Odysseus (ōdĭs`ēəs), Lat. Ulysses (y
lĭs`ēz), in Greek mythology, son and successor of King Laertes of Ithaca. A leader of Greek forces during the Trojan War, Odysseus was noted (as in the Iliad) for his cunning strategy and his wise counsel. He is the central figure of the Odyssey, which tells of his adventures after the fall of Troy. In post-Homeric legend, however, he was pictured as a wily, lying, and evil man. He avoided service in the Trojan War by feigning madness—until exposed by Palamedes, whom he later treacherously caused to be executed.
Hero of Homer's Odyssey. According to Homer, Odysseus was the king of Ithaca. His shrewdness, resourcefulness, and endurance enabled him to capture Troy (through the device of the Trojan horse) and endure nine years of wandering and adventures before reaching his home in Ithaca, where his wife, Penelope, and son, Telemachus, awaited him. Classical opinion was divided on whether he was an unscrupulous politician or a wise and honourable statesman. Odysseus has been one of the most frequently portrayed figures in literature, treated by numerous Greek and Roman poets and by later writers such as William Shakespeare (Troilus and Cressida), Níkos Kazantzákis (The Odyssey: A Modern Sequel), and (metaphorically) by James Joyce (Ulysses) and Derek Walcott (Omeros).
lĭs`ēz), in Greek mythology, son and successor of King Laertes of Ithaca. A leader of Greek forces during the Trojan War, Odysseus was noted (as in the Iliad) for his cunning strategy and his wise counsel. He is the central figure of the Odyssey, which tells of his adventures after the fall of Troy. In post-Homeric legend, however, he was pictured as a wily, lying, and evil man. He avoided service in the Trojan War by feigning madness—until exposed by Palamedes, whom he later treacherously caused to be executed.
Bibliography
See E. Hamilton, Mythology (1942, repr. 1971).
Odysseus
Roman Ulysses)
Odysseus slaying the suitors, detail of a red-figure skyphos …
(credit: Courtesy of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ger.)
Odysseus
(Ulysses) varied adventures after the Trojan War kept him away from Ithaca for ten years. [Gk. Myth.: Odyssey]
See : Adventurousness
Odysseus
wily and noble hero of the Odyssey. [Gk. Lit.: Odyssey]
See : Cunning
Odysseus
changed by Athena into an old beggar to avoid his recognition by Penelope’s suitors. [Gk. Lit.: Odyssey]
See : Disguise
Odysseus
wily teller of tales. [Gk. Legend: Odyssey]
See : Storytelling
Odysseus
(Ulysses) hero of the Trojan War wanders for seven years before returning home. [Gk. Lit.: Odyssey]
See : Wandering
Odysseus
(Ulysses), in ancient Greek mythology, the king of Ithaca who won renown in the Trojan War; the hero of the poem The Odyssey, which tells the story of Odysseus’ long years of wandering and his return to his homeland.
Odysseus was known not only for his bravery but also for his clever and resourceful mind (hence his sobriquet “the crafty-minded”). Odysseus’ adventures and his return to his faithful wife, Penelope, were the subject of a number of literary works by such authors as Homer, Sophocles, and Euripides. Episodes from Odysseus’ life were depicted by artists on ancient vases and frescoes (for example, in Pompeii).
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