Who Is Odysseus (Ulysses)?
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 the Trojan War he was the Greek army's master strategist, and he is famous as the man who came up with the Trojan Horse.
In this story, he leads twelve ships from Troy toward home. In the cave of the giant Polyphemus he escapes by calling himself "Nobody," and at the hall of the enchantress Circe he resists her magic with an herb given to him by the god Hermes. In the Underworld he learns the way home from the ghost of a prophet. His curiosity is part of his charm: he has himself tied to the mast just so he can hear the Sirens sing.
In English he is also known as Ulysses. The English word "odyssey," meaning a long, adventurous journey, comes from the title of this story.
Episodes featuring this character7
NEWEpisode 1
The Fruit That Makes You Forget HomeThe Lotus-Eaters
Odysseus won the Trojan War with the trick of the wooden horse. Now his crew won't stop feasting ("just one more cup!"), and he himself gave the order to raid a city. Between the two, seventy-two of his men are lost. Then a storm drives the fleet to a land of sweet fruit that makes anyone who eats it stop wanting to go home.
19 pages
NEWEpisode 2
The Man Who Said His Name Was NobodyThe Cyclops Polyphemus
Trapped in the cave of a one-eyed giant, Odysseus survives by giving up his own name. But once safe aboard his ship, he shouts his real name back at the shore — and brings the sea god's curse down on himself.
19 pages
NEWEpisode 3
He Could See Home. Then He Fell Asleep.Aeolus and the Bag of Winds
Episode 3 of the series. Aeolus, keeper of the winds, gives Odysseus an oxhide bag with every contrary wind sealed inside. For nine nights Odysseus never sleeps and never lets go of the sail rope, until the fires of home come into view. Then one moment of sleep and a little suspicion among his crew tear the bag open, and in a harbor of giants he loses nearly his whole fleet.
19 pages
NEWEpisode 4
Pigs on the Outside, Still Men InsideCirce
Deep in a forest stands a beautiful mansion, and the scouts who go there are turned into pigs by the goddess Circe. Odysseus walks in alone. With a white flower from the messenger of the gods and the nerve to stand his ground, he wins the witch over. But after a year of peace, she tells him something he never wanted to hear: "First, you must go to the Land of the Dead."
19 pages
NEWEpisode 5
What the Greatest Hero Said After DeathThe Nekyia — Journey to the Underworld
At the lightless edge of the world, Odysseus summons the dead—yet even when his own mother appears, he keeps his sword raised so the prophet can drink the blood first. Three times her shade slips through his arms, and the heroes of Troy speak their hearts. Odysseus learns what it truly means to come home alive.
19 pages
NEWEpisode 6
He Wanted to Hear the Song That KillsThe Sirens
Odysseus wants to hear the Sirens' song, which promises to answer any question. Knowing from the start that he'll lose to it, he has his crew tie him to the mast. When the song takes hold and he screams, "Untie me!", his men, their ears stuffed with wax, only pull the ropes tighter. The promise he made before the song began is what saves him.
19 pages
NEWEpisode 7
Sacrifice Six, or Sink Them AllScylla and Charybdis
On one side, a whirlpool that swallows whole ships. On the other, an undying monster that always takes six men. Odysseus alone knows the truth. He keeps it from his crew and just keeps shouting "Row!" Then the hands reach out to him, calling his name, and there is nothing he can do.
19 pages