Odysseus

Chief character of Homer's Odyssey, king of the island of Ithaca (modern Thiaki or Levkas); he is also mentioned in the Iliad as one of the leaders of the Greek forces at the siege of Troy. Odysseus was distinguished among Greek leaders for his cleverness and cunning. He appears in other later tragedies, but his ten years' odyssey by sea after the fall of Troy is the most commonly known tradition.

His wife was Penelope, renowned for her fidelity, and their son was Telemachus.

Mythological characters encountered during his voyages included the enchantress Circe; Calypso, a sea nymph; the Cyclops Polyphemus; the monsters Scylla and Charybdis; and the treacherous sirens.