Odyssey: Character List

• Odysseus - The protagonist of the Odyssey. Odysseus fought among the other Greek
heroes at Troy and now struggles to return to his kingdom in Ithaca. Odysseus is the
husband of Queen Penelope and the father of Prince Telemachus. Though a strong and
courageous warrior, he is most renowned for his cunning. He is a favorite of the goddess
Athena, who often sends him divine aid, but a bitter enemy of Poseidon, who frustrates
his journey at every turn.
• Telemachus - Odysseus's son. An infant when Odysseus left for Troy, Telemachus is
about twenty at the beginning of the story. He is a natural obstacle to the suitors
desperately courting his mother, but despite his courage and good heart, he initially lacks
the poise and confidence to oppose them. His maturation, especially during his trip to
Pylos and Sparta in Books 3 and 4, provides a subplot to the epic. Athena often assists
him.
• Penelope - Wife of Odysseus and mother of Telemachus. Penelope spends her days in
the palace pining for the husband who left for Troy twenty years earlier and never
returned. Homer portrays her as sometimes flighty and excitable but also clever and
steadfastly true to her husband.
• Athena - Daughter of Zeus and goddess of wisdom, purposeful battle, and the womanly
arts. Athena assists Odysseus and Telemachus with divine powers throughout the epic,
and she speaks up for them in the councils of the gods on Mount Olympus. She often
appears in disguise as Mentor, an old friend of Odysseus.
• Poseidon - God of the sea. As the suitors are Odysseus's mortal antagonists, Poseidon is
his divine antagonist. He despises Odysseus for blinding his son, the Cyclops
Polyphemus, and constantly hampers his journey home. Ironically, Poseidon is the patron
of the seafaring Phaeacians, who ultimately help to return Odysseus to Ithaca.
• Zeus - King of gods and men, who mediates the disputes of the gods on Mount Olympus.
Zeus is occasionally depicted as weighing men's fates in his scales. He sometimes helps
Odysseus or permits Athena to do the same.
• Antinous - The most arrogant of Penelope's suitors. Antinous leads the campaign to have
Telemachus killed. Unlike the other suitors, he is never portrayed sympathetically, and he
is the first to die when Odysseus returns.
• Eurymachus - A manipulative, deceitful suitor. Eurymachus's 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. Amphinomus sometimes speaks up for Odysseus and Telemachus, but
he is killed like the rest of the suitors in the final fight.
• Eumaeus - The loyal shepherd who, along with the cowherd Philoetius, helps Odysseus
reclaim his throne after his return to Ithaca. Even though he does not know that the
vagabond who appears at his hut is Odysseus, Eumaeus gives the man food and shelter.
• Eurycleia - The aged and loyal servant who nursed Odysseus and Telemachus when they
were babies. Eurycleia is well informed about palace intrigues and serves as confidante to
her masters. She keeps Telemachus's journey secret from Penelope, and she later keeps
Odysseus's identity a secret after she recognizes a scar on his leg.
• Melanthius - The brother of Melantho. Melanthius is a treacherous and opportunistic
goatherd who supports the suitors, especially Eurymachus, and abuses the beggar who
appears in Odysseus's palace, not realizing that the man is Odysseus himself.
• Melantho - Sister of Melanthius and maidservant in Odysseus's palace. Like her brother,
Melantho abuses the beggar in the palace, not knowing that the man is Odysseus. She is
having an affair with Eurymachus.
• 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 (uncivilized one-eyed giants) 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. In
doing so, however, Odysseus angers Polyphemus's father, Poseidon.
• 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. 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 in Book 11. 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, Nestor is
known for being a clever speaker. Telemachus visits him in Book 3 to ask about his
father, but Nestor has little information on Odysseus's whereabouts.
• Menelaus - King of Sparta and brother of Agamemnon, he helped lead the Greek forces
in the Trojan War. Menelaus is the husband of Helen. He offers Telemachus assistance in
his quest to find Odysseus when Telemachus visits him in Book 4.
• 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 sometimes
criticized for giving in to her Trojan captors and thereby costing many Greek men their
lives. She offers Telemachus assistance in his quest to find his father.
• Agamemnon - Former king of Mycenae, brother of Menelaus, and commander of the
Achaean forces at Troy. Odysseus encounters Agamemnon's spirit in Hades.
Agamemnon was murdered by his wife, Clytemnestra, and her lover, Aegisthus, upon
returning from the war. He was later avenged by his son Orestes. The story of their fate is
constantly repeated in the Odyssey and offers an inverted image of the fortunes of
Odysseus and Telemachus.
• 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.