Disguise and Recognition in the Odyssey

by Sheila Murnaghan

Disguise and Recognition in the Odyssey reveals the significance of the Odyssey's plot, in particular the many scenes of recognition that make up the hero's homecoming and dramatize the cardinal values of Homeric society, an aristocratic culture organized around recognition in the broader senses of honor, privilege, status, and fame. Odysseus' identity is seen to be rooted in his family relations, geographical origins, control of property, participation in the social institutions of hospitality and marriage, past actions, and ongoing reputation. At the same time, Odysseus' dependence on the acknowledgement of others ensures attention to multiple viewpoints, which makes the Odyssey more than a simple celebration of one man's preeminence and accounts in part for the poem's vigorous afterlife. The theme of disguise, which relies on plausible lies, highlights the nature of belief and the power of falsehood and creates the mixture of realism and fantasy that gives the Odyssey its distinctive texture. The book contains a pioneering analysis of the role of Penelope and the questions of female agency and human limitation raised by the critical debate about when exactly she recognizes that Odysseus has come home.

212 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1987

About the author

Sheila Murnaghan is the Alfred Reginald Allen Memorial Professor of Greek at the University of Pennsylvania. She is particularly known for her work on Greek epic, tragedy, and historiography.

Reviews

[Thorn MotherIssues · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great, really helpful. I'm sort of amazed how much I remember of the secondary literature she cites.

[Stephen Sorensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a lovely foray into the topics of disguise and deception in Homer's Odyssey.

"Odysseus’ success depends as much on making people believe what is not true as on surprising them with the truth." - preface

[LELYN R · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone who ever felt they were leaving behind a life that they were not meant for, Murnaghan reveals our spiritual confrère Odysseus.