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Odysseus Facts & Worksheets

Odysseus (Roman name: Ulysses) was one of Greek mythology's most illustrious pan-Hellenic figures. He was renowned for his leadership, brilliance, and bravery.

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Odysseus (Roman name: Ulysses) was one of Greek mythology’s most illustrious pan-Hellenic figures. He was renowned for his leadership, brilliance, and bravery. The Greek triumph in the Trojan War was made possible by Odysseus’ inventiveness and oratory prowess. Odysseus was the star of several amazing adventures on his Odyssey, the protracted journey back to Ithaca, following that battle.

See the fact file below for more information on Odysseus, or you can download our 32-page Odysseus worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

OVERVIEW

  • In Greek mythology, Odysseus, the King of Ithaca and head of the Kephallenians, was the son of Laertes and Antikleia (or Anticlea). 
  • He had a son named Telemachus (or Telemachus) while he was married to Penelope. The hero also had the good fortune to routinely benefit from the goddess Athena’s unique assistance and protection. 
  • Odysseus is described as “patient-minded” by Hesiod, and he is frequently compared to “God” by Homer, who also describes him as “Zeus‘ equal in his mind’s resource” and a genuinely excellent speaker whose words “flocked down like snowflakes in winter.” 

ODYSSEUS PREPARES FOR THE TROJAN WAR

  • The Iliad, in which our hero plays a major role, contains Homer’s narrative of the Trojan War, which is the earliest comprehensive source of information on Odysseus. 
  • Odysseus took part in a number of significant incidents, and his insight, sage advice, and wit were instrumental in the Greeks’ final victory in the war.
  • The King of Ithaca was reluctant to leave his wife and family, so he feigned to be mad when he was summoned by Palamedes (a Menelaos ambassador), and as a result, Odysseus came dangerously close to avoiding the fight entirely. 
  • He achieved this by salting the furrows of a field he had plowed with an ox and an ass yoked together. 
  • Palamedes was not going to be duped, so by positioning Telemachus in the plow’s route, Odysseus was forced to turn and prove he wasn’t quite so crazy after all.
  • Achilles was hesitant to accompany the Greek expedition to Troy, but Odysseus managed to convince him otherwise. 
  • Achilles was raised by the royal family of Lycomedes on the island of Skyros after being hidden away by his mother, Thetis (who knew what would happen to him if he joined the War). 
  • However, the wise Pylian king Nestor foresaw that the Greeks would only have a chance of taking Troy with the aid of the legendary hero Achilles.
  • As a result, the cunning Odysseus was dispatched to convince the best warrior in Greece to abandon his wife and kid in order to fight with King Agamemnon’s soldiers.
  • The King of Ithaca, who was masquerading as a wealthy salesman, enticed Achilles to give up his persona as one of Skyros’ daughters and expose his actual identity by displaying a variety of magnificent weapons in which the great warrior was unable to conceal his curiosity.
  • The Myrmidons of Thessaly, Achilles’ powerful personal army, also traveled with him.
  • Iphigeneia, the daughter of Agamemnon, was persuaded to join the Greek forces at Aulis by the selection of Odysseus once more as an emissary. 
  • Agamemnon accidentally killed an Artemis-sacred deer while hunting, and the seer Kalchas predicted that only the sacrifice of the king’s daughter could placate the goddess and ensure the Greeks’ safe passage to Troy. 
  • Then, on his way to Mycenae, Odysseus made a promise to Iphigeneia’s mother, Klytaimestra, that the young woman may wed Achilles. The idea of having such a distinguished son-in-law made the queen happy, and she gladly accepted. 
  • However, when they got to Aulis, the sacrifice had already been planned, and the unfortunate child was placed right up on an altar. 
  • Fortunately, Artemis spared the girl, changed her into a deer, and whisked Iphigeneia away to become a priestess at Tauris in one of the goddess’ temples just before Agamemnon let fall his sword.
  • After receiving favorable winds, the Greeks arrived at Troy. 
  • Up until the end of the battle, Odysseus did not do much, save for a brief episode in which he and Diomedes attacked the young Dolon in a woodland. 
  • There was some contention about who should get Achilles’ splendid armor after the hero’s death.
  • Both Odysseus and Telamonian Ajax put forward arguments, but the issue was ultimately determined by voting, with Athena interfering to ensure that Odysseus received the weapons and armor created by Hephaistos.

ODYSSEUS’ ROLE IN GREEK VICTORY

  • The conflict continued despite the death of their talismanic hero, but at this point, the Greeks started to think more strategically about how to breach Troy’s fortifications. 
  • The Greeks could only win, according to the seer Kalchas, if they managed to guarantee three things. These included the need to utilize the legendary weapons of Hercules, which were then in the hands of Philoktetes (or Philoctetes), the involvement of Achilles’ son Neoptolemos in the conflict, and lastly, the need for the Greeks to take control of the Palladion.
  • The latter was a revered wooden figure of Athena that was discovered by Troas, the founder of Troy, and was said to have fallen from heaven.  
  • The Trojans thought that this statue offered them strength and protection, and that the Greeks might greatly benefit from its theft by using it against them in battle.
  • The only person who could complete all three of these challenging tasks was Odysseus. 
  • He first returned to Syros and convinced Neoptolemos to accompany him. Then he traveled to Lemnos to fetch Philoktetes and the Herculean weapons. 
  • It turned out to be worth all of Odysseus’s persuasion efforts, even if the latter was more than a little miffed at having been abandoned on the island in the first place, since Philoktetes managed to kill Paris with his lethal arrows almost as soon as he entered the combat at Troy.
  • The removal of the holy Palladion from the city’s center was the final duty that remained. Odysseus disguised himself as a beggar and sneaked into the city to locate the statue’s exact position. 
  • Though Helen, who was now forcefully wedded to another of Priam’s sons and eager to leave and go back to Greece, did recognize the infiltrator. She was the one who directed Odysseus to the Palladion’s location. 
  • With this information in hand, Odysseus returned to the Greek camp and asked Diomedes for assistance. The next night, the two once again broke into the city and took the statue.
  • Despite the Palladion’s theft, the war continued, and it soon became apparent that the Greeks needed a more ambitious plan if they were to ever prevail. 
  • Odysseus’ clever concept for the wooden horse was inspired by Athena in a divine way.
  • He had a large horse built by carpenters that could conceal several Greek warriors. How to get the Trojans to ride the horse within the city gates was the trick. First, Odysseus ordered the Greeks to disperse from their camp and sail away, mooring off the island of Tenedos.
  • One guy, Sinon, was left behind, leaving only the horse standing by itself on the plain. He claimed to be a target of the Greeks’ quest for an enemy and probable sacrifice. 
  • After gaining their trust, he told the credulous Trojans a wild tale about Athena punishing the Greeks for stealing her statue and telling them the only way to win back her favor was to construct a huge wooden horse in her honor and return home. 
  • The Trojans dutifully took the horse into the town to stand in front of the Athena temple after falling head over heels for the tale. The Trojans then began dancing the night away in jubilation at finally winning the war, with the exception of Laokoon and Aeneas.
  • When the celebration was over and the Trojans were passed out from intoxication, Sinon shot a signal to the Greek ships that were waiting, and they immediately sailed back to the beaches of Troy.
  • When the city gates were opened by Odysseus and his fellow Greek troops, the Greek army routed the Trojans, desecrated temples, and ruthlessly massacred everyone in their path.

THE ODYSSEY

  • The gods punished the Greeks for their impolite behavior at Troy by ensuring that many of their ships met with misfortune on the way back to their homeland. 
  • Odysseus was one of the few survivors, but only after an extraordinarily drawn-out journey filled with diversions and mishaps, which is described in Homer’s Odyssey.
  • The hero’s trip home took 10 years, and he made several port stops, albeit not all of them were kindly. 
  • The god Apollo handed the hero twelve wine flasks on the first visit to the island of Kikones, among other things. 
  • Odysseus and his armada then ended up on the coasts of the Lotus Eaters after being battered by a storm. The hero swiftly continued on with his journey after rejecting their offer of hospitality because eating the plant makes one forget one’s native country.
  • The next stop was the island of the Cyclopes, the giants with one eye who lived peacefully minding their sheep. 
  • However, as fate would have it, Odysseus ran upon the man-eating Cyclops Polyphemos, a son of the sea deity Poseidon. 
  • The traveling Greeks caught the giant’s attention, and he imprisoned them in his cave before quickly devouring two of them as an appetizer. 
  • When Odysseus realized how serious the situation was, he promptly devised a crafty escape strategy. 
  • The hero had his men transform Polyphemos’ olive-wood staff into a spike, which they then used to blind the Cyclops while he dozed, after luring Polyphemos with wine till the Cyclops was drunk.
  • Polyphemos attempted to capture the wandering Greeks by touching his sheep when they left the cave for their grazing despite being unable to see them and understandably furious at his treatment. 
  • After selecting a ram for the purpose, Odysseus told his men to fasten themselves to the sheep’s stomachs, and they were able to escape and continue their journey. 
  • But the Cyclops cursed Odysseus, telling him that he would lose his troops, have a difficult time getting home, and face catastrophe when he did. 
  • Polyphemos made sure that there would be many storms and 10 long years before Odysseus arrived in Ithaca by enlisting the assistance of his father, Poseidon.
  • There were more adventures. One of them included a stop in Aiolos (or Aeolus), the home of the winds, where the god of the winds gave Odysseus a flask containing all the winds but the one that would take him home. 
  • Unfortunately, some of Odysseus’ crew members let curiosity get the better of them and opened the bottle when they were within sight of Ithaca. 
  • The storm-tossed ships of Odysseus were carried by the contrary winds all the way back to Aiolia.
  • Resuming the journey, the unpleasant stopovers continued in Laistrygonia, where the enormous residents, headed by Antiphates, assaulted and massacred several members of the group by throwing enormous boulders at them.
  • After surviving various trials, Odysseus and his remaining crew arrived at Aiaia, an island ruled by the sorceress Circe. 
  • She transformed some of his men into swine, but Odysseus received a gift from Hermes, moly, which protected him from her spells. 
  • They became lovers, and Odysseus stayed with Circe for a year. Circe advised him to visit the underworld and seek guidance from the seer Teiresias. On his journey, he encountered fallen heroes and his deceased mother. 
  • Circe warned him about the Sirens, and he devised a plan to hear their enchanting singing without falling into their trap.
  • After navigating past the Sirens, Odysseus and his remaining crew faced the treacherous waters between Scylla and Charybdis.
  • They lost six more crew members but continued their voyage. During a stop at Thrinikia, the starving crew disregarded Teiresias’ advice and slaughtered sacred animals, leading to the ship’s destruction. 
  • Odysseus was the sole survivor, washing up on the island of Ogygia.
  • On Ogygia, Odysseus spent five years with the nymph Calypso, who offered him immortality, but he yearned to return home. With divine intervention, Calypso helped him build a raft, but Poseidon caused a storm that destroyed it. 
  • Odysseus ended up on the island of Scheria, where he received aid from Nausikaa and the Phaeacians. They provided him with a magic ship, and Odysseus finally reached Ithaca. However, he found trouble waiting in his palace, as the suitors had overrun it.
  • Assisted by Athena, Odysseus disguised himself as a beggar to assess the situation. 
  • He revealed his true identity to his son Telemachus and planned to eliminate the suitors. 
  • Odysseus succeeded in a challenge involving his old bow, proving his identity, and proceeded to kill the suitors. 
  • He and his wife Penelope were reunited, but their happiness was short-lived when Odysseus was unknowingly slain by his son Telegonos, born from his relationship with Circe.

ODYSSEUS RETURNS TO ITHACA

  • Odysseus had been absent for 10 years; the only person who still had any trust in the long-missed monarch was his wife, Penelope. 
  • The hero received an update from Athena on everything that happened while he was away.
  • Many men pursued Penelope, and all 108 of the would-be monarchs lived inside the palace itself. 
  • However, Penelope continually put off making a choice about getting married again in the vain hope that her husband was still alive.
  • The suitors thus intended to murder her son Telemachus as soon as possible in order to heighten the tension. Odysseus decided to visit the palace in person to examine the situation on the counsel of Athena, using his renowned cunning.
  • Due to a characteristic scar on his leg, only Odysseus’ old maid Eurykleia and his devoted old dog Argos were able to identify the hero. 
  • Tragically, Argos passed away as soon as he was reunited with his old master. 
  • After coming clean to his son Telemachus (who had just returned from Pylos), Odysseus devised a plan to clear the palace of all the hangers-on and recover his proper power. 
  • The hero was mistreated by the royal suitors while still wearing his beggar disguise and was the target of many harsh jokes, but soon enough, retaliation would be exacted.
  • Penelope issued a challenge to the potential husbands, promising to wed the man who could string the enormous bow once owned by the previous king and fire an arrow through twelve axe heads. 
  • None of the unfortunate suitors had the strength to even string the bow, much less use it to fire a shot. Then, to a chorus of skeptical jeers, the beggar rose and miraculously strung the bow with ease and shot an arrow dead straight through the axe heads. 
  • Odysseus threw off his disguise, revealing his actual identity and terrifying the potential suitors. But the invaders were unable to flee because Telemachus had, as anticipated, locked every door and taken down the wall-mounted weaponry. 
  • Then, with his terrible bow, Odysseus calmly slew the suitors one by one, reclaiming his long-lost country in the process.
  • After ten long years apart, the royal couple reunited and, kind of, lived happily ever after. 
  • Because in a tragic twist of events, Telegonos, the son of Circe and Odysseus, murdered an old Odysseus when he arrived in Ithaca and unintentionally killed his own father during the war.

Odysseus Worksheets

This fantastic bundle includes everything you need to know about Odysseus across 32 in-depth pages. These ready-to-use worksheets are perfect for teaching kids about Odysseus. The Greek triumph in the Trojan War was made possible by Odysseus’ inventiveness and oratory prowess. Odysseus was the star of several amazing adventures on his Odyssey, the protracted journey back to Ithaca following that battle.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

  1. Odysseus Facts
  2. Character Profile
  3. Map of His Journey
  4. Defend Your Answer
  5. Role of Gods
  6. Explore His Role
  7. Favorite Adventure
  8. Message to Know
  9. Mutual Experience
  10. Adventure to Walk
  11. Odysseus Costume

Frequently Asked Questions

Who was Odysseus?

Odysseus, also known as Ulysses, was a legendary Greek hero and the central character in Homer’s epic poem, the Odyssey. He was the king of Ithaca and played a crucial role in the Trojan War. Odysseus was known for his cunning intellect, bravery, and strategic skills.

What was Odysseus’ role in the Trojan War?

Odysseus played a significant role in the Trojan War, which was fought between the Greeks and the Trojans. He was chosen by King Menelaus of Sparta to be one of the Greek commanders. Odysseus is most famous for devising the idea of the Trojan Horse, a massive wooden horse used to infiltrate Troy and bring about its downfall.

What challenges did Odysseus face during his journey home after the Trojan War?

After the Trojan War, Odysseus embarked on a long and arduous journey home to Ithaca. He faced numerous challenges and obstacles along the way, which delayed his return for ten years. Some of the famous challenges include encounters with the Cyclops Polyphemus, the seductive sorceress Circe, the deadly Sirens, and the wrath of the sea god Poseidon.

How did Odysseus finally return home to Ithaca?

Odysseus’ journey home, often referred to as the “Odyssey,” ended when he finally reached his homeland of Ithaca. With the help of the goddess Athena, he devised a plan to defeat the suitors who had overrun his palace and sought to marry his wife, Penelope. Odysseus disguised himself as a beggar and, with the aid of his son Telemachus and a few loyal allies, he managed to kill the suitors and reclaim his throne.

What qualities and characteristics are associated with Odysseus?

Odysseus was known for his intelligence, cunning, and resourcefulness. He was a skilled tactician and strategist, always finding inventive solutions to overcome obstacles. Odysseus was also known for his perseverance and determination, as he endured numerous trials and hardships during his journey. However, he was not without flaws, as he was sometimes prideful and prone to temptation, which caused setbacks along his journey.

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