Suzy Dixon

Clara Hardy

Gender and Sexuality in Antiquity

2-11-02

Motives Behind Male Deceit

The topic of Male deceit is discussed in "Vain Justification: Vanity as an Excuse for Deception and its Inherent Futility" by Allison Spies. Spies uses the two Greek texts, Philoctetes by Sophocles and Hesiod’s Theogony, to explain that although men use deceit selfishly in hopes of attaining power or upholding their reputations, their acts of deceit ultimately lead them to even more vulnerability. I thoroughly agree with Spies’ ideas concerning male deceit in Theogony because Kronos and Ouranos’ deceit is prompted by selfish hopes of obtaining power and dominance, and both Kronos and Ouranos are subjected to further vulnerability as a result of their trickery. However, while Odysseus and Neoptolemus are deceitful in Philoctetes and considerably more vulnerable at the end of the tragedy, the motives behind their deceit, unlike the motives of Kronos and Ouranos, are not selfish.

One act of male deceit in Philoctetes is when Odysseus and his crew abandon the wounded and sleeping Philoctetes because of Philoctetes’ foul-smelling wound and constant cries of pain. Philoctetes cannot refrain from crying aloud, even during religious ceremonies, and because religious ceremonies are so significant in ancient Greece, this crying is thought to bring "ill luck on our [Greek] celebrations" (lines 6-9). This act of cunning, leaving Philoctetes behind, is not done for selfish reasons. Odysseus does it in order to benefit the Greeks, not only himself, because the absence of Philoctetes will help to ensure that the Greek religious ceremonies are auspicious and sacrosanct.

Another example of male deceit in Philoctetes that Spies mentions is when Neoptolemus and Odysseus return to Lemnos in order to get hold of the bow of Heracles’ which belongs to Philoctetes. The Greeks want the bow because they receive a prophecy that Troy can only fall if the bow is present. Odysseus does use deceitful methods to gain possession of the bow; however, he does not use deception for entirely selfish reasons. When Odysseus is trying to persuade Neoptolemus to help him deceive Philoctetes, he says, "if you will not do this, you will bring sorrow on all the Greeks" (line 68). Although Odysseus wants the Greeks to take the town of Troy so he can bask in the glory of victory, he also wants to lead his entire country to victory. Odysseus’ victory will not be his alone but rather the victory of all the Greeks over Troy.

Like the male characters in Theogony, the male characters in Philoctetes are more vulnerable after they have committed their acts of deceit. In the end of Philoctetes, Odysseus and Neoptolemus have furthered their vulnerability because their deceit has cast shame upon them and made enemies for them. Although both Theogony and Philoctetes share the elements of male deceit and its ability to increase the vulnerability of the cunning male characters, the reasons for male deceit are not identical in both works. While deception is implemented to achieve the selfish goals of the male characters in Theogony, the male characters of Philoctetes use deception to achieve goals that benefit themselves as well as all of Greece.