Hero · Character in Homer’s Odyssey

Odysseus Ulysses

Storm-tossed king of Ithaca

Crafty, patient, suspicious; lies beautifully, endures everything, strikes once.

Twenty years gone — ten at Troy, ten lost on the sea — he ends up with no ships and no companions, kept seven years on Calypso's island before Phaeacian kindness finally sets him ashore at home. He comes back in rags, tests his own household, and kills the men who have been eating it.

Bonds

• Odysseus deceives Penelope — tests her as a Cretan stranger
• Penelope wife of Odysseus — twenty years faithful
• Telemachus son of Odysseus — born just before he sailed
• Laertes father of Odysseus — aged, grieving, living apart
• Anticleia mother of Odysseus — died waiting for him
• Odysseus king of Ithaca — absent ruler, home unrecognized
• Eurycleia nurse of Odysseus — cared for him from infancy
• Eurycleia aids Odysseus — keeps the scar a secret
• Odysseus guest of Eumaeus — stays on, testing his hospitality
• Odysseus deceives Eumaeus — spins a false Cretan history
• Eumaeus servant of Odysseus — tends his swine for years unpaid
• Eumaeus loyal to Odysseus — learns the truth, delivers the bow
• Eumaeus aids Odysseus — fights beside him, guards the door
• Philoetius servant of Odysseus — keeps his cattle on the mainland
• Philoetius loyal to Odysseus — mourns him, vows to fight for him
• Melanthius enemy of Odysseus — kicks and curses the beggar
• Argus loyal to Odysseus — knows him, dies content
• Mentor loyal to Odysseus — entrusted with his household
• Odysseus slays Antinoüs — first arrow, through the throat
• Antinoüs persecutes Odysseus — hurls a footstool at him
• Odysseus slays Eurymachus — arrow through the breast, into the liver
• Eurymachus persecutes Odysseus — mocks him, throws a stool
• Odysseus slays The Suitors — cuts them down in his own hall
• Athena patron of Odysseus — steadies his nerve, crowns him with beauty
• Athena aids Odysseus — calms the winds, disguises him
• Zeus patron of Odysseus — decrees he shall reign in peace
• Zeus persecutes Odysseus — wrecks the ship with a thunderbolt
• Poseidon persecutes Odysseus — still angered over his blinded son
• Hermes aids Odysseus — gives moly, explains the spell
• Helios persecutes Odysseus — demands Zeus avenge his herd
• Odysseus visits Troy — ten years at the siege
• Odysseus blinds Polyphemus — bores out his single eye
• Odysseus deceives Polyphemus — gives his name as 'Noman'
• Polyphemus captor of Odysseus — traps the party in his cave
• Odysseus visits Lotus-land — reaches their coast on the tenth day
• The Lotus-eaters hosts of Odysseus — give the lotus; his scouts forget home
• Aeolus host of Odysseus — hosts him a month, gives the winds
• The Laestrigons enemies of Odysseus — smash eleven of twelve ships
• Circè deceives Odysseus — drugs his cup; moly foils it
• Circè loves Odysseus — shares her bed after the oath
• Circè warns Odysseus — names Sirens, strait, and cattle
• Odysseus visits Hades — crosses Océanus to question the dead
• Tiresias warns Odysseus — foretells the wrath, the cattle, the suitors
• Achilles companion of Odysseus — old comrade from Troy
• Agamemnon warns Odysseus — counsels distrust, praises Penelope
• The Sirens deceives Odysseus — song promises all knowledge
• Scylla enemy of Odysseus — snatches six of his crew
• Charybdis persecutes Odysseus — sucks down his raft; he clings to the fig tree
• Calypso captor of Odysseus — holds him weeping on her isle
• Calypso loves Odysseus — offers him immortality to stay
• Calypso aids Odysseus — helps him build and stock a raft
• Odysseus visits Scheria — washes ashore on their coast
• Nausicaä aids Odysseus — feeds, clothes, and guides the castaway
• Alcinoüs host of Odysseus — feasts him, then ships him home
• Arete aids Odysseus — urges the court to be generous
• Odysseus visits Cave of the Naiads — hides the Phaeacian treasure there
• Autolycus host of Odysseus — the boar hunt, the scar
• Eurylochus companion of Odysseus — kinsman and second-in-command
• Eurylochus defies Odysseus — goads the crew to the cattle
• Irus defies Odysseus — one punch settles it
• Phemius servant of Odysseus — sings in the hall under duress
• Medon servant of Odysseus — herald of the household
• Halitherses loyal to Odysseus — old friend of the house
• Elpenor companion of Odysseus — youngest of the crew
• Ajax defies Odysseus — the unforgiven armor of Achilles
• Ino Leucothea aids Odysseus — her veil through the wreck

Appears in

• Book I Visit of Athena to Telemachus
• Book II Departure of Telemachus from Ithaca
• Book III Interview of Telemachus with Nestor
• Book IV Conference of Telemachus and Menelaus
• Book V Departure of Odysseus from Calypso
• Book VI Odysseus Discovered by Nausicaä
• Book VII Reception of Odysseus by Alcinoüs
• Book VIII Festivals in Honor of Odysseus
• Book IX The Ciconians, Lotus-Eaters, and Cyclops
• Book X Aeolus, the Laestrigonians, and Circè
• Book XI Visit of Odysseus to the Land of the Dead
• Book XII The Sirens, Scylla, and Charybdis
• Book XIII Arrival of Odysseus at Ithaca
• Book XIV Meeting of Odysseus and Eumaeus
• Book XV Return of Telemachus
• Book XVI Odysseus Discovering Himself to Telemachus
• Book XVII Return of Odysseus to His Palace
• Book XVIII Combat of Odysseus and Irus
• Book XIX Odysseus Recognized by Eurycleia
• Book XX The Last Banquet of the Suitors
• Book XXI The Bending of the Bow of Odysseus
• Book XXII Death of the Suitors
• Book XXIII Odysseus and Penelope After the Slaughter
• Book XXIV Conclusion

Scenes

1. Athena pleads for Odysseus — Book I. Athena begs Zeus, plans to send Hermes
2. Mentor’s Rebuke — Book II. Mentor rebukes Ithacans, Leiocritus ends it
3. Gods Debate Odysseus’ Fate — Book V. Athena pleads, Zeus sends Hermes
4. Odysseus Emerges — Book VI. Leaf-clad Odysseus approaches, maidens flee
5. Odysseus’s Request — Book VIII. Odysseus asks for the wooden-horse song
6. The Fall of Troy Sung — Book VIII. Demodocus sings ambush, sack of Troy
7. Noman blinds the Cyclops — Book IX. Men bore stake into Polyphemus’s eye
8. Odysseus reveals his name — Book IX. Odysseus boasts, Polyphemus recalls prophecy
9. Dogs at the Lodge — Book XIV. Dogs attack Odysseus, Eumaeus intervenes
10. An Oath and a Story — Book XIV. Odysseus swears return, Eumaeus won’t wager
11. Odysseus Tests Eumaeus — Book XV. Odysseus proposes begging, Eumaeus refuses
12. News of Penelope — Book XVI. Eumaeus says Penelope waits faithfully
13. Athena Transforms Odysseus — Book XVI. Athena bids Odysseus reveal himself
14. Father and Son Reunited — Book XVI. Odysseus reveals himself, they embrace
15. Irus Confronts Odysseus — Book XVIII. Irus orders Odysseus off porch, threatens
16. Testing With Tokens — Book XIX. Penelope quizzes him on the cloak, convinced
17. The Scar’s Origin — Book XIX. Eurycleia recalls a boar gashing his leg
18. Odysseus Tests the Herdsmen — Book XXI. Odysseus questions herdsmen’s loyalty
19. Athena Tests Odysseus — Book XXII. Athena rebukes Odysseus, deflects spear
20. Amphimedon’s Tale — Book XXIV. Amphimedon tells slaughter, Penelope praised
21. Odysseus Finds Laertes — Book XXIV. Odysseus finds Laertes grieving in orchard
22. Father and Son Reunite — Book XXIV. Odysseus reveals scar to Laertes
23. Dolius Welcomes Odysseus — Book XXIV. Dolius and sons arrive astonished
24. Odysseus Arms for Battle — Book XXIV. Odysseus’ band marches to meet Ithacans

Odysseus is named in 304 of the poem’s scenes; these are the twenty-four that carry the most of the name.

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