying both his mortal enemies and the immortal Poseidon who built Troy's walls to be impenetrable:

Athena’s disguises shows a lot of hidden characteristics of the characters in Odyssey. It compares Odysseus to the other mortals, his relationship with Penelope, and also makes a comparison between the gods and the mortals. In Odyssey, Athena and Odysseus are present in a lot of disguises so that others are not able to recognize them. Although they were in disguises, Penelope and Odysseus were able to find out their identities. Penelope was able to find out Odysseus disguised as a beggar the moment she met him in Ithaca and Odysseus was also able to recognize Athena when he met her disguised as a young girl in Scheria. The disguises were a form to hide themselves but, as Penelope and Odysseus were able to figure out, there is a case that the relationship between Odysseus and Penelope is special and that Odysseus and Athena are a little bit different compared to other mortals and the gods.

     The characters' use of disguises in Homer's Odyssey is a crucial element that helps to catalyze the victory of good over evil.  Each disguise is unique, created for a specific purpose.  Before she talks to Telemachos, Athena disguises herself as a wise old man in order to ensure that her words carry weight and are taken seriously.  She knows that she must assist and encourage Telemachos into searching for his long lost father without revealing her divine nature, so she assumes the guise of Mentor because men were generally given more credibility in those days.  In a similar vein, Odysseus disguises himself as a homeless man in order to exude anonymity so that he can safely return to Ithaka where he

In this book the little girl who we all know as Athena even gives Odysseus advice, ?A cheerful man does best in every enterprise, even a stranger? (Book 7). The interference by Athena shows how much she likes Odysseus and how much she wants him to make it home to the suitors.

Athena’s navigational skills and quick thinking made Odysseus’ victory feasible. She provided a disguise for Odysseus, came up with a battle plan, and kept his anger in check by letting the suitors continue their taunts against him. Athena “had no mind to let the brazen suitors hold back now from their heart-rending insults-she meant to make the anguish cut still deeper into the core of Laertes’ son Odysseus” (Homer page 419). Additionally, she helped Odysseus battle the suitors, “looming out of the rafters high above them, brandished her man-destroying shield of thunder, terrifying the suitors out of their minds, and down the hall they panicked” (Homer page 448). Saving Odysseus’ and his servants’ lives, Athena acted against the suitors and, undoubtedly, won the battle for him by scaring off the suitors who were not already dead.

For instance, once Odysseus arrives home Athena disguises him as a beggar and states, “...This time has come: tell him how you together will bring doom on the suitors in the town” (Homer 596). Athena’s disguise helped Odysseus create a clever plan that would later fool all the suitors. Without Athena’s powers to conceal Odysseus’ appearance he possibly could not have defeated the vast amount of suitors. A strong relationship between Odysseus is indicated when Telemachus helped his father in battle, “He caught up four light shields, four pairs of spears, four helms of war high-plumed with flowing manes, and ran back, loaded down to his father’s side” (Homer 612). Although, Telemachus grew up without his father, his ability to adapt to crucial times during a battle shows how similar him and Odysseus are. While, Odysseus was assisted by Athena, Zeus, and Eumaeus, Telemachus was apart of the original strategy and without him the end result could have been different. Odysseus needed the support in order to be

Athena and Leucothea, two of the most influential women in the story, play a prominent role in the story, for they help Odysseus complete his journey! Athena and Leucothea work together to save Oddyseus’s life when he is drowning out at sea. Odysseus had just gotten off the island of Calypso and was on his way home when Poseidon, the God of the sea created a massive storm and almost killed Odysseus. Poseidon was furious with Odysseus because he had blinded his son Polyphemus. Luckily, a mortal named Leucothea comes to his rescue. As Odysseus is drowning, Leucothea yells over the storm, “‘Strip off those clothes and leave your craft for the winds to hurl, and swim for it now, you must, strike out with your arms for landfall there, Phaeacian land where destined safety waits. Here, take this scarf, tie it around your waist—it is immortal.’” (Book #5) Athena then plays a role by helping him get through the storm to the land safely. If it weren’t for these two powerful and wise women, nobody would have heard the story of Odysseus and his completion of

Odysseus arrives on Calypso’s island alone, after the loss of his men and ship. Calypso rescues him and loves and cares for him in her cave. At first, it seems like Odysseus doesn’t seem much to mind her taking care of him, but over time it is plainly evident that he is unhappy with her. When Hermes arrives on Calypso’s island to give her the message from Zeus to release Odysseus, he is bawling on the beach a day-long activity for him. Calypso is holding him with her by force; she has no companions to help him back to Ithaka, nor has she a ship to send him in. Athena pleads with Zeus to give Odysseus good fortune, saying that "he lies away on an island suffering strong pains in the palace of the nymph Kalypso, and she detains him by constraint, and he cannot make his way to his country, for he has not any ships by him, nor any companions who can convey him back

There is many things that shape identity big things and small things such as family, religion or even random people they have met in public. For example Juliet wouldn't be the same without her parents she would be alive and would have never met Romeo. One of the biggest things that shape someone's identity is life experiences, whether it's if you lost your dad or met an amazing person life experiences are a huge factor in shaping one's identity.

As Telemachus tracks Odysseus' trail through stories from his old Comrades- in- arm, Athena arranges for the release of Odysseus from the Island of the beautiful goddess Calypso, whose prisoner and lover he has been for the last seven years. Odysseus sets sail on a makeshift raft, but the sea god Poseidon, whose wrath Odysseus incurred earlier in his adventure by blinding Poseidon's son, the Cyclops Polyphemus, conjures up a storm. With Athena's help Odysseus reaches the Phaeacians. Their princess, Nausicaa, who has a crush on the handsome warrior, opens the palace to the stranger. Odysseus withholds his identity for as long as he can until finally, at the Phaeacians' request, he tells the story of his adventures.

Though Athena is a female, she is not known for her beauty or stature, but for her wisdom. Whenever Athena creates her plan to rescue Odysseus, everyone is thoroughly surprised because no one had yet to think of one. The rest of the gods at the assembly had known that Odysseus had been trapped but were not sure of how to rescue him without facing Poseidon’s wrath. The gods did not expect a plan from Athena because she is a female, she is not supposed to be smart or have an opinion. Athena exceeds everyone’s expectations and uses her wisdom to rescue Odysseus. Additionally, Athena proves herself when she gives Odysseus the plan to disguise himself once he reaches Ithaca. Athena constantly saving Odysseus shows her critical thinking which she applies to show her wisdom. Most people do not expect that from her because she is a woman and she cannot be thinking superior to men, but Athena proves that wisdom is one of her prized traits. Because Athena is a female, most people would think of her as beautiful, but she proves her important trait to be wise.