Eumaeus

Nurse who recognised Odysseus by his scar

Eurycleia was Odysseus's old nurse who recognised him by a boar-tusk scar on his thigh when she washed his feet — one of the Odyssey's most famous recognition scenes.

Hero of endurance and cunning

The craftiest of all Greek heroes, whose ten-year voyage home from Troy tested every human capacity for survival and adaptation.

None recorded

Treacherous goatherd of Ithaca who sided with the suitors against Odysseus

None recorded

Disloyal maidservant in Odysseus' palace who mocked the disguised king

Seven Against Thebes, Youth, Arcadia

Young Arcadian hero, one of the Seven Against Thebes, who died at the city walls before seeing his homeland again.

theft, cunning

The master thief and shapeshifter, grandfather of Odysseus, whose gift for deception was inherited by the most cunning hero in Greek mythology.

Master thief, grandfather of Odysseus

Autolycus was the greatest thief in Greek mythology, son of Hermes, who could steal anything and change its appearance — grandfather of Odysseus.

Man of many wiles

Odysseus was the most cunning of all Greek heroes — the man of polytropos (many turns), whose intelligence rather than strength defined a new kind of heroism.

None recorded

A king of Sicily who sheltered the craftsman Daedalus after his escape from Crete and whose daughters killed King Minos with boiling water

Marriage, royalty

Mycenaean princess who married Strophius of Phocis and raised the young Orestes in secret

Love, royalty, Troy

Trojan prince beloved by Aphrodite and father of Aeneas, the legendary founder of Rome

Slayer of the Minotaur, king of Athens

The hero who navigated the Labyrinth, slew the Minotaur, and became the legendary king of Athens. Theseus was considered Athens's national hero.