Odysseus (latin = Ulysses)
Laertes, his father
Anticleia, his mother
Autolycus, his maternal grandfather and son of Hermes
Penelope, Odysseus's wife
Telemachus, their son
Telegonus, Polypoetes, Poliporthes - sons not in Homer
Phemios
Athena/Mentes
Nestor and his son Peisitratos (Pylos)
Menelaus and Helen (Sparta)
Proteus
Ciconians
Lotus-Eaters
Polyphemus, the Cyclops, son of Poseidon
Aeolus, king of the winds
Laestrygonians
Circe, a sorceress; daughter of Helios
Elpenor, Eurylochus
Tiresias, the blind seer in Hades
Theoklymenos
Sirens
Scylla and Charybdis
Leucothea, white sea goddess
Calypso, a nymph
Nausicaa, princess of Phaeacia
King Alcinous and Queen Arete
Eumaeus, Odysseus's swineherd
Argus, his dog
Eurycleia, Odysseus's nurse
Demodocus, blind poet in Phaeacian court
Antinous and Eurymachos, suitors
Phemios and Medon
Helios
Ithaka (Ithaca)
Ismarus, of the Cicones (Thrace)
Aeaea
Thrinacia
Isle of Ogygia
Phaeacia on the island of Scheria
xenia
hubris
kleos
bie
metis
"The story of the Odyssey is not long; a man is away from home for many years; Poseidon constantly is on the watch to destroy him, and he is alone; at home his property is being wasted by suitors, and his son is the intended victim of a plot. He reaches home, tempest-tossed; he makes himself known, attacks his enemies and destroys them, and is himself saved. This is the heart of the matter; the rest is episodes." (Aristotle, Poetics 17).
"But I imagine that the story of Odysseus is greater than what he actually did, through the sweetness of Homer's verse; for his winged song he gives to lies a certain dignity, and his poetic craft deceives us, leading us astray by myths." (Pindar, Nemean 7.20-23)