Character Reference

Before you start reading the Odyssey, you'll want to know who's who. This character guide will help you keep track of the major players as you move through Homer's epic. Keep this page open while you read—it's designed as a reference, not a spoiler list.

One quick note: name spellings vary between translations. Odysseus may appear as Ulysses (the Latin version), Telemachos as Telemachus, Kirke as Circe. Don't let that confuse you—they're the same people.

The House of Odysseus

These are the people Odysseus is trying to get home to—and the ones holding Ithaca together in his absence.

Name	Who They Are	Role in the Poem
Odysseus	King of Ithaca and hero of the Trojan War. Homer calls him the cleverest man alive, but also the most complicated. His defining epithet is polytropos—"many-turning" or "man of many ways." That means he's resourceful, yes, but also a compulsive liar, occasionally unfaithful, and a father returning to a son who barely remembers him. When Odysseus tricks the Cyclops by calling himself "Nobody," you see both his brilliance and his love of deception.	Absent for the first four books; narrates his own wanderings in Books 9–12; spends Books 13–24 in disguise, working toward the slaughter of the suitors.
Penelope	Queen of Ithaca and Odysseus's wife. She's been faithful for twenty years under enormous pressure, and her intelligence rivals her husband's. Penelope's famous for her weaving trick—promising to choose a suitor once she finishes a shroud, then unraveling it every night. Many scholars believe she knows far more about what's happening around her than she lets on.	Holds off the suitors through delay, intelligence, and strategic ambiguity. Her test of the bow in Book 21 is the poem's decisive turning point.
Telemachus	Son of Odysseus and Penelope. He's about twenty years old when the Odyssey begins, and he's never known his father. The first four books (called the Telemachy) follow his coming-of-age journey: he travels to meet the heroes of Troy, hears stories of his father, and returns to Ithaca ready to act like a man.	Grows from a passive boy into a decisive ally. Eventually fights alongside his father in the slaughter of the suitors.
Laertes	Odysseus's aged father. While his son is away, Laertes lives in grief and neglect on a farm outside the city. His reunion with Odysseus in Book 24 is one of the poem's quietest and most devastating scenes—a father who has given up hope suddenly confronted with his son's return.	Appears at the beginning and end of the poem; fights in the final confrontation with the suitors' families despite his age.
Eumaeus	Odysseus's swineherd. Technically a slave, but loyal beyond any obligation. He shelters the disguised Odysseus, feeds him, and treats him with dignity—without knowing who he really is. Eumaeus is one of the poem's most sympathetically drawn characters, a reminder that nobility isn't about birth.	Serves as Odysseus's ally and confidant throughout Books 13–22. His loyalty becomes crucial to the final plan.

The Suitors

Over a hundred young men have invaded Odysseus's palace, eating his food, drinking his wine, and pressuring Penelope to remarry. These are the three who matter most to the plot.

Name	Who They Are
Antinous	The ringleader and the most dangerous of the suitors. Aggressive, arrogant, and violent. He's the first to die in Book 22—Odysseus shoots him through the throat while he's drinking from a cup. That image tells you everything about how Homer wants you to see him.
Eurymachus	The smooth talker. He flatters Penelope to her face while plotting against Telemachus behind the scenes. More plausible than Antinous, but just as ruthless. Killed in Book 22.
Amphinomus	The one suitor who shows genuine decency. He warns against killing Telemachus and is troubled by bad omens. Odysseus even tries to warn him, in veiled language, to leave the palace. He doesn't—and dies with the rest. His death raises uncomfortable questions about collective guilt.

Gods & Divine Figures

The gods in the Odyssey aren't distant—they're active participants. Understanding their motives is essential to understanding why Odysseus's journey takes so long.

Name	Role
Athena	Odysseus's divine patron and the goddess of wisdom. She appears throughout the poem disguised as various mortals—she's the patron goddess of disguise and intelligence, qualities she shares with her favorite hero. Athena guides Telemachus, protects Odysseus, and orchestrates much of the poem's action. Without her, Odysseus does not reach home.
Poseidon	The god of the sea and the force that delays Odysseus. His grudge begins in the Cyclops episode: Odysseus blinds Polyphemus, who happens to be Poseidon's son. Poseidon can't kill Odysseus—Zeus forbids it—but he can make the journey catastrophic. Every storm, every shipwreck, every delay traces back to Poseidon's anger.
Zeus	King of the gods. He opens the poem by calling an assembly to discuss Odysseus's fate. Zeus is generally sympathetic to Odysseus's return, but he's bound by obligations to other gods, including Poseidon. The divine politics of the Odyssey are a negotiation between what Zeus wants and what other gods demand.
Hermes	Messenger of the gods and the divine problem-solver. He's sent to Calypso in Book 5 to demand Odysseus's release, and he appears again to help Odysseus survive Circe's magic. Whenever the gods need something done, Hermes is the one who does it.
Calypso	The nymph who holds Odysseus on her island, Ogygia, for seven years. She loves him genuinely and offers him immortality if he'll stay. He refuses—choosing mortality, aging, and Penelope over eternal life with a goddess. That choice is the poem's first and most fundamental statement about what Odysseus values: home over paradise.
Circe	The witch of Aeaea who transforms Odysseus's men into pigs. Odysseus resists her magic (with Hermes' help), becomes her lover, and stays on her island for a year. She's the one who tells him he must visit the Underworld. Once Odysseus passes her test, she becomes more ally than antagonist—proof that intelligence and respect can turn enemies into guides.