Odysseus — Greek Hero in Mythology

Odysseus was a legendary hero in Greek mythology, king of the island of Ithaca and the main protagonist of Homer's epic, the “Odyssey.” The son of Laertes and Anticlea, Odysseus was well known among the Greeks as a most eloquent speaker, an ingenious and cunning trickster. One of the suitors of Helen, Odysseus was obliged to join the Trojan expedition – something he didn’t want to, since he was more than happy alongside his wife, Penelope, and his newborn son, Telemachus, and he knew from a prophecy that if he goes to Troy, it will take him a long time to come back home. So, he tried feigning madness, but Palamedes exposed him, and Odysseus had no choice but to leave. He played a crucial part during the Trojan War – both as a strategist and as a warrior – eventually coming up with the famous stratagem which decided the outcome of the bloody conflict: the Trojan Horse. Afterward, he set sail for Ithaca, but, after blinding his son, the Cyclops Polyphemus, he angered Poseidon so much that the sea god did whatever he could to obstruct Odysseus’ journey homeward. After numerous memorable adventures – Circe, the Sirens, Scylla and Charybdis, the Laestrygonians, Calypso – Odysseus finally managed to reach Ithaca, ten years after leaving Troy and twenty after joining the Trojan expedition. There, he reunited with Telemachus and Penelope and, after killing all of his wife’s Suitors, reclaimed his throne. He died an old man, probably accidentally killed by Telegonus, a child he had fathered with Circe during one of his many adventures.