Main Characters in the Odyssey
BOOK 9 Who are they? Visual
Calypso A sea goddess who lives on the island of Ogygia
She tries to keep Odysseus on the island and stop him from going home
Alcinous The king of the Phaeacians
Odysseus tells King Alcinous his adventure stories
Father of Odysseus Laertes
father and son
A goddess and enchantress Circe who lives on the island of Aeaea
She has mystic powers and turns men into pigs
Zeus The chief of the Greek gods and goddesses
Inhabitants of a land Odysseus visits
The men ate the flower and did not want to Lotus Eaters return to the ship Odysseus forces the men to return to the ship
Cyclopes A group of one-eyed giants
Odysseus and his men poke the eye out of Polyphemus Polyphemus – the one eyed giant using a 6 foot stake
The god of the sea, Poseidon earthquakes, and horses; father of the Polyphemus who battles Odysseus
Book 10
Tiresias of Thebes A blind prophet whose spirit Odysseus visits in the underworld
Book 12
Sirens Creatures, part woman and part bird, whose songs lure sailors to their deaths.
Scylla 6 headed sea monster who devours sailors
Charybdis A dangerous whirlpool of water personified as a female sea monster
The sun god Helios who pastures his cattle on the island of Thrinacia
Books 21-23
Telemachus The son of Odysseus
son of Odysseus
goddesses Muse of music, poetry, and literature
Odysseus Main Character = Odysseus conquers many difficulties to achieve his goal
to return to his wife and homeland