Odysseus

[ oh-dis-ee-uhs, oh-dis-yoos ]

noun

, Classical Mythology.

1. king of Ithaca; son of Laertes; one of the heroes of the Iliad and protagonist of the Odyssey: shrewdest of the Greek leaders in the Trojan War.

Odysseus

/ əˈdiːsɪəs /

noun

1. Greek myth one of the foremost of the Greek heroes at the siege of Troy, noted for his courage and ingenuity. His return to his kingdom of Ithaca was fraught with adventures in which he lost all his companions and he was acknowledged by his wife Penelope only after killing her suitors Roman nameUlysses

Odysseus

1. A Greek hero in the Trojan War (see also Trojan War ). Odysseus helped bring about the fall of Troy by conceiving the ruse of the Trojan horse . After Troy was ruined, Odysseus wandered for ten years trying to return home, having many adventures along the way. ( See Circe , Cyclops , Penelope , Scylla and Charybdis , and Sirens .)

Notes

The story of Odysseus' journey home is told in the of Homer . By extension, an “odyssey” is any long or difficult journey or transformation.

Example Sentences

While Odysseus had himself tied to the mast and rationally relinquished his option to act, his sailors plugged their ears with wax and rationally relinquished their option to know.

From Nautilus

Odysseus ordered his men to stuff their ears with beeswax as they rowed by.

From The Daily Beast

When Odysseus journeyed back from Troy, his men tied him to the mast of his ship when the Sirens tempted him to leave it.

From The Daily Beast

Is the Libyan assault meant to last 10 years, like Odysseus' journey?

From The Daily Beast

Perhaps a quotation from Odysseus, shrewdest of European observers of Turkey, can give the answer.

From Project Gutenberg

Here is a scene from it, the first after the Prologue, which would have been spoken by Odysseus.

From Project Gutenberg

There are other warriors taller by a head, and Odysseus was shorter than he by a head, so Agamemnon was a man of middle stature.

From Project Gutenberg

Why did he deserve the honor of taking his place beside Hercules and Achilles and Odysseus and the other great heroes?

From Project Gutenberg

The right thing must be done, Odysseus assures Achilles, "for I was born first, and know more things."

From Project Gutenberg