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Odysseus is traditionally known for qualities associated with the typical epic hero, such as strength and cleverness. While Penelope’s version of events does not dismiss these qualities, it shows the flip side of them. Odysseus is indeed clever, but he uses this quality to cheat his way into marrying Penelope and to try to deceive his way out of fighting in the Trojan War. Penelope loves Odysseus, but, looking back on their marriage, she understands that he was likely only acting as though he loved her back. Odysseus’s deceit and skilled storytelling call into question all his stories about his time away from Ithaca. While the stories tell of heroic deeds, some versions suggest that he was simply wasting his time on affairs, in no hurry to return home to his wife and son.

Odysseus’s murder of the Suitors and the Maids is often celebrated in mythology as a righteous act of justice by a hero protecting his family. However, Penelope’s story also casts doubt on whether the murder was justified. In the trial of Odysseus, his lawyer defends him by claiming the Suitors were eating his food and bothering his wife, crimes that seem petty and do not warrant murder. Odysseus’s guilt then follows him around for the rest of his life in the form of the Maids, who will never let him forget what he did. Odysseus’s status as a traditional hero, therefore, may not be entirely accurate, proving that no one story can capture the objective truth.

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