The Odyssey Characters
The Odyssey is full of memorable gods, monsters and mortals. Besides the hero Odysseus, who escapes danger by his wits, there is the one-eyed giant Polyphemus, the enchantress Circe, the Sirens whose song lures sailors to their doom, and the ghosts of heroes Odysseus meets in the Underworld. Here are the main characters who appear in the episodes published so far.
All characters15
Odysseus
The quick-witted king of Ithaca
Odysseus is a hero of Greek mythology and the king of Ithaca, an island off western Greece. His father is Laertes, his wife is Penelope, and his son is Telemachus. In…
Appears in 7 episodes: Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6, Episode 7Penelope
The wife who waited twenty years
Penelope is the wife of Odysseus and the queen of Ithaca. She is known as a wise and faithful wife who waited twenty years for her husband to come home after he left…
Appears in 3 episodes: Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 5Polyphemus
The one-eyed giant son of the sea god
Polyphemus is one of the Cyclopes, a race of one-eyed giants, and the son of the sea god Poseidon and the nymph Thoosa. He lives alone in a cave on an island, keeping…
Appears in 2 episodes: Episode 2, Episode 5Poseidon
God of the sea and earthquakes
Poseidon is the Greek god of the sea and earthquakes, and one of the Twelve Olympians. A brother of Zeus, king of the gods, he is famous for carrying a trident.
Appears in 1 episode: Episode 2Circe
The island goddess who turns men into pigs
Circe is a goddess who lives on the island of Aeaea and a daughter of Helios, the sun god. A master of drugs and magic, she is best known as an enchantress or witch.
Appears in 4 episodes: Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6, Episode 7Aeolus
The keeper who sealed the winds in a bag
Aeolus is the keeper of the winds, entrusted by Zeus with calming and rousing them. The son of Hippotes, he lives on Aeolia, a floating island, in a hall ringed by a…
Appears in 1 episode: Episode 3The Sirens Sirens
Singers who lure sailors to their doom
The Sirens are sea creatures who lure sailors with their beautiful singing and lead them to their deaths. In the Odyssey, they sing in a flowery meadow on an island,…
Appears in 1 episode: Episode 6Tiresias
The blind prophet who foretells the future in the Underworld
Tiresias is a blind prophet from the Greek city of Thebes. By the grace of Persephone, queen of the Underworld, he alone among the dead keeps the wisdom he had in life.
Appears in 1 episode: Episode 5Eurylochus
Odysseus's cautious second-in-command
Eurylochus is one of Odysseus's men. In the original poem he is a senior officer and a relative of the king by marriage.
Appears in 6 episodes: Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6, Episode 7Elpenor
The youngest crewman, who fell from a roof
Elpenor is the youngest sailor among Odysseus's men. The original poem describes him as an ordinary young man, "not especially brave in battle, nor very sound in mind."
Appears in 4 episodes: Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 4, Episode 5Hermes
The messenger god who gives Odysseus a magic herb
Hermes is the messenger of the gods in Greek mythology and the son of Zeus and Maia. He is also a protector of travelers, merchants and shepherds, and is described…
Appears in 1 episode: Episode 4Achilles
The greatest hero of the Trojan War
Achilles is the mightiest hero of the Greek army in the Trojan War. The son of the mortal king Peleus and the sea goddess Thetis, he is also the hero of Homer's other…
Appears in 1 episode: Episode 5Agamemnon
The Greek commander betrayed by his wife
Agamemnon is the king of Mycenae and the commander-in-chief of the Greek army in the Trojan War. He is the elder brother of Menelaus, king of Sparta.
Appears in 1 episode: Episode 5Anticlea
The mother who died longing for her son
Anticlea is the mother of Odysseus. In the original poem she is the daughter of Autolycus, a famous thief.
Appears in 1 episode: Episode 5Antiphates
King of the man-eating Laestrygonian giants
Antiphates is the king of the Laestrygonians, a race of giants. He lives in the town of Telepylus and is portrayed as a terrifying giant who eats humans.
Appears in 1 episode: Episode 3