Greek Mythology · hero
Odysseus
Ὀδυσσεύς
also: Ulysses (Latin)
herocunningthe journey homewit
The cunning king of Ithaca, hero of the Odyssey; his ten-year journey home from Troy is a foundational epic.
The account
Who they are
Odysseus (Ulysses) is the king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's Odyssey — the epic of his ten-year journey home from the Trojan War [S3]S3 · Homer, Odysseyc. 725 BCEtextOpen source ↗. A man of extraordinary cunning (his name is associated with 'metis,' cunning intelligence), he devised the Wooden Horse that won the Trojans the war [S2]S2 · Homer, Iliadc. 750 BCEtextOpen source ↗[S3]S3 · Homer, Odysseyc. 725 BCEtextOpen source ↗, and he overcame a succession of monsters and gods on his way home: the Cyclops Polyphemus (whom he blinded and outwitted, calling himself 'Nobody'), the witch Circe, the Sirens, Scylla and Charybdis, and the cattle of the sun [S3]S3 · Homer, Odysseyc. 725 BCEtextOpen source ↗. His defining qualities are wit, endurance, and the desire to return home (nostos) to his wife Penelope and son Telemachus [S3]S3 · Homer, Odysseyc. 725 BCEtextOpen source ↗.
Worth knowing
- Devised the Wooden Horse that ended the Trojan War [S2]S2 · Homer, Iliadc. 750 BCEtextOpen source ↗[S3]S3 · Homer, Odysseyc. 725 BCEtextOpen source ↗.
- Blinded and outwitted the Cyclops Polyphemus (calling himself 'Nobody') [S3]S3 · Homer, Odysseyc. 725 BCEtextOpen source ↗.
- His ten-year journey home is the subject of the Odyssey [S3]S3 · Homer, Odysseyc. 725 BCEtextOpen source ↗.
- King of Ithaca; husband of Penelope, father of Telemachus [S3]S3 · Homer, Odysseyc. 725 BCEtextOpen source ↗.
Relationships (2)
Connections
Family & kinship
PARENT_OFTelemachus — Odysseus is the parent of Telemachus.[S3]
Partners
PARTNER_OFPenelope — Odysseus and Penelope are married.[S3]
Local graph
Their corner of the divine world
Viewhierarchical — generations top → bottom, partners side by side
Overlays
FocusOdysseusGreek
- parentage
- marriage ♥
far = primordials · medium = all · close = detail — scroll/pan, click a deity to focus
1 story
Odysseus and the Cyclops
On his way home from Troy, Odysseus was trapped by the Cyclops Polyphemus, whom he blinded and escaped by calling himself 'Nobody' (Outis), so the other Cyclopes did not come when they heard 'Nobody is doing this' [S3]S3 · Homer, Odysseyc. 725 BCEtextOpen source ↗.
Depictions