Odysseus (Roman Ulysses) son of Laertes from Ithaca. Physically shorter but broader than the other Greek leaders. Favorite of the goddess Athena - who uses him to carry out her wishes or Hera's. He is not often seen in combat in the Iliad - but is the one entrusted with the tricky diplomatic missions (returning Chryseis to her father, leading the embassy to Achilles). He is second only to Nestor as a wise counsellor, and it's he who stops the rush to the ships and controls Thersites in Book 2. Later he's the hero of the Odyssey - he was the last of the heroes to reach home after 10 more years of adventures. In later Greek literature he becomes a more ambiguous figure, and he is the villain of several tragedies - and he's Aeneas' arch-enemy in the Aeneid