Odysseus (Latin: Ulysses) is a legendary Greek hero, king of Ithaca, and the central figure of Homer's Odyssey. Renowned for his intelligence, eloquence, and resourcefulness — the Greek epithet polytropos means 'many-turning' or 'of many devices' — he is best known for his ten-year journey home after the Trojan War, during which he encountered the Cyclops Polyphemus, the witch Circe, the Sirens, and the nymph Calypso. He also plays a major role in the Iliad as one of the most trusted counsellors of the Greeks. His long absence and eventual return to reclaim his kingdom from Penelope's suitors became one of the foundational narratives of Western literature.
Adapted from Wikipedia, "Odysseus" · CC BY-SA 4.0
I.Family and early life
Odysseus was generally said to be the son of Laertes and Anticleia, daughter of the master-thief Autolycus. An alternative tradition recorded by Hyginus held that Sisyphus seduced Anticleia before her marriage and that Odysseus was therefore called 'Sisyphean' for his shrewdness. He married Penelope, daughter of Icarius of Sparta, and fathered Telemachus.
Before the Trojan War, Odysseus feigned madness to avoid the expedition until Palamedes exposed the ruse by placing the infant Telemachus in his path. He also advised Tyndareus to bind Helen's suitors by oath, a counsel that later forced the Greek kings to honor the alliance when Paris abducted Helen.
II.At Troy
In the Iliad, Odysseus leads the Cephallenians from Ithaca and the surrounding isles. He is repeatedly called the peer of Zeus in counsel, leads the embassy to Achilles in Book 9, and undertakes the night raid with Diomedes in Book 10. After Achilles' death, he won the arms of the dead hero in a contest judged against Ajax, who then took his own life.
Apollodorus credits him with inventing the Wooden Horse and hiding warriors inside it to capture Troy. After the sack he sailed for home, but blinded Polyphemus, son of Poseidon, and thereby earned the god's lasting enmity.
III.The Odyssey
Homer's Odyssey narrates ten years of wandering: the Lotus-eaters, Polyphemus, Aeolus, the Laestrygonians, Circe, the journey to the underworld, the Sirens, Scylla and Charybdis, the cattle of the Sun, and seven years with Calypso on Ogygia. Rescued by the Phaeacians, he returns to Ithaca in disguise, reunites with his son Telemachus and the swineherd Eumaeus, slays Penelope's suitors, and is recognized by his wife through the secret of their immovable bed.
IV.Later tradition
Post-Homeric sources add a final voyage inland carrying an oar until he meets men who mistake it for a winnowing fan, and some tell of Telegonus, his son by Circe, accidentally killing him. Apollodorus also records a variant in which Penelope was seduced by Antinous and sent away by Odysseus — opposed to Homer's faithful queen.