Called Ulysses by the Romans, Odysseus was the main character in Homer’s Odyssey and also appeared in Homer’s Iliad as one of the top Greek leaders at the siege of Troy, noted for his courage and ingenuity.
Odysseus was king of Ithaca, the son of Laertes and Anticlea, husband of Penelope and father of Telemachus.
Odysseus went to the Trojan War, and Telemachus was raised by Penelope alone.
After the fall of Troy Odysseus commenced his homeward journey to Ithaca, this ten year voyage being the subject of the Odyssey.
Under Athena's protection, Odysseus overcomes impossible odds, encountering the cannibal Laestrygones, the narcotized Lotus-Eaters, the alluring Sirens, the witch Circe, the monster Scylla, the one-eyed giant Polyphemus (one of the Cyclopes), and the nymph Calypso.
After his descent into the Underworld, Odysseus finally makes it home, only to find his wife Penelope plagued by suitors demanding that she marries one of them. Disguised as a beggar and assisted only by two faithful serfs and Telemachus, Odysseus slays Penelope's suitors. After a separation of 20 years Odysseus and Penelope were finally reunited. So ends the Odyssey.
A later tradition adds to this story, saying that Telegonus, Odysseus’s son by the witch Circe (or the nymph Calypso), later came to Ithaca in search of his father.
During a struggle Telegonus killed Odysseus, after which Telemachus and Penelope returned with him to Aeaea, where Telemachus married Circe and Telegonus married Penelope.
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