Odysseus

In Greek mythology, Odysseus, king of Ithaca, was an epic hero whose arduous, 10-year voyage returning to Ithaca after the Trojan War is the subject of Homer's Odyssey. As a Greek commander in the Trojan War, he also appears in the Iliad. Noted for his cleverness-it was Odysseus who suggested the stratagem of the Trojan Horse-the Ithacan king served ably in the conflict with Circe; they almost succumbed to the temptations of the land of the Lotus-Eaters and the insidious song of the Sirens; they barely survived the dangers of the passage between Scylla and Charybdis, as well as their encounter with the fearsome one-eyed giant Polyphemus. Nevertheless, the wily Odysseus managed to survive. With the help of the Phaecians, on whose shore Odysseus had been shipwrecked-his crew had long since perished-he finally arrived home in Ithaca only to find his faithful wife, Penelope, hounded by suitors, who believed him dead. Aided by his son Telemachus, he surprised Penelope's would-be husbands, killed them all, and was reunited with his family. Later classical writers portrayed Odysseus as treacherous and cruel, a tradition continued into the Middle Ages. Under his Latin name, Ulysses, he appears in Dante's hell.