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 Father of Athena and Apollo 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 .