The Characters of Homer’s Odyssey

Every name the poem speaks — sixty-eight of them, from Odysseus himself down to the dog that waits twenty years on a dung heap. Each carries the epithet the poem gives it, what it is like, where it appears, and who it is bound to.

Mortals41

• Odysseus UlyssesStorm-tossed king of IthacaCrafty, patient, suspicious; lies beautifully, endures everything, strikes once.
• PenelopeFaithful, delaying queenPatient, guarded, as sly as her husband; believes nothing until proved.
• IcariusPenelope's father, urged to remarry herNever seen and never heard from; just the marriage the suitors keep pointing Penelope toward.
• TelemachusOdysseus' son, coming of ageGreen but earnest; finds his voice, then his nerve, then his sword.
• AntinoüsCruellest of the suitorsInsolent, greedy, cruel; first in every outrage, first to fall.
• EumaeusSwineherd who never gave upSteadfast beyond reason; feeds any stranger, believes no word of his master.
• EurymachusSmooth-tongued second among suitorsSmooth, plausible, faithless; sounds reasonable until the arrows start.
• LaertesOdysseus' father on the farmGrieving, withdrawn to his orchard; one spear-throw restores the old king.
• EurycleiaThe nurse who knows the scarDevoted, sharp-eyed, close-mouthed; names the guilty without flinching.
• AlcinoüsPhaeacian king, open-handed hostLavish and courteous; feasts a stranger for days before asking his name.
• NausicaäPrincess who finds the castawayKind, self-possessed; stands her ground where her maids all run.
• TiresiasBlind seer among the deadClear-headed among the witless dead; lays out a whole life in minutes.
• NestorOld king of sandy PylosPious, courtly, unstoppable once started; remembers all but what matters.
• MenelausSparta's king, late home himselfRich, hospitable, sad in his own hall; still mourns his lost friend.
• HelenMenelaus' queen, home from TroySerene, clear-sighted, unashamed; reads a face, reads an omen, regrets nothing.
• AgamemnonMurdered king, cautionary shadeImperious in life; in death a bitter shade preaching distrust.
• AchillesGreatest of the Greek deadGreatest of the dead, least consoled by it; asks after his son.
• AnticleiaOdysseus' mother, dead of griefTender and heartsick; died of waiting, and cannot be held.
• AretePhaeacian queen worth winningObservant, shrewd, decisive; notices the weaving, and settles the matter.
• PhiloetiusNeatherd loyal to a dead manPlain and loyal; mourns his master aloud, then locks the door.
• MelanthiusGoatherd who changed sidesServile to whoever feeds him; kicks a beggar, arms the thieves.
• MentorOld friend left in chargeUpright and outspoken; the one Ithacan who says the obvious thing.
• AeolusKeeper of all the windsGenial and generous until luck turns; then he shuts the door.
• ClytemnestraAgamemnon's treacherous queenWon over, then merciless; will not even close her husband's eyes.
• EurynomèHousekeeper of the inner roomsAttentive and discreet; dresses her queen, and lights the marriage bed.
• AegisthusThe usurper the gods citeWarned by heaven itself, does it anyway; the poem's standing bad example.
• OrestesThe avenging son held upCame home, killed the usurper, won his name; the pattern set before Telemachus.
• AutolycusWolf-sly grandfather who named himBest of men at theft and the oath; fond enough to name a grandson.
• EurylochusThe crew's wary lieutenantRight to be afraid, wrong each time he acts on it.
• IrusThe palace beggar dethronedA beggar jealous of a beggar; one pulled punch answers the question.
• DemodocusBlind bard of Alcinous' courtBlind and heaven-taught; sings the war to the man who fought it.
• PhemiusIthaca's bard, singing unwillingSang for the suitors under duress, and lives because he can prove it.
• MedonHerald who told the queenCarries the house's secrets both ways, and mostly to the good.
• DoliusLaertes' faithful old gardenerFaithful through the whole occupation; fathered its two traitors anyway.
• PeisistratusNestor's son, the road companionThe perfect younger son; minds the horses and says the right things.
• TheoclymenusFugitive seer aboard the shipReads the omens exactly right and is laughed out of the hall.
• HalithersesOld Ithacan reader of birdsTold them at the start and at the end; listened to once.
• ElpenorYoungest of the crew, unburiedNo great mind, no great luck; asks only for his oar.
• EupeithesAntinous' father, raising the feudOwed Odysseus his life once; leads the mob against him anyway.
• PiraeusTelemachus' steadfast comrade ashoreThe friend a stranger or a treasure can be left with, safely.
• AjaxThe great shade that turned awayLost one contest of words; keeps the silence forever after.

Gods and goddesses16

• Athena PallasOdysseus' unwearied divine patronPartisan, inexhaustible, fond of disguise; manages everyone, including the gods.
• Zeus JoveSky-father who allows the returnEven-handed, unhurried; lets fate run its course, then nods.
• Poseidon NeptuneSea-god nursing a grudgeAggrieved and implacable; nurses one insult for ten years of sea.
• CircèSorceress of the wooded isleImperious, beguiling; ruthless to fools, lavish to friends won.
• Hermes MercuryThe gods' winged errand-runnerQuick, obliging, unsentimental; delivers the order and is gone.
• Helios HyperionSun-god who owns the cattleProprietary and unappeasable; will darken the world over stolen cattle.
• Eos The DawnRosy-fingered opener of daysPunctual through every delay; her rising is how the poem keeps time.
• ApolloArcher god of the silver bowMaster of the unerring shot; the bow contest falls on his feast day.
• HeraQueen of the Olympian houseQueen of the gods; here an oath and a precedent more than an actor.
• ArtemisHuntress the fair are likened toThe measure of mortal beauty, and the gentle death good women pray for.
• AresWar god caught in the netAll speed, no patience; the slow smith's craft holds him fast.
• HephaestusLame master-smith of the godsSlowest of the gods, cleverest of hand; his traps hold even war.
• AphroditeLove goddess of Demodocus' songBeauty's own benchmark; caught in the net and laughing soonest after.
• PersephoneDread queen of the deadNever seen, always obeyed; the shades gather and scatter at her word.
• ProteusThe shifting Old Man of the SeaAnswers everything truthfully, but only after every shape has failed.
• Ino LeucotheaSea goddess who lends the veilKnows what drowning is; lends the veil that forbids it.

Nymphs, monsters and beasts6

• CalypsoNymph of the hidden isleLonely, possessive, finally dutiful; argues bitterly, then provisions the raft.
• PolyphemusOne-eyed giant of the caveBrutal, lawless, slow; his one clever act is a curse.
• ArgusThe old hound who waitedForgotten on a dung-heap; waits twenty years for one look, then dies.
• The SirensVoices promising all knowledgeSweet-voiced and knowing; promise everything, and keep a meadow of bones.
• ScyllaSix heads in the cliffRavenous and unreasoning; takes her six and cannot be fought.
• CharybdisWhirlpool that swallows the seaAppetite without a face; swallows on schedule, gives back wreckage.

Peoples5

• The SuitorsWooers eating the house bareIdle, ravenous, deaf to every omen; brave only in a crowd.
• PhaeaciansSeafarers at the world's edgeSheltered, generous, untroubled; one kindness costs them their ship.
• The LaestrigonsGiant cannibals of the harbourGiants without a greeting; spear swimming men like fish.
• The Lotus-eatersEaters of the forgetting flowerMild hosts meaning no harm; their welcome erases the way home.
• The AchaiansThe Greek host of the Troy warThe poem's collective 'we': ten years fighting, ten more limping home.

Every name links to its own page, with the scenes it stands in and the bonds it stands in them by. See also the places of the Odyssey and the map of bonds.