[yoo-lis-eez; also Brit. yoo-luh-seez] 
| 1. | Latin name for Odysseus. |
| 2. | (italics ) a psychological novel (1922) by James Joyce. |
| 3. | a male given name. |
[oh-dis-ee-uhs, oh-dis-yoos] | 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. |
A Greek hero in the 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.)
Note: The story of Odysseus' journey home is told in the Odyssey of Homer. By extension, an “odyssey” is any long or difficult journey or transformation.
The Roman name of the Greek hero Odysseus.
Note: In the Aeneid of Virgil, which was written in Latin, Odysseus is called Ulysses.
Note: The Irish author James Joyce adopted the name for the title of his masterpiece of the early twentieth century, which is, in part, a retelling of the myth of Odysseus.