The Odyssey
Odysseus
- Odysseus is a strong and courageous
warrior and the husband of Queen
Penelope and the father of Prince
Telemachus.
- Gods such as Athena favor him, but
other gods such as Poseidon despise
him .
- Fought alongside many other Greek
Heroes in Troy, but is now struggling to
return home to Ithaca.
Telemachus
- Odysseus’s son
- He is a natural obstacle to
the suitors desperately
courting his mother, but
despite his courage and good
heart, he initially lacks the
confidence to oppose them.
Penelope
- Wife of Odysseus and mother
of Telemachus.
- spends her days in the palace
waiting for her husband who left
for Troy twenty years earlier and
never returned.
- Very smart and loyal to her
husband.
Athena
- Daughter of Zeus and the Goddess
of Wisdom and Battle Strategy
- This God assists Odysseus and
Telemachus with her divine
knowledge and advice.
- She also spoke up for them in the
Council of the Gods on top of Mount
Olympus
Poseidon
- Known as the God of the
Sea
- Because Odysseus made
his son, Cyclops
Polyphemus, go blind, he
constantly gets in the way of
Odysseus’ journey home.
Zeus
- The king or father of the
gods, who rules and
mediates the arguments of
gods, on top of Mount
Olympus.
- Sometimes helps Odysseus
or permits Athena to do so.
Antinous
- The most arrogant
of Penelope’s suitors.
- The person who
leads the campaign to
have Telemachus
killed.
Eurymachus
- One of the most
manipulative and deceitful
suitor of Penelope.
- His charisma and
duplicity allow him to
exert some influence over
the other suitors..
Amphinomus
- Among the dozens of
suitors, the only decent man
seeking Penelope’s hand in
marriage out of love and not
power.
- Being the good man he is,
he speaks up for Odysseus
and Telemachus.
Eumaeus
- The loyal shepherd who, along
with the cowherd Philoetius,
helps Odysseus reclaim his
throne after his return to Ithaca.
- He is kind person as he helps a
stranger, that is actually
Odysseus, by giving him food
and water
Eurycleia
- The aged and loyal servant who
nursed Odysseus and
Telemachus when they were
babies.
- Is well informed about palace
intrigues and serves as
confidante to her masters, such
as when she kept the secret about
Telemachus’ journey.
Calypso
- The beautiful nymph who falls
in love with Odysseus when he
lands on her island-home of
Ogygia.
- Calypso holds him prisoner
there for seven years until
Hermes, the messenger god,
persuades her to let him go.
Polyphemus
- One of the Cyclopes whose
island Odysseus comes to soon
after leaving Troy.
- Polyphemus imprisons
Odysseus and his crew and tries
to eat them, but Odysseus blinds
him through a clever ruse and
manages to escape.
Circe
- The beautiful witch-goddess
who transforms Odysseus’s crew
into swine when he lands on her
island.
- With Hermes’ help, Odysseus
resists Circe’s powers and then
becomes her lover, living in
luxury at her side for a year.
Laertes
- Odysseus’s aging father,
who resides on a farm in
Ithaca and is in despair and
physical decline.
- Laertes regains his spirit
when Odysseus returns and
eventually kills Antinous’s
father.
Tiresias
- A Theban prophet who inhabits
the underworld.
- Tiresias meets Odysseus when
Odysseus journeys to the
underworld
- He shows Odysseus how to get
back to Ithaca and allows
Odysseus to communicate with the
other souls in Hades.
Nestor
- King of Pylos and a former
warrior in the Trojan War,
like Odysseus.
- known as a clever speaker.
Telemachus visits him to ask
about his father, but Nestor
knows little of Odysseus’s
whereabouts.
Menelaus
- King of Sparta, brother of
Agamemnon, and husband of
Helen, he helped lead the
Greeks in the Trojan War.
- He offers Telemachus
assistance in his quest to find
Odysseus when Telemachus
visits him.
Helen
- Wife of Menelaus and queen of
Sparta.
- Helen’s abduction from Sparta by
the Trojans sparked the Trojan War.
- Her beauty is without parallel, but
she is criticized for giving in to her
Trojan captors and thereby costing
many Greek men their lives.
Agamemnon
- Former king of Mycenae, brother
of Menelaus, and commander of the
Achaean forces at Troy.
- Odysseus encounters
Agamemnon’s spirit in Hades
because Agamemnon was murdered
by his wife, Clytemnestra, and her
lover, Aegisthus, upon his return
from the war.
Nausicaa
- The beautiful daughter of King
Alcinous and Queen Arete of the
Phaeacians.
- Nausicaa discovers Odysseus
on the beach at Scheria and, out
of budding affection for him,
ensures his warm reception at
her parents’ palace.
Alcinous
- King of the Phaeacians, who
offers Odysseus hospitality in
his island kingdom of
Scheria.
- Alcinous hears the story of
Odysseus’s wanderings and
provides him with safe
passage back to Ithaca.
Arete
- Queen of the Phaeacians,
wife of Alcinous, and mother
of Nausicaa.
- Arete is intelligent and
influential. Nausicaa tells
Odysseus to make his appeal
for assistance to Arete.
