odyssey characters

Athena

The goddess of wisdom who helps and protects Odysseus.

Charybdis

A monster that takes the form of a giant, deadly whirlpool.

Laertes

Odysseus’s aging father.

Tiresias

A blind prophet in the Underworld who gives Odysseus advice.

Ithaca

Odysseus’s home island where he is the king.

Scylla

A six-headed sea monster who eats six of Odysseus’s men.

Sirens

Creatures whose beautiful singing lures sailors to their deaths.

Zeus

The king of the gods.

Telemachus

Odysseus’s loyal son.

Antinous

The main, most arrogant suitor trying to marry Penelope.

Calypso

A nymph who holds Odysseus prisoner on her island for seven years.

Homer

The poet who wrote The Odyssey.

Poseidon

The god of the sea who hates Odysseus for blinding his son.

Hermes

The messenger god who helps Odysseus free himself from Calypso.

Muse

A goddess of inspiration whom Homer prays to at the start.

Odysseus

The main hero of the epic who is trying to get back home.

Cyclops

A one-eyed giant (specifically Polyphemus) blinded by Odysseus.

Circe

A goddess/witch who turns Odysseus's crew into pigs.

Penelope

Odysseus’s loyal wife who waits 20 years for him to return home.

Helios

The sun god who gets angry when Odysseus’s men eat his cattle.