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Women and Deception in Homer's Odyssey Essay -- Homer, Odyssey Essays

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Women and Deception in the Odyssey  http://buy-essay331.mystrikingly.com/      As Agamemnon tells Odysseus, “Let it be a warning even to you. Indulge a woman never, and never tell her all you know. Some things a man may tell, some he should cover upâ€� (Book XI  199).  This is not news to Odysseus, who treats all women with caution ever since he was betrayed by his wife Helen, who acted in a way that defiled all womankind. Agamemnon did not come to this realization all by himself, however; his statement represents the common sentiment that existed throughout all ancient Greece. Even before Odysseus speaks with Agamemnon, he exhibits a similar attitude in his many encounters with women during his long journey home. Every major female character that Odysseus comes across uses deception in one form or another to get the better of him. This being the case, Odysseus fights fire with fire, using his own cunning deception against the evils of womankind.             The first wily female that Odysseus battles wits with is the goddess Kalypso. She is a very deceitful woman, indeed.