Odysseus is Guilty - Comments

I think this is a very well written article, but I do agree with those who disagree, for many of the same reasons.

Odysseus -was- a King, which does entitle him to anger and fury: He was a warrior king. The last thing he wanted was to come home to a household full of strange men who had disrespected his authority by not only impatiently making claims to the Queen before any official rites were given to declare his death, but also using his home, supplies, and servants freely, which had nothing to do with the duties of suitor.

Yes, he disarmed the suitors. But he is only one man, and a war weary one at that. It would have been suicide to "fairly " fight all of the men. Not only would such a battle be detrimental to his home, but also to the state of Ithaca. The people would have been terrified.

As to the servants. They -were- servants. There was no reciprocal loyalty between them and Odysseus. They were expected to blindly obey the house rules to his death, no exceptions. They were tools, no matter the tenure within his home. A single act of disloyalty was reason enough to kill them. The brutality is what is expected of a king of bis nature. Leniency would be seen as a sign of weakness, and as no effort being made to defend the honor of his household.

Finally, as to turning down the pleas to life. First, the plea of the suitor involved a "tax on the land ". The people of Ithaca should not be expected to compensate for the indescretions of the men in question. To use the people as means of paying for their lives was cowardly, and the second claim of their own payments cannot be trusted from the mouth of a coward.

Odysseus did what was necessary to put down any belief that a king could be sullied by servants and squatters.

@ butterflywings16
so what if they were doing for themselves rather than penelope? it still doesn't mean they deserve to be hung. yeah they should be punished for spilling her secrets but keep in mind that this homeric ithaca and they were probably raped by the suitors too. they didn't deserve to die.

@ Rayus

I thoroughly agree with your entire asessment of the situation. If I were to give my view of the story, I'd more or less say what you did.

@ butterflywings16
I understand your point with this. Not only were the sleeping with the suitors, but they also did give out a few secrets here and there. Like how Penelope said she was going to wait to finish the shawl she was making before deciding on a suitor, and undoing her work every night, the maids told the suitor's about that and they caught her in the act. But, again, I personally think Odysseues was just a little too harsh on the women. That's just me though.

@ tigermilk
I didn't completely finish my thought there. The maids deserved what they got for being disloyal. The sleeping with the suitors were more for themselves then for the lady. It says that in the story if you've ever read it.

@Project.Mayhem I agree with you fully!

The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood.

that is all

@ butterflywings16
JUST BECAUSE THEY ARE SLEEPING AROUND DOESN'T MEAN THEY SHOULD DIE. slut shaming is so not cool and comments like that are completely uncalled for.

I think that you have a good point but I completely dissagree. The maids were sleeping with the men for their own pleaurses not to save the lady. So they deserved everything.

@ Haner's Harlot.
That's a very good point. And yes, I was looking at it in a 21st century viewpoint. Depending on what viewpoint your looking from your answer will change. Even for their time period, I think what he did was a little extreme. But that's just me. And that's just how I see it.

@ Haner's Harlot.
Thank you! I was wondering if someone would point that out. These people were violent and honestly any man of this time would have done the same thing. Especially Odysseus after all the hardships he had gone through (the war and trying to get home) Odysseus is not guilty. I see the killing of the servants as a continuation of Odysseus' war to get home and take it back.

I think the problem with your argument is that you're looking at Odysseus in a 21st century viewpoint. Odysseus was the King of Ithaca, which means all those in the land are subservient to him. Back in the days of the Greeks, you were fiercely loyal to your king, or at least that was what the ideal was. Not only did they disrespect Odysseus by not waiting to hear confirmation of his death, but they all stayed near his house, eating his food and being complete fools and pigs. They lacked respect for his entire household, which, during his time, was suitably punishable by death. The only reason Penelope had so many suitors is because she was queen and none of Odysseus' children were old enough to hold his place. They were greedy and their deaths were just. Them trying to plead for their lives was completely insincere. But that's just my opinion, of course!

The suitors could have been lying to save their own skin when they offered to pay him back for all they had taken. To Odysseus, these men were squatters & thieves in his own home. Who would want to find a bunch of strangers in your own home after years away? I'd be pretty angry myself.

Furthermore, Odysseus was smart to hide the weapons from the suitors, if they had them, he would've been outnumbered and would likely have eventually been killed. Was a smart move on his part, not his fault the suitors were stupid enough to disarm.

Also, the priest could have been there for sinful reasons or lied to save his skin. "Please don't kill me, I was here against my will," when maybe he wasn't being held against his will & he was another potential suitor. We don't know either way. Maybe he should've interrogated him more. Furthermore, maybe he worshipped a God Odysseus didn't like. Some people in those days chose sides with Gods and fought each other if their Gods ahated each other.

He made the maids clean up the mess he made then executed them. That wasn't very nice, but was also kind of smart because if he killed them before hand he'd have a huge mess to clean up himself. Remember, he's a Lord & War Hero, they are but lowly and disloyal servants. So of course he values them less & maybe even considered them as tools.
Furthermore, if they're supposed to be loyal they shouldn't have been sleeping around with the suitors & exchanging secrets, especially that last part. Information can change many things and would you want your supposed loyal servants telling all your family secrets? Servants know everything in these kinds of places so who knows what secrets were shared.

Lastly, the fate of that 1 servant was rather harsh I'll admit to that 1. But he betrayed his master by trying to arm the suitors, his enemies. So in Odysseus's eyes he was in league with them. Though firing him or even execution would've been preferable to torture of that magnitude.

But, you also have to remember, Odysseus saw how disresespectful these suitors were to Penelope and servants are supposed to be completely loyal to whom they served. These suitors completely disrespected Odysseus's home and his wife. As for the servant he tortured, it was a bit too much.